Swimming laps is repetitive, which to some people means boredom. But there are lots of things you can do to add interest and variety to your workouts.
If you ask former swimmers why they gave up on the sport, chances are you’ll hear something about the tediousness of working out in solitude, staring at the black line. It’s true that swimming doesn’t offer the distraction of changing scenery or the satisfaction of seeing a distant destination grow closer, but lap swim doesn’t have to be monotonous.
Here are a few ideas to keep the boredom at bay.
Add some intervals. Changing up the pace will make you a stronger swimmer as well as adding variety to your training. The combination of hard efforts and recovery periods (for example, a series of 100-meter sprints followed by 30 seconds of rest) will help you build endurance and allow you to push yourself harder without getting overly fatigued.
Change up your strokes. Throw some backstroke, butterfly or breaststroke laps in with your freestyle laps. Do an individual medley if you know all the strokes. If you don’t, pick at least one other stroke to mix in occasionally to add variety and work different muscles. If you don’t know any other strokes, learning a new one will add interest in…
