It’s Time To Hit The Pool!

Swimming, diving, surfing, water polo- just the mention of these water sports and activities makes you think summer isn’t so bad after all! What would anyone of you not give just to feel the water curling around your feet before you throw yourself with much delight into the water!? Can something that makes you feel this good also be good for you? The answer is YES! Let’s take swimming for this instance; not only is it relaxing but it also abounds in health and fitness benefits.

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Swimming offers something no aerobic exercise does- a whole body workout without a harsh impact on the skeletal system. When the human body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50% of its weight; dunk yourself to the chest and that number reduces to around 25-35%; with water all the way to the neck, you only have to bear 10% of your own weight. The other 90% is handled by the pool.

Improved muscle tone and strength

Compared to other aerobic exercises, swimming is a great way of increasing muscle tone and strength. The swimmer propels himself through water, a substance about twelve times as dense as air. That means that every kick and every arm stroke becomes a resistance exercise and it’s well known that resistance exercises are the best way to build muscle tone and strength. Swimming has also been known to increase bone strength especially in post-menopausal women. It puts the body through a broad range of motion that helps the joints and ligaments stay loose and flexible.

A healthier heart

Let’s not forget; swimming is an aerobic exercise so it not only helps the heart to become larger but also make it more efficient in pumping, thereby leading to a better blood flow throughout the body. The American Heart Association reports that just 30 minutes of activities like swimming can reduce coronary heart disease in women by 30-40%.

Weight control

Swimming is now recognized as one of the biggest calorie burners. The exact number of calories you burn, of course, depends on your own physiology and the intensity with which you exercise, but as a general rule, for every 10 minutes of swimming, the breast stroke will burn 60 calories; the backstroke torches 80; the freestyle lights up 100; and the butterfly stroke incinerates an impressive 150.

Reduces risk of diabetes

With just 30 minutes of breaststroke swimming three times per week, you could burn 900 calories, reducing your risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by over 10%. Vigorous exercise just once a week (like the kind derived from a robust swimming session) lowers women’s risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by 16% over inactive women. And, if you already have type 1 diabetes, the aerobic benefits of swimming can be particularly helpful, as this type of exercise can increase insulin sensitivity. Swimming has also proven to raise the HDL (the good cholesterol) levels.

So there you go — just a few but among the most relevant reasons of why you should hit the pool this summer!