It is summertime and it is HOT! Whether you want to just cool off or get a workout without all the sweat, there is nothing that compares to swimming! So put on your swimsuit, grab a towel, and jump into the water!
The health benefits of swimming are well known:
Swimming is a low-impact, non-weight bearing, activity. This means that it does not put pressure on joints or your spine. The water supports much of your weight making it ideal for people with arthritis, knee, hip, and back issues as well as those recovering from an injury.
Swimming helps to alleviate symptoms of arthritis, joint stiffness and helps with flexibility by exercising all your muscles. The benefits of swimming are like those of yoga and Pilates. Swimming helps you stretch your back muscles, hamstrings and hip flexors, muscles that are not used when sitting watching TV or engaging in other sedentary activities.
Because the water supports your weight it also creates resistance against movement. This makes swimming a great way to build muscle without the jarring, sometimes painful, impact of other exercises. Stretching your body to kick and pull yourself through the water requires all your muscles but especially your core muscles, lower back, and leg muscles. The benefits are that muscle tone, core strength and strength improve. A strong core and back help prevent back injuries and falls.
When you swim your face is mostly underwater, your body must make the best use of the air you take in when you take a breath. This results in having to control your breathing while swimming and effectively improving your overall lung capacity.
Weight control, swimming is a great calorie burning exercise, it is right up there with basketball, running, cycling and racquet sports for burning calories. When combined with a balanced diet it’s a great and safe way to shed a few pounds without the sweat. The chart below shows the approximate number of calories a 150-pound person would use during 60-minutes and 20-minutes of an activity.