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Swimming is a great activity for people of all ages and levels of physical fitness. It's a good way to get in shape, improve your strength, and have a good time. Swimming is the fourth most popular sport in the United States, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Here you will find all the information you need to begin and improve your practice.
And what exactly is swimming?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, swimming entails using a combination of arm and leg strokes to move oneself through the water. Due to the high amount of energy required to overcome the water's natural resistance, swimming is an excellent way to build muscle. Nonetheless, according to Kristopher Gagne, regional head swim instructor at the Houston-area Life Time Swim facilities, swimming is largely a type of cardiovascular training.
Swimming for fitness is more involved than just playing around in water, whether it be a pool, lake, or ocean. No swimming experience or interest is necessary. According to Todd Buckingham, PhD, a competitive triathlete and chief exercise physiologist at The Bucking Fit Life, a holistic fitness, nutrition, and mental health coaching program in East Lansing, Michigan, "the structure and goal behind the swim" are what distinguish a workout from a leisurely swim.
Swimming is a great form of exercise since it provides a full-body workout that works many different muscle groups. Large muscles such as the ones in your back (latissimus dorsi and trapezius), chest (pectoralis major), shoulders (deltoids), hips (glutes), legs (quadriceps and hamstrings), and abdomen (obliques) are the ones that do most of the work, as described by Dr. Buckingham (abdominals). Your arms are a crucial part of your propulsion in the water.
The four swimming strokes are the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle (also called the front crawl). It's necessary to use a distinct set of muscles to a varied degree for each technique. According to Buckingham, "the backstroke, as the name indicates, will require more muscles in the back to be engaged than in other stroke types," but otherwise, all stroke styles use the same muscle groups.
Swimming's Positive Effect on Your Health
The benefits of swimming as a leisure activity are numerous. Some possible health gains include the following:
Relief from Arthritic Pain
Swimming is a fantastic low-impact workout alternative for persons who have pain or discomfort in their knees or other joints when they walk, jog, bike, or use an elliptical machine. Sports medicine specialist Dr. Mark Slabaugh from Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center believes that the weight of the water provides resistance to the joint and is a natural technique to assist the muscles obtain the stimulation they cannot withstand during conventional activities.
Dr. Slabaugh explains that synovial fluid, produced when joints move, is essential for reducing friction.
According to studies conducted on people over the age of 65 who suffer from osteoarthritis, a 12-week program of swimming for 45 minutes, three times a week resulted in a considerable reduction in joint pain, stiffness, and physical restrictions.
Benefits to Heart Health
Buckingham argues that swimming, like other forms of aerobic exercise, can increase your cardiovascular fitness and perhaps reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and stroke.
Systolic blood pressure (the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats), body fat percentage, and carotid arterial stiffness (the rigidity of the wall of your carotid artery) were all shown to be reduced in a small sample of overweight males after participating in an eight-week swimming program.
The advantages to your heart will accrue at different rates depending on how often and for how long you swim. While more time spent in meditation is always preferable, Buckingham argues that even just 10 minutes a day may make a difference. Swimming is a great way to build stamina since it forces you to work harder by increasing your breathing and heart rate.
Enhanced Ability to Regulate Blood Sugar
The American Diabetes Association claims that working out increases insulin sensitivity, making it easier for the body to use insulin to absorb glucose (sugar) for energy during and after exercise. These assertions are supported by research: High-intensity swimming three times a week increased insulin sensitivity and normalized blood glucose in a group of sedentary women. According to these results, swimming may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. And for those who suffer from diabetes, swimming may aid in the control of their blood sugar levels, a critical component of illness treatment.
Read This Article to Discover the Many Advantages Swimming Can Have on Your Health
To what extent can swimming aid in weight loss?
Although there are other elements involved in losing weight, Buckingham adds that swimming might be a good strategy to help you reach your objectives because it is a full-body activity. As a general rule, the more muscles you use during exercise, the more your body will have to work and the more calories you will burn.
