Swimming is commonly known these days as the perfect exercise. You may now be asking yourself, why is this? Swimming is a fantastic way to work out your whole body and cardiovascular system by burning a tonne of calories. Doing 1 hour of swimming burns as many calories as 1 hour of running. Swimming is such a popular exercise as you can get fit, lose weight, and become healthy without the pressure and pain on your joints and bones. All age groups can enjoy it from the very young through to the elderly. Including swimming into your fitness regime will give you a wide range of benefits. Let’s take a look at the most common top 10 reasons of how swimming can benefit your health.
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1. Burns Away Calories
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Most people have heard that swimming burns a lot of calories, but what they don’t know is that it can burn just as many as going for a run or jumping on the treadmill. Generally speaking, if you were to complete 30 minutes of breaststroke, you would burn an average of 300 calories. If you were to go for a run for 30 minutes at 10mph, you would burn the same. Another bonus is swimming. There is no sweat in your eyes, and you can do several different strokes to change things up, such as freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke.
2. Reduces Inflammation
Source: Dr. Seeds Blog
While its a known fact that swimming is fantastic for Cardiovascular disease and strengthening the heart muscle, it is also proven to reduce inflammation for anyone who suffers from Osteoarthritis, Gout, Arthritis, and any other condition that affects the joints. Swimming is a natural pain killer and has a lower risk of injury compared to other forms of exercise due to the buoyancy of the water. The feeling of being lightweight takes the pressure off your joints and bones.
3. Improves Your Sleep
Source: The Doctor Weighs In
Swimming is a fantastic way to help your mind and body relax and unwind. When the mind and body are relaxed, in turn, you will sleep better. The National Sleep Foundation conducted a study that showed that swimming regularly had an overall positive impact on sleep quality and sleep health. Swimming is a gentle exercise but also gets the heart rate up and a fantastic cardiovascular workout, which will make you feel rejuvenated but also sleepy at the same time.
4. Mood Enhancer
Source: Stuff.co.nz
Research has shown that swimming regularly can reduce stress, anxiety, and help fight depression. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an advanced swimmer, being surrounded by water, lets your body relax and embrace and diffuse your senses. Many runners say they experience a natural high. Swimming will also release those happy hormones and give you a fantastic endorphin kick! Swimming continually stretches your body. If you combine this with a focus on your breathing, you will feel a tremendous feeling of relaxation.
5. Fantastic option during pregnancy
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
Doing any type of exercise while pregnant is fantastic for both you and your baby as it strengthens your heart and allows it to be more efficient with pumping blood. Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do while pregnant. The reason for this is that the water helps to support your extra weight and helps relieve any stress on your body. Swimming while pregnant is a fantastic exercise, whether its for relaxing, strengthening muscles, keeping fit, or even just maintaining a healthy weight.
6. Provides lots of fun and variety
Source: Alibaba.com
Many people fail their goals with fitness as it becomes repetitive, and they start to feel bored. When it comes to swimming, there is so much variety that it will keep you interested and excited about your next trip to the pool! There are several different strokes you can try, such as backstroke, freestyle, and breaststroke, there are even flotation tools you can work, such as pool noodles, weights, resistance bands, kickrollers and many more. There are also other ways to get fit in a pool such as water running, diving. Polo, racing, and Aqua Aerobics. When it comes to the pool, you are spoilt for choice with exercise!
7. Great for people with disabilities
Source: Elderly Care Systems
Unfortunately, having a physical disability such as paraplegia can limit the type of workouts you do. Water provides fantastic support and resistance, which is why so many people find swimming to be a great option. Swimming is known to boost confidence and improve social skills, which is why it may also be beneficial for people with mental disabilities.
8. You will become more flexible
Source: Diabetes
When people think of becoming flexible, the first exercises that come to mind are pilates and yoga. Although swimming won’t make you as manageable as those two sports, it certainly will lengthen your muscles in a way that will make your joints more flexible and assist with recovery. When you are in the pool, you are stretching your whole body, which, in turn, is working for your entire muscle groups.
9. Low risk of injury
Source: Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort
Swimming is an entirely non-weight-bearing sport, which enables you to do a full-body workout without the added stress on your joints. Injuries are very rare. If they do occur, it usually is in your shoulder area, such as tendonitis. With the water supporting your weight, it’s a great way to exercise, knowing the chance of injury is extremely low.
10. Strength Training
Source: CNN.com
One of the most beneficial reasons for swimming is that it strengthens your entire muscle group. It is the only sport where you can strengthen your upper body, lower body, and core all at the same time. Swimming is typically known as an aerobic exercise, but due to the pressure of water, it can provide resistance training, which is fantastic for strengthening your body.
It is no wonder why swimming is enjoyed by everyone and such a popular form of exercise. It is such a fantastic low impact sport that can be loved from a baby through to the elderly. There are so many beautiful reasons for how swimming can benefit your health and lifestyle. If your thinking of adding swimming to your workout plan, then maybe adding a fiberglass pool to your home is exactly what you need. Having the ability to use your pool each day can be highly beneficial for so many reasons, including mentally and physically. Barrier Reef Pools have been installing for the past 30 years. They pride fantastic quality and customer service. We have an extensive range to choose from, ranging from plunge pools and spas through to family and lap pools, click here to view their range. Their team is more than happy to assist with any questions you have.
