


Adapted, with permission, from an article by Wayne Goldsmith
First published in 'Swimming' July 2003

The best way to make your heart a ' super heart' is to do regular endurance training such as long slow swims, sets of 400s and 800s and to train long distances with rhythm and relaxation in practices. The fitter you get the stronger your heart gets and the more blood it can pump with each beat.

Endurance-type training also changes your blood. Your lungs breathe in air from the environment. Your blood then 'traps' the air on special molecules and transports the oxygen to your hard-working muscles. The fitter you are, the better your blood is at carrying the oxygen to your muscles. The more oxygen you can get to your muscles, the better you can swim! That's why we call endurance training aerobic (pronounced air-robic), because it helps your body to use the oxygen in the air more efficiently.