Top Health Benefits of Swimming
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.
Thanks for sharing this. I knew swimming was an excellent low impact aerobic exercise, but I didn’t know about some of these other benefits.
This. All of this is why I love to swim. It’s a great workout, and it always makes my days better.
This is all so true! I love swimming and so do my kids. We have made it a priority to make sure all of them can swim well, we do so many activities in summer around water. When I was pregnant I do water aerobics and loved it!
My kids would spend every day in the pool if we could!
They are such water babies but I wasn’t aware of all the health benefits.
I am going to have to dig out my suit and hit the pool.
I love swimming! I was on the swim team in high school and enjoy the freedom it gives you with exercise, without the pain! My kids are little fish too!
I love swimming! I was on the swim team in high school and enjoy the freedom it gives you with exercise, without the pain! My kids are little fish too!
So many great health benefits. I’ve always meant to learn to swim…
Tons of benefits to swimming! I use to do it all the time when I went to the gym.
I was never a strong swimmer, but I still loved doing it. My son is such a water baby and will go swimming even in the rain. Crazy boy!
These are all the reasons why I love to swim. I wish I could swim every day, though.
I love reading this. Great to know that were so healthy benefits you can gain in swimming.
My kids need to do swimming frequently to cure their asthma and I as well to reduce my stress. This is very informative. Thanks!
Awesome! Swimming is probably my most favorite physical activity! My daughter loves it, as well.
I love that there are so many great benefits. Swimming can be a lot of fun too. We love to go swimming as a family.
I LOVE swimming! It’s so much fun and there really are so many health benefits! It’s just an overall great activity. Love this so much!
Swimming really is great! My husband suffers from lower back pain, I should tell him to take up swimming.
I put it on my bucket list to learn to swim. I don’t know how and I really want to learn. These are some great reasons why. ^yolonda
I love swimming with my son. Health benefits are just a plus!
What surprises me the most is the bone strength. Never heard of that. Thanks for this very informative post.
These are an awesome reason that’s why I love swimming.
Glad both of my kids love swimming, it is really beneficial to our health. I just wish that we have our own swimming pool so we could swim anytime we want to.
My whole family loves swimming. It’s awesome exercise and great for our health too. We love it!
I took swimming lessons a couple of times when I was a child, but they never stuck with me. Therefore, I still don’t know how to swim. 🙁
I love, love, love swimming as an exercise. You don’t even realize you are exercising. Water aerobics are great too. I have a lot of joint issues so water aerobics really helps with that.
Swimming is so good for your body! My boys have an auto-immune illness and this is the best thing they can do for their bodies.
Swimming is one of my favorites!!!!! I love that it’s awesome for you since I love it so much!
I love all these reason why I love to swim, Thanks for the info
We just got a membership at the Y for exactly the reason that they have a pool. It is an amazing thing.