116 older women participated in a study comparing the effects of swimming and walking on body weight. After a year of participating in three weekly sessions of either walking or swimming at equal intensities (as measured by heart monitors), the women in the swimming group lost slightly more weight and inches off their waist than the women in the walking group. The swimmers dropped around 2.4 more pounds and nearly an inch off their waists than the walkers did.
Buckingham argues that weight-bearing exercises, such as jogging, can be more efficient at calorie burning than swimming since swimming does not require the body to battle against gravity.
Harvard Medical School reports that a person who weighs 150 pounds may burn 360 calories jogging at a six mile per hour speed for 30 minutes, whereas doing normal (not intense) swimming burns 216 calories. However, if you swim at a brisk rate for 30 minutes, you may expect to burn 360 calories.
But keep in mind that the finest and most effective exercise (for weight reduction or any other reason) is the routine you'll perform and stick to. "If it's a pleasurable experience, it's got a higher chance of becoming a part of your lifestyle," says Mike Koleber, head coach of Nitro Swimming in Cedar Park, Texas, and president of the American Swimming Coaches Association.
Buckingham adds that swimming is an excellent form of cardio if joint discomfort or other issues prevent you from jogging (or any weight-bearing, healthful activity).
The Basics of Water-Based Exercise Routines
A safe and enjoyable time may be guaranteed by taking these precautions beforehand. Before starting a new swimming regimen, you should see your doctor. If you suffer from asthma, heart disease, or any other illness that might make exercise dangerous, this is really crucial. When it comes to cardio, "your doctor may want you to do it, but they may not want your heart rate to reach over a specific threshold," Gagne explains. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your ability to swim or any precautions you should take, consult with your doctor.
Arm Yourself
When you have been given the green light for a water workout, you should acquire (or at least investigate) the following equipment:
Get a bathing suit. Koleber recommends wearing whatever makes you feel most at ease, albeit avoiding bulky garments that might slow you down in the pool.
Have some goggles handy. You won't have to worry about pool chemicals or salt water going into your eyes, and you'll have superior vision underwater. Experiment with a variety of styles until you discover a pair that fits you snugly yet pleasantly. As Koleber puts it, "you don't want to feel like your eyeballs are bulging out."
Think about getting a swim hat. A swim cap is useful whether you want to protect your hair from the pool's chemicals or just want to keep your hair out of your eyes while you swim.
Check out what the competition is offering in terms of swimwear accessories. Equipment like fins, waterproof headphones, and a safety buoy are all good ideas. According to the United States Masters Swimming, using fins is a great way to strengthen your legs and increase the speed of your strokes. If you want to listen to music while you work out, waterproof headphones are a terrific alternative. A safety buoy, which Koleber defines as "a bright, inflatable item meant to boost your visibility when swimming in a lake, ocean, or river," is another tool for enhancing swimmers' safety in murky water. To float, if necessary, it can also be utilized as a buoy. You may keep your strokes unaffected by dragging a safety buoy behind your feet, which is attached to your waist with a belt.
Arrange a Time to Swim
You need to swim regularly to experience any real health advantages. If you want to see progress, Gagne recommends aiming for three to four 30-minute sessions each week.
You might consider taking lessons with a learn-to-swim teacher if you haven't been in the water in a while. "The first step is to get in with a trainer a couple of times a week," explains Gagne.
Choose Your Swimming Location Carefully
To swim laps, you'll need a body of water. Indoor pools are also an option, as are outdoor pools if you live in a colder climate. Examine the options of gyms, community centers, and swimming lessons. The United States Masters Swimming Association is a nationwide club that hosts swimming events for adults of all skill levels. Membership and admission fees to swimming pools might differ greatly from one site to the next.
It's possible that you may undertake your exercises in natural bodies of water like lakes, rivers, and seas if the conditions are right. However, Koleber stresses the need of never venturing out into open water without a swimming companion. Use the CDC's online search engine to learn about the quality of water in natural bodies of water around the country.
