5 Ways Swimming Improves Your Life

What Is Swimming? 
Swimming is the self-propulsion of oneself through water or another liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs, the body, or both.

Do You Want To Swim More? 
Of course you do; Just 30 minutes of swimming is the equivalent to an hour’s land-based exercise.

But why should you be swimming for fitness? 
What does the pool have that pilates or the gym can’t give you?
Read on for five well-being benefits you’ll get by taking the plunge.

It’s good for your heart

While all strenuous exercises that raise your heart rate can claim the same, swimming has an edge over your morning jog; your infrequent breaths during lengths teach your body to use oxygen more efficiently, as there’s less of it being pumped round the body. A healthier heart and lungs mean a longer life, confirmed by University of South Carolina researchers who studied swimmers over the course of 30 years. Published in the journal Human Kinetics, the researchers concluded that swimmers were 50% more likely to live longer lives than runners, walkers and those who did no exercise at all.

It tones muscle and burns fat

Swimming is tough on your heart, but your cardio isn’t the only reason to dive in. Water is 800% denser than air,  so swimming acts as resistance training, developing and toning underworked muscles like your deltoids and arms while your tensed core keeps you horizontal. Add the endurance training aspect of frequent lengths, and it’s easy to see why swimming is among the best full-body workouts around.

It helps you recover

Whether you’re easing yourself back into training with sore muscles or you’ve got a bum joint and fear losing your edge, swimming is one of the best ways to stay on top of your game. Despite weight training being the undisputed queen of boosting bone strength, swimming ups bone density with no impact on the joint at all, according to the American Physiological Society. It’ll also get you back to training even fitter than before; the International Journal of Sports Medicine shows swimming boosts performance in race events after being used for active recovery.

It improves the rest of your cardio

If you want to improve your running technique, logic dictates you put on your trainers, but that’s no reason not to supplement the pavement with the pool. As well as constant kicking toning your glutes, quads and hamstrings, by only taking a few breaths per length you’re drastically increasing your body’s endurance capacity. You can isolate muscle groups with the help of training aids: kickboards to take your upper body out of the equation, relying solely on your legs, or pull-buoys to increase the drag, providing an upper-body workout. It all adds up to an improved workout elsewhere; the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport study showed that running economy increases by 6% after just 12 sessions of swimming. Essential if you find yourself short of breath after 5k.

It’s a mood-booster

All exercise contributes to the release of endorphins which are a guaranteed spirit-lifter, but swimming is especially cathartic. Whether it’s due to the regulated breathing or a change in environment, swimming is such a stellar stress-beater that the People’s Journal of Scientific Research claimed it was comparable to yoga in reduction of anxiety over 12 weeks.