People often ask me why I began swimmning instead of playing a “real” sport like football or baseball. When I was a child, I usually answered, ”Because my mom made me.”
Today my view on swimming is very different and I don’t think there is a better, more complete workout you can do.
Here are four reasons why swimming delivers an excellent workout:
1. Swimming Reduces the Impact on Muscles, Bones, and Joints
When your body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50 percent of its weight; dunk yourself to the chest and that number reduces to around 25 to 35 percent; with water all the way to the neck, you only have to bear 10 percent of your own weight. The other 90 percent is handled by the pool. This allows a person to build their cardio without the impact of a treadmill.
2. Swimming = Resistance Training
Water is about 12 times denser than air. That means every stroke, kick, or curl with an aqua dumbell transforms itself into resistance training. As a result, competitive swimmers have toned and defined bodies, because their in-pool workouts allow them to stretch and strengthen almost every muscle in the body.
3. Swimming Helps You Breathe Better
My mom enrolled me in swimming at a young age due to my asthma. Indoor pools are usually not as dry as, for example, a gym or even the natural weather outside. Swimming can also strengthen lungs and promote correct breathing, which makes it a perfect workout for me and for others with asthma or other lung-related issues.
4. Swimming is a Blast
Any workout can become boring and repetitive if performed for too long, but swimming provides a lot of ways to shake things up. Work your arms and chest with a butterfly or breastroke on one day, focus on your legs with some long kicking sets on another day, and focus on breathing with some long-distance breathing techniques the next.
I have friends today whom I met through swimming 20 years ago. Group swimming or exercise classes give you the opportunity to not only build your endurance but also your relationships. The camaraderie and motivation that develops through swimming is unique to the fitness world. Whether you join a Master’s team or an Aqua Fitness class or whether you and some friends are just tired of the treadmills and Stairmasters and are looking for something different, swimming delivers life-long benefits.
Is swimming a part of your regular weekly workout?