In this lesson, you will learn the basics of swimming.
Tips for Maximizing Your Swimming Workout
You don't have to be a world-class swimmer to benefit from varying your swimming routine and increasing the difficulty of your workouts to see gains in your speed and endurance. Here are some things to try:
Keep going. Adding greater distance to your swimming routine is a simple method to challenge yourself. If you typically swim 1,000 yards, Buckingham suggests increasing that to 1,500.
Hurry up. Begin by timing how long it takes you to swim various distances. Then, each week, try to beat your previous time. Buckingham believes your speed increases in proportion to your fitness and swimming experience. Take it easy at first to prevent injuries from overexertion. Reduce the time spent at each station by 10 seconds. When completing intervals at a quicker rate, "you're still receiving the same amount of rest," as Buckingham puts it.
Stay up less. To increase the difficulty of your swim training, reduce the recovery time between intervals. Take only a 10-second break between 100-meter races, for instance, instead of two minutes. According to Buckingham, "you're not swimming the 100 yards much quicker, but you're giving yourself less rest," which is a significant challenge.
Toss in some obstructions. Hand paddles, aqua weights, and specialized "drag suits" that add weight to your body are all great ways to increase the difficulty of your swimming exercises. Buckingham, however, stresses that these precautions should only be used by experienced swimmers. Swimming, he believes, is difficult enough. In addition, the use of several of these items increases the risk of injury by placing additional stress on the joints.
If you're just starting out, Buckingham says to stick with a single variable change every workout. Too much of a boost in intensity might lead to fatigue and damage.
Advice on Swimming and Diet
How long or strenuous your swim will be, if you have a sensitive stomach, and when you're training are all considerations that should be taken into account when deciding what, when, and how much to eat before, during, and after swimming. "It may take some trial and error, but it's vital to fuel your body adequately before exercising to ensure that you have enough energy to sustain the activity," says Mary Wirtz, RDN, a board-certified sports dietitian located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a consultant for Mom Loves Best.
It's also important to plan how you'll replenish your energy stores before, during, and after your swim (to help with exercise recovery).
Following are some suggestions from Wirtz:
If You Eat One to Two Hours Before Swimming Consume a meal that is abundant in protein and carbohydrates but low in fat. Reducing dietary fat is important for most individuals since it slows digestion and can cause stomach bloating and pain, as explained by Wirtz. A few examples of healthy meals are a turkey sandwich on wheat bread, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread, a big fruit smoothie with granola and fresh fruit, tuna salad on whole-grain crackers, or cottage cheese with a side of whole-grain crackers and fruit.
30-60 Minutes Before Swimming If Eating A snack that is heavy in carbohydrates, has a modest amount of protein, and is low in fat is optimal. You may have a banana with some peanut butter, a small fruit smoothie, a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and some berries, some low-fat Greek yogurt with a sliced banana, or some dry fruit trail mix with some pretzels and almonds.
Over an Extended Period of Time (Greater Than 60–75 Minutes) Always have a fluid containing electrolytes and a quick-to-digest carbohydrate source (such as an energy gel, energy bits, or dried fruit) on hand for when you need to refuel throughout your exercise session. In most cases, a novice swimmer won't stay in the water long enough to warrant a mid-workout snack.
As soon as you can, preferably within the first 15-30 minutes after exiting the pool Take into account a carbohydrate-rich snack with some protein to speed up your recuperation. Some examples of healthy snacks are: a cup of chocolate milk with a piece of fruit, a protein shake made with fresh fruit, a protein bar with a piece of fruit, homemade trail mix with dried fruit, pretzels, pumpkin seeds, edamame, and Greek yogurt with granola. Note that you may not require a post-workout snack if you swim for less than 30 minutes or if you eat within an hour of finishing. Pay attention to how hungry you actually are.
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