—
Finding the best combination of exercises that can help you achieve all your fitness goals can be daunting. What am I trying to accomplish here? Let’s see…
Gotta lose some weight. That’s a given. Swimsuit season is upon us.
Need to keep the aerobic fitness up, but running is so boring! And the machines at the health club are so, well, techy.
And so are the weight machines. You can’t leave out resistance training for muscle mass and bone density, but going totally with black iron free weights? That’s fine for weight lifters and body builders, but I’m looking more for lean and muscular.
Crossfit! If I hadn’t hurt my shoulder last time, I’d totally do Crossfit again.
I could do Crossfit-lite with some spin classes, but there’s something about the noise and the frantic movement that turns me off.
What about swimming?
It’s as easy to get to the pool or beach as it is to a gym, especially in the summer. There is no more investment of time with swimming than with joining a fitness club and maybe a whole lot less.
You don’t need any fancy clothes. Just a swimsuit (and maybe not even that, if you find the right place.) It’s not dangerous (unless you actually can’t swim) and it’s low tech…very low tech. Here are some of the good things swimming will do for you.
Tranquility
There is something calming and reassuring about water. It has a powerful grounding effect on people and there is research to support this. Swimming shares some of the same benefits as meditation, freeing you from the frantic stimulation that assaults everyone during most of our waking hours.
Water therapy is being used in a variety of methods from floatation tanks to Watsu. Some people claim a half an hour in a sensory deprivation tank is as restful as a whole night’s sleep.
If you find a beautiful place in the wild to swim, so much the better. The combination of feeling water all around you in the context of Mother Nature is a sure-fire means of putting you in touch with your essential self. In fact, putting yourself closer to nature is beneficial in many ways. Studies demonstrate that spending time in nature improves both your mental and physical health by aiding you in maintaining a healthy weight, lowering stress, and improving your mood.
Low Impact
Swimming is calming, but it also provides the best way to move yourself through your entire range of motion without jarring or damaging joints. Swimming is low impact. In this regard, swimming beats almost everything out there for joint health. If you are recovering from an injury, in the water is where you should be.
It also provides all the cardio you need without jogging or bouncing your way through a plyometric workout. Although it is especially beneficial for older people, young people should start early to protect their joints from unnecessary injury. Switching from high impact cardio routines to swimming is the way to go.
In addition, becoming a strong swimmer opens the way to other water sports like snorkeling, scuba diving and surfing. Who knows where that may lead?
Strength and Aerobic Fitness
Unlike many other exercises, swimming builds strength and cardiovascular fitness simultaneously. It is easy to see how swimming may be considered primarily an aerobic fitness sport, but take another look at Olympic swimmers. Is Michael Phelps built like your average marathon runner? No, most of us would sell our mothers for a body like that.
Water provides moderate resistance and swimming can resemble training with light to moderate weights. Swimming builds muscle, improving strength, agility, balance, and bone density. It’s a total body workout.
Healthier Lungs
Studies indicate that swimmers have a higher lung capacity than non-swimmers. Swimming may help maintain pulmonary health. And what do you need more than your lungs, except your brain and heart? Healthy lungs transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide more efficiently, keeping you from feeling winded or out of breath as often. Better lungs keep you well and aerobic capacity is related to cardiovascular health as well.
Weight Loss
Swimming is also an effective strategy for losing weight. Or more precisely, losing fat. It’s not just the moving around in the water that burns calories. Cool water – even comfortably cool water – drains away heat, requiring your body to burn more fat to keep your core temperature up. The iconic Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day when training. Most of that energy goes to keeping him warm enough to train in the pool.
So, if you want to peel the fat away quickly for swimsuit season – get into your swimsuit.
—
Photo credit: Getty Images