What Muscles Does the Freestyle Stroke Work?
Highly recommended by doctors and fitness instructors, swimming provides a low-impact, full-body workout that challenges everyone from novice athletes to professional marathon runners. The freestyle stroke, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke exercise the same major muscle groups of your body. However, the freestyle stroke is one of the most widely used by beginners and experts, working your arms and legs for speed and strength and your core for stability.
The freestyle stroke is characterized by an overhead arm motion that slices through the water and pulls your body forward. Simultaneously, your other arm propels your body forward from below. These arm motions target your forearm, specifically your forearm flex and extensor muscles, along with the thenar muscles in your hands. However, they do not function alone. The deltoids, biceps and triceps also work together to force your hand and forearm through the water.
Legs and Glutes
Kicking during the freestyle stroke helps to reduce the strain placed on the rest of your body. It is divided into two stages as your legs move upward and downward, each using a different group of muscles to help your body move through the water. Kicking primarily works your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Muscles in your calves, shins and feet are also exercised, though to a lesser degree.
The Pecs and Abs
Although not readily apparent from out of the water, the front trunk of your body is heavily exercised during the freestyle stroke, helping with nearly all of your movements. Your pectoral muscles, side muscles and obliques pull your arms through the water and back out. In addition, the body roll -- a fundamental aspect of a correctly executed freestyle stroke -- exercises your abdominal muscles and obliques. The body roll draws strength from your powerful core muscles as opposed to your weaker shoulder muscles, improving the overall speed of your freestyle stroke.
Your back, trapezius and spinal cord support and your rhomboid muscles stabilize your body during the stroke. Without them, you would find it impossible to propel your body forward correctly. Gravity pushes your legs downward while your body's natural buoyancy causes your chest to rise out of the water, so you use the muscles in your back trunk to keep your body horizontal and maximize speed. As you come up for air between strokes, you also use these muscles to lift your head out of the water.
Sarah Koh has been writing for online magazines such as CleverHive, CollegeFashion and MyDiet since 2010, and has recently begun to branch out into technology and video game reviews for BagoGames. She specializes in articles on the three fs: fashion, food, and fitness.