Swimming is a very complete exercise for health. However, it’s not an activity that many people choose. For example, some choose the fitness or other types of sports activities.
The reason could be that not all gyms have swimming pools, or the belief that you can only learn to swim “as a child”. However, once you discover the benefits of swimming, you will be interested in practicing this discipline regularly.
Swimming, a great exercise for health
Swimming can be considered one of the best exercises for health, mainly because it activates the whole body. With this sport, the muscles of both the legs and the trunk and arms are exercised.
It is true that these are benefits that you can find in other types of exercises as well. However, swimming can be a compendium of all of them. Let’s see some of them:
It allows you to do cardiovascular work
Swimming, walking, running or cycling, allows you to increase resistance and improve heart and lung health. According to one publication of the Spanish Heart FoundationThis is one of the most recommended sports for cardiovascular health.
Moreover, Thanks to the aerobic exercise it requires, you will learn to breathe more efficiently., so you’ll last longer when doing any daily activity. For example, if you have to climb stairs, it won’t be that difficult.
Swimming also helps to lose weight, as it is a cardiovascular exercise which, as indicated by the research published in the journal International journal of sports nutrition and exercise metabolism, increases energy expenditure and helps burn fat if combined with a balanced diet.
The good thing about this last point is that you won’t just lose pounds. Sometimes it happens that you lose weight, but in part you sacrifice a little muscle tone. Instead, swimming allows you to lose weight and, at the same time, tone the body.
It’s a low impact exercise
Performing certain aerobic exercises such as walking or running impact your joints and bones. This means that these structures, as well as muscles, can be injured. On the contrary, this doesn’t happen with swimming, or at least it happens to a lesser extentaccording to A article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In swimming, the body is in contact with the water.. It’s a very sweet exercise, with little impact and offers important benefits. If you are prone to injury or if you already have a physical ailment, chronic or otherwise, swimming may be a good option for you.
Swimming is good for back pain sufferers
If you’ve ever had back problems, chances are your doctor has advised you to swim. The reason is that, as we mentioned before, it’s a low impact sport that exercises the core.
For people who have scoliosis, for example, swimming can help relieve pain as stated by the a study published in the journal Central European Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.
This source specifies that, even at an early age, he is able to prevent this type of injury from getting worse. Therefore, It is a recommended exercise if you have back problems.
Swimming improves coordination
There are many people who don’t coordinate well your body movements. Something as simple as lifting your right hand and left foot at the same time and then continuing with the opposite arm and leg takes a lot of effort. Therefore, practicing swimming can help them.
Swimming requires coordination not only of the arms and legs, but also of breathing. It may seem very difficult at first, but with practice and the moment you are in the pool, it all flows. Over time, without realizing it, you will be able to coordinate the body correctly.
swimming is fun
One great thing about swimming is that it’s fun. Throughout your life you will surely have been taught to run, walk, and have also done various cardiovascular exercises… Therefore, the addition of this element can be a more of motivation. Moreover, Who doesn’t enjoy every time they go to the pool or the beach?
We encourage you to try this form of exercise, which may be new to you if you’ve never practiced swimming before. With it you will learn to breathe correctly and gain stamina for when you want to swim in the sea or in the pool. OHYou may even find that you enjoy swimming so much that you would like to enter a competition!
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