How Many Calories Do You Burn Swimming?

Swimming is an activity that can provide great exercise in a way that beats the South Florida heat. Calories burned swimming can be enough to help anyone sustain their health goals.

At Ocaquatics Swim School, we know many parents wonder about swimming calories burned. In this blog post, we discuss calorie burn during swimming and how it can be a part of your overall fitness goals. 

The Importance of Swimming as an Exercise

Swimming is perhaps one of the best whole-body workouts anyone can get. Developing this skill at an early age can help your child keep a healthy weight throughout their life while building muscle and strength.

Since it is a low-impact sport, it can be done by anyone at any fitness level. The water provides resistance, which is key in building muscle and burning calories. It engages a variety of muscles in the body that can help your child be strong, balanced, and coordinated on land as well.

Understanding Calories Burned Swimming

Even while providing a moderate effort, 30 minutes of swimming can contribute to a healthy physique. Calories burned while swimming will depend on several factors.

Body Weight

The weight of any person will be a factor in calories burned. The more someone weighs, the more calories they will burn while swimming. An adult will burn more calories swimming than a child. While you may not be concerned with your child’s weight and their ability to burn calories, it’s important to make sure that they are consuming enough nourishing foods to give them the energy they need for this activity.

Swim Speed and Intensity

A slower swim speed will not burn as many calories compared to swimming faster. Adults who want to burn calories by swimming can challenge themselves to speed up during laps or use items in the water that can increase resistance to increase energy output.

Swim Strokes

The swim strokes used are another factor in swim school calorie burn. They harmonize upper and lower body actions to propel the body through the water. However, if your child is doing the butterfly stroke, they will burn more calories than they would if they were doing the freestyle stroke.

As an example, moderately treading water will burn a little over 220 calories per hour while doing freestyle at a light effort for this duration can burn over 360 calories. Our swim lessons last 30 minutes, so you can expect your child to burn half these numbers.

Why Swimming Is the Best Exercise for Kids

You’re likely not signing your child up for swim school for exercise, though it is an excellent benefit for them. 

Physical Benefits of Swimming for Kids

Since swimming is a low-impact exercise, it makes it easier for kids to keep active with less chance of muscle overuse injuries. It also gives your child cardiovascular exercise that strengthens their heart and boosts oxygen flow through their body. Muscle tone and strength are built up in the movements they make in the water. 

Calories burned swimming have the potential to be high. Since it’s fun, kids will enjoy this type of exercise. If you’re concerned about keeping healthy and burning calories, go swimming with your child to spend time together doing an activity that benefits the entire family. 

Mental Health Benefits of Swimming for Kids

Exercise benefits mental health, but many children may not be inclined to start working out in other ways. This physical exercise can benefit your child by helping them work through stress, plus the soothing feeling of the water often can help them relax.

Social Benefits of Swimming for Kids

Society at large is more sedentary and alienated than ever, though signing your kids up for swimming lessons can help. Your child will get the exercise they need for healthy calorie burn while making new friends. Other sports may not give your child much chance to be active the entire time. There is often quite a bit of sitting on the sidelines.

When you enroll your child in swimming lessons, they get to be in the water the entire time. Moving around during their sessions, even if they are treading water in place, is still swimming calories burned. 

Swimming can also be competitive, encouraging each child to beat their times or race against their peers. It helps them build lifelong skills, too, not just for practicing water safety but also for having a fun way to get exercise.

What Parents Should Know About Swim School Calorie Burn

Whether your child goes on to competitive swimming lessons or not, you must know how to help them fuel up with enough energy. Young swimmers need to get enough calories to keep them sustained while in the water.

Kids need plenty of calories for swimming to prevent fatigue, keep their focus, and ensure top physical performance. You can help your growing child get enough calories to keep them sustained throughout their swimming lessons with the following tips.

Focus On Quality Nutrition

Make sure you keep foods in your kitchen that are both easy for your kids to grab and natural. High energy snacks that are plentiful in protein are always good options, along with an array of fruits and vegetables. 

Eat Ahead of Swim Lessons

Make sure your child has something to eat before they go to their swim classes. Kids need food to fuel them through this strenuous exercise, and they’ll perform better when they’re properly nourished. 



Calories burned swimming can easily use up their energy. Nourish your kids ahead of the swim school calorie burn at Ocaquatics Swim School.