Does swimming tone your stomach?

Proper swimming questions?

• Im a 14 year old girl, and lately I've been thinking of starting swimming. Since I'm still in the period of "growing" i wanna get taller, and look athletic. I'm maybe 5 kg more than i should weight but since I'm tall it's barely noticeable. But I am kinda chubby in the stomach part, and i heard swimming is not only good for that it's great for the whole body, as*, stomach etc. I wonder if it's true? Also, whenever i go swimming i swim normally, not really fast or slow, or any special technique just normal swimming about 50 rounds. What i really wanna know is that enough? Is there any special way of swimming that should help me lose my stomach fat, good as* and tone the body? Or is normal swimming enough? And the last question if i wanna really look "fit" how many times a week should i go and how long should i stay approximately ? I'm asking because i have school and i have to have some kind of a schedule. P.S. i would have a nutritionist diet

• Answer:

  I'm 14, and I'm pretty much done growing already! It is true that swimming works pretty much all the muscles in your body. If you're serious about swimming, have you thought about classes? 50 laps is good if you're a beginner. Start gradually increasing it to become fitter. Throw in some sprints too, and practise some kick (with a kick board) and pull (with a pull buoy). You can borrow these at more pools. If you really want to look fit, I would join a swimming club. It's a big commitment, but it's worth it. If you don't, maybe try two/three times a week after school to start with. Go for an hour, and increase it to an hour and a half when you feel more confident.