Swimming is a popular exercise for everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. It is one of the few exercise routines that works all your muscles and provides physical and mental health benefits.
Here are seven benefits of swimming.
It provides a full-body workout
Swimming uses your arms, legs, torso, and stomach. As a result, it engages the major muscles in your body, giving you a full-body workout.
Additionally, it increases your heart rate without putting extra pressure on your body. It also helps to increase your strength, tone your muscles, enhance your fitness, etc.
It builds cardiovascular strength
Cardio, or cardiovascular, exercises are those workouts that involve the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Guess what? swimming is a low-impact cardio exercise.
Consequently, it increases your heart rate, causing your body to burn more calories, fat, and energy. It also strengthens your heart, allowing it to pump more blood throughout your body.
It is good for people with injuries
Swimming is a safe exercise choice for people with conditions like arthritis, injury, disability, etc. It can reduce some of your pain or help you to recover from an injury.
A study shows that swimming helped to significantly reduce joint pain, stiffness, and physical limitation in people with osteoarthritis.
It burns calories
Swimming is an efficient way to burn calories, although the amount of calories you burn depends on your weight and swimming pace.
A 160-pound person swimming at a low to moderate pace may burn about 420 calories an hour. If they, however, swim at a more vigorous pace, they may burn up to 715 calories an hour. Likewise, a 200-pound person swimming at a low to moderate to vigorous pace can burn between 520 and 892 calories an hour. And a 240-pound person may burn between 630 and 1,030 calories an hour.
It improves sleep
Studies have shown that swimming improves sleep, especially for people with insomnia.
A study among older adults with insomnia found an increase in sleep quality after the participants engaged in swimming exercises. Another study involving 17 sedentary adults with an average age of 61 years found an increase in sleep quality among participants who swam regularly.
It helps manage stress
Swimming provides an excellent avenue to relieve stress and anxiety.
Being an aerobic exercise, swimming can elevate and stabilize your mood. It can help you to relax and rejuvenate. Moreover, the physical effort it requires can wear you out and help you sleep better.
It improves asthma
Swimming requires taking breathing exercises, which may help you expand your lungs and improve your breathing control. Consequently, this may improve your asthma condition.
Further, the humid air in indoor pools makes swimming a great exercise for people with asthma. However, the chemicals in pools may increase your risk for asthma or other conditions or even exacerbate them. As a result, consult your doctor on the risks associated with swimming for people with asthma. And if possible, swim in pools that use salt water instead of disinfectant chemicals.
Conclusion
Swimming offers a wide range of benefits for your body and mind, some of which we mentioned above.
if you are new to swimming, welcome. And a piece of advice, don’t push yourself too hard. Also, drink a lot of water. And take breaks when necessary.
Have fun.
