Training with swimming?

Question

Ok i recently got injured and I am supposed to be doing swimming training till I recover (its a back injury) , im not much of a swimmer and i dont have the knowledge of how to get effective training and fitness from swimming.

I dont feel like im getting a high enough heart rate, but im swimming as fast as I can?

I just started last week, and I have been swimming 50 lengths (only 1.25km) and i swim 19sec for a 25m lap. (i told you im not fantastic at it!)

any advice?

Answer 1

dont do any drastic moves in the water just steady movements. Try going to  a rehab place that offers water therapy. My husband did that and it helped his back  

Answer 2

If you have a back injury you need to not push too hard or you could easily re-injure. If you're cleared for sprints you can do intervals of sprint/ez/sprint/ez by 25s. For endurance you can work on doing 25 with no breathing if you already dont. Try doing them fully submerged with just kicking. Swimming at a medium pace for the duration of a mile (1600) is a good workout too. Just because you don't feel like you're working out doens't mean you're not, don't sell yourself short! You can also do kick or pull sets using just your arms or just your legs to focus on strengthening those areas. If you still have questions, contact your physician or physical therapist and aks for some ideas, they should be able to create a workout for you.

Good luck!