What makes swimming so great is that it is “the purest exercise of health.” It has numerous benefits on your body, ranging from muscle development and bone strength to helping you achieve cardiovascular excellence and improving your overall quality of life. To better understand why swimming is such a fantastic exercise here are the top health benefits of swimming and why it is such a great source of physical wellness.

Swimming Improves the Cardiovascular System

Among all exercise types, swimming has the most benefit to the cardiovascular system. By giving a full body workout, it increases blood flow and stress on your heart, which, over time, strengthens heart muscles and reduces cholesterol. In doing so, you minimize your risk of heart disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.

Swimming Increases Lung Capacity and Improves Exercise-Induced Asthma

Swimming is by far the most beneficial exercise to the respiratory system of your body. Every time you make a deep stroke and gasp for air during a swim, you are unknowingly increasing your lung capacity. Additionally, when you swim, you are exercising surrounded by moist air, which benefits people who have asthma, whose symptoms might be triggered by seasonal pollen or the dampness of the gym.

Swimming Improves Flexibility and Bone Strength

Another key component of your body’s anatomy which can benefit from swimming are your bones. Even though it is not as effective as running when it comes to increasing bone mineral density, a study on bone mass found that swimming does benefit bone structure. Also, swimming strokes also stretch out your entire body, improving your flexibility, but more importantly strengthening joints and cartilage.

Swimming Improves Posture and Reduces Back Pain

Swimming has been known to help people suffering from lower back and spinal pain. As you enter the water, your entire back takes a natural straight position, improving your posture and reducing back tension. Additionally, you also build your lower back and shoulder muscles, which helps you keep that posture out of the water. People who spend countless hours tied to a desk should use swimming as a way to create a counter-balance and help their impending back problems.

Swimming Reduces Stress and the Chance of Depression

When it comes to reducing stress and anxiety, and boosting your brain’s mood, exercise can be one of the key components of the solution. As part of anxiety treatment plans, swimming can counter psychological disorders induced by anxiety, like depression and insomnia. By increasing dopamine levels in the brain, all individuals get a sense of self-satisfaction and accomplishment. A swim in a wide-open plunge pool also relaxes the body and mind. The consistent flow of water gives a powerful surge of energy, reduce daily stress and give a sense of overall wellbeing.

Swimming Helps You Burn Calories and Lose Weight

As one of the best natural ways to improve health, Swimming is also an excellent way to burn calories and lose weight. During any exercise, the body boosts your metabolic system causing you to burn through more energy. As this rate increases, you naturally start burning your energy reserves stored in your body fat. In combination with a healthy diet, you can achieve your goal of a healthy weight, and at the same time improve overall physical health.

Swimming Improves Muscle Tone and Development

Many people who lose weight rapidly have a problem with the tone of their body. Swimming can help shape your body’s muscular definition, as it replaces fat with muscle mass. While you can use some swim workouts that target your belly, a regular half-hour of basic swimming equally targets chest, arm, back, and leg muscles, tightening skin and improving muscle tone. You might not lose too much weight, but you will look great with the weight you have lost.

Dive into a pool of health and welfare for your body, by taking up swimming as your primary way of exercise. Remember to turn it into a routine, and, after just a couple of sessions, you feel the positive effect on your well-being and a new vigor for life.

Did you know that swimming had amazing health benefits? Which of these top health benefits of swimming surprised you the most?