Swimming
Swim for several hours a day. Swimming for hours on end is a requirement to be fit enough to perform professionally. In addition, top synchronized swimmers are able to stay underwater a full minute or even more as they perform routines with their legs, according to Dr. Jane Katz, a synchronized swim coach at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Interested swimmers have to become proficient in the eggbeater kick as well as sculling if they want to excel in the sport. Swimmers also need to master the freestyle and the backstroke.
Cardiovascular
Practice swimming laps back and forth and completing "over and unders," if you want to make a synchronized swim team. Swimming laps is but one portion of the overall workout swimmers must be able to complete. This cardiovascular component of synchronized swimming challenges your lungs, building up lung capacity, which you will need to be able to smile, do flips and stay under water for long stretches of time. Synchronized swimming workouts eventually dictate you build up to the ability to cover a 25-yard distance with one breath.
Dance and Muscles
Take dance and gymnastic classes. This part of the workout will require the ability to do leg raises, backflips, and somersaults while holding your breath and moving in the water. Dance moves are incorporated into a routine, which round out the synchronized swimming workout. All-in-all, synchronized swimming workouts use all the body's muscle groups. The workout is demanding and tiring, but it can keep a person looking more youthful, according to Katz, who is 64, and still coaching and participating in synchronized swimming workouts.
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