Swimming is an aquatic sport. It is both aerobic and anaerobic exercise and an activity that burns lots of calories, is easy on the joints, supports your weight, and builds muscular strength and endurance. It also improves cardiovascular fitness , cools you off and refreshes you in summer, and is one that you can do safely even in your old age. If you want to decrease the risk of injury and strain on your body in general, you should definitely consider swimming.
Here are 7 reasons why swimming is the best exercise:
1. Swim and trim
Swimming for an hour everyday can burn upto 500 calories. It exercises all the muscles of our body and does not strain any muscle as you swim at your own pace. Research says that the chances of injury due to swimming is low as compared to other forms of exercises including running, jogging, or weight lifting, making it a very safe form of exercise for obese individuals as well. Increase your metabolism (which means you burn more calories) •Decrease body fat •Build and maintain lean muscle tissue •And increase the body’s ability to use fat as fuel
2. Aerobic training
Swimming is one of the best forms of aerobic exercises as it involves the use of the large muscles of the hands and legs. It benefits the heart and keeps blood pressure normalized thereby preventing heart attacks. Swimming can be started at any age and is suggested to individuals with weight limitations.
3. Makes you flexible
Water is one the best mediums in which to increase flexibility. Water has long been known to aid in increasing flexibility due to the many factors such as buoyancy, water resistance, and water temperature. The smoothness of the movements helps lengthen and stretch muscles rather than make them bulky, giving one the appearance of being more toned, healthy and strong.
4. Swim everyday, keep Asthma at bay
Swimming being a aerobic exercise increases your lung capacity. Since water is denser than air, your lungs need to work that much harder to supply enough oxygen to your blood, This gives your lungs a good workout, making them stronger. It also helps in improved breathing, help relieving symptoms of asthma. Children should be introduced to swimming at a young age, to reduce the risk of asthma.
5. Diabetes Management
Exercise is a very important activity which should be necessarily a part of every diabetics life.Unlike conventional forms of exercises like jogging and running, swimming gives an extra edge to diabetics making it a fun and engaging exercise which can be done regularly. As it is an aerobic exercise it also improves insulin sensitivity, decreases the fat and helps control your blood glucose levels.People with type 2 diabetes also have an increased risk for heart disease. Therefore, maintaining their heart health and weight is an important factor for diabetes maintenance
6. It Improves Mental Health
Swimming is also great for the mental health and wellbeing. It can be a relaxing and meditative exercise, it reduces stress, the weightlessness of water can have a calming effect on the mind, The regular rhythm of the stroke, the immersion in the water and the concentration on the technique quickly feel like a relaxing meditation in the water.It helps provide a distraction from life to improve mindfulness. And, for many people, it can be readily accessible without high gym fees or lots of equipment.
7. It's Good for Pregnant Women
Swimming can be a great exercise for pregnant mothers and the baby as well – by strengthening their heart and making it more efficient at pumping blood, improving circulation to your whole body and boosts oxygen