Burn 300 calories ON HOLIDAY!

Take a dip, keep cool and get fit with our simple swimming workout

Pools aren’t just a great holiday perk, they’re actually the ultimate workout space. That’s right – swimming for 30 minutes can burn over 300 calories and target pretty much every muscle in your body. Win, win.

This training plan, devised by Commonwealth Games silver medallist Penelope Marshall, will boost your fitness and speed in less than half an hour. Yes, really! Not going away? You can still get the benefits at your local pool or lido.

Your push-harder pool plan

You’ll go from doggy-paddler to swimming pro by the time you’re ready to head home. Each swim session has a different focus, so you’ll get fitter, faster and slimmer. If front crawl isn’t your forte, you can switch to breaststroke. Not the most confident swimmer? Look for how-to videos on Youtube, which can help you to master different techniques.

What it all means

BREATHING FOCUS: When doing the third element in the ‘breathing focus’ session, aim to add two additional strokes between each breath, compared to what you normally do. So if you usually breathe each third stroke, then breathe every fifth. ENDURANCE: This develops your ability to swim long distances. You should be able to feel your stamina improving. TECHNIQUE: Train to swim more efficiently. At the start of each swimming drill section, focus on kicking – hold a float with both hands and just use your legs. In week one, do this for five minutes, then add a minute when you feel more confident. Spend the rest of the session on other drills.

For example, you could try a one-arm