5 Ways to Improve Your Health With Swimming
Swimming is often underrated as an effective workout, but the truth is, swimming can’t be beaten for an all over body workout. Don’t just leave swimming for your next holiday, make it part of your fitness routine and you will reap the rewards! Here’s why:
1. It’s a fantastic way to build stamina
Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise and helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. Start small if you’re new to exercise, but you can use swimming in the same way you would running for endurance. Like running, you can easily measure your progress and fitness levels too. Just increase your speed or number of lengths you can complete and you’ll soon see improvements in your fitness.
2. Swimming has great mental health benefits
According to research, swimming has significantly reduced the symptoms of anxiety or depression for 1.4 million adults in Britain. Perhaps this is because there’s something quite soothing about being in the water and having the ability to go at your own pace. The feeling of weightlessness is somewhat comforting and the rhythm of different swimming strokes can be really relaxing. All of this can calm the mind so next time you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, why not give swimming a try. Getting an effective workout is just a bonus!
3. Easy on your joints
One reason many people swim is that it’s a really effective form of exercise without being weight bearing. Because of the weightlessness you feel in the pool, you’re not putting pressure on joints but you still have to use your muscles to propel you through the water. Swimming and other exercises in water are often used in rehabilitation practices to build strength back up after an injury whilst not doing any further damage. But just because swimming is classed as low impact, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s super easy, it’s a great way to burn lots of calories!
4. Increase your strength and improve muscle tone
Swimming is a full body workout targeting the upper body, core and lower body meaning you can increase your muscle density with just one exercise. There’s no need to remember a full routine of different exercises, just simply try breast stroke for a few lengths and get toned in the process. The water in the swimming pool acts as a resistance when you try to move through it – it’s like weight training but without the weights! Swimming is great for toning muscle, especially if you don’t want to get bulky. So next time you’re thinking of resistance training, try a few lengths in the swimming pool instead.
5. Aqua Classes
Being in the pool for exercise doesn’t just mean endless lengths, there are many aqua aerobics classes for those who love to be in the water but still like a class based environment. If you’re not a particularly strong swimmer or lack confidence in a land based class then Aqua aerobics is a perfect starting point. You may not get sweaty in the pool but don’t be fooled into thinking swimming isn’t a worthwhile activity.
So it’s clear to see that swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for an all-round body workout. You can raise your heart rate, burn fat, tone those muscles and relax your mind too.
Why not give swimming a go next time you work out? Find your nearest venue.