Meet the experts: Kristen Hislop<\/a> is a triathlon and swim coach based in Albany, New York. Dan Daly<\/a>, CSCS, is a swim coach, competitive swimmer, and the owner of the coaching practice Train Daly.<\/p>\n What to Read Next<\/p>\n It\u2019s always best to consult your doctor before trying a new weight loss strategy, but swimming can be a great way to mix up your workout routine and work toward losing weight, if that\u2019s your goal. Ahead, learn about the best strokes to try and how to design your swim workout routine, according to coaches. <\/p>\n How swimming can help you lose weight<\/p>\n Like any type of exercise, swimming will help you burn calories, and if you\u2019re in a calorie deficit<\/a>, you\u2019ll lose weight, says Dan Daly, CSCS, owner of Train Daly and a competitive open water and masters swimmer.<\/p>\n For someone who is 155 pounds, 30 minutes of vigorous lap swimming can burn 360 calories, per Harvard Health<\/a>. By comparison, 30 minutes of vigorous stationary rowing can burn 369 calories, and half an hour of vigorous stationary cycling can burn 278 calories, according to Harvard Health.<\/p>\n How to start a swim routine<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a beginner, Hislop recommends swimming more often but for less time, so you can build strength<\/a> and work up to more time spent in the pool. Try going four times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. ‘Get out and come back the next day and try again,’ she says. You’ll see progress faster if you get out before your stroke falls apart.<\/p>\n Then, when you\u2019re comfortable with that, you can increase your time in the pool to 30 to 45 minutes, and add in some interval work so you can become a faster swimmer, says Hislop.<\/p>\n Just remember that a calorie deficit is crucial for fat loss, says Daly. To figure out a safe, healthy calorie deficit for weight loss, you can turn to your doc or nutritionist, a few different formulas, or online calculators.<\/p>\n To estimate calories burned during your swimming workout, you can consult an online calorie counter like this one<\/a>, which uses three inputs: your body weight, activity time, and activity level in units called METs, which stands for ‘metabolic equivalent of task’, per Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health<\/a>. The Compendium of Physical Activities site<\/a> can help you determine what to enter for your swim workout \u2013 to give you an idea, moderate-effort freestyle is listed at 5.8 METs.<\/p>\n Types of swim strokes<\/p>\n Freestyle. Swim on your stomach and alternate your arms and legs with each stroke and kick. Freestyle is considered a long-axis stroke because you rotate around a long axis through the length of your body.Backstroke. Similar to freestyle, backstroke is also considered a long axis stroke since it works the full length of your body. You\u2019ll still alternate arms and kick your legs, except you\u2019ll be on your back.Breaststroke. Unlike freestyle and backstroke, breaststroke is a short-axis stroke because it requires you to take each stroke with two arms and kick with both legs at the same time. Breaststroke also has a frog-like kick, says Daly.Butterfly. Also a short-axis stroke, butterfly includes a kick that is similar to a dolphin\u2019s movement. You\u2019ll zip your legs together and move in a wave-like motion.<\/p>\n Putting your face in the water might feel claustrophobic at first, Daly says. If you\u2019re nervous about being able to breathe in time as you turn your head, start with the backstroke, since your face will be up the whole time, says Hislop. Breaststroke is also great for newbies because you can breathe more often compared to the other strokes. Once you\u2019ve got the swing of backstroke and breaststroke, though, it\u2019s worth trying the remaining two because they\u2019ll work different parts of your body.<\/p>\n A great exercise to throw into your workouts every so often is the 100 IM, where you swim one lap of each stroke (that\u2019s 25 yards or meters in many indoor pools): butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, then freestyle, says Hislop. <\/p>\n How to get the most out of your swim workout<\/p>\n