Undeniably, with every stroke of your hand and the beating of your chest in the water, you dive deeper into an otherworldly sense of youthfulness and well-being. Now, seriously, how does swimming get all our fitness needs fulfilled?
If you have watched the 1985 Ron Howard movie titled “Cocoon”, you know it all too well how a pool of water can change your world for the better. In the movie, a group of elderly adults learn that a swimming pool located nearby holds the power for them to feel more youthful, strong and have a sense of well-being. And for all of you who belittle swimming for its chlorine, let us tell you how much you are missing out on.
Fight Against Arthritis
Swimming has that quantum of surprising results that no other aerobic exercise has and that is the ability to work the entire body up without really causing the bones to crack. In fact, the Arthritis Foundation recommends that adults with arthritis swim to recover. This is because swimming allows the stretching of muscles, strengthening of muscle s and provides an aerobic workout. Besides, if the pool water is heated, it is even better for arthritis patients as the warmth helps to loosen the stiff muscles.
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Increased Muscle Strength and Tone
Look out for an obese dolphin or a weak swimmer and you will only be disappointed. This is because swimming magically tones the muscles and provides the muscles strength. And the results are quick and 100 percent satisfactory compared with any other non-hydro exercise. Imagine, when you are jogging you are gushing through the air which is much lighter than water, implying that everything you kick or pull an arm stroke, you really are resisting against water and for your information, resistance exercises are the best exercises for enhancing muscle strength and tone.
Protection Against Heart Diseases
We all know that heart diseases are a treacherous assassin. They would arrive on a beautiful rainy evening when you are least expecting them. According to the author Philip Whitten, cardiovascular illnesses account for about half of the deaths that are recorded in the United States each year. “Medical experts agree that most of this suffering could be avoided if we all endeavoured to adopt lifestyle changes that we already know reduce the odds of contracting heart disease. The first important step is to get into a regular program of exercise, which can eliminate, reduce or help compensate for almost every risk factor for heart disease. And, as we have seen, the exercise program that offers the highest benefit-to-risk ratio is swimming. ”, states Whitten in his book The Complete Book of Swimming.
Enhanced Flexibility
Unlike the gym that isolates your body’s parts at one time, swimming allows a range of motion that enables the joints and ligaments to stay flexible and loose. Also, because you are trying to move forward, you are stretching the body, making it more efficient in the water. Should you want your body to be even more flexible than what you can expect to gain naturally from swimming, make sure that you do gentle stretches once your pool workout is over.
Weight control
Swimming has been referred to as one of the most calorie burning exercises and is, therefore, an amazing workout technique for people looking forward to keeping their weight under control. The exact number of calories that one burns depends on the intensity with which one exercise. Discovery Health points out that “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”.
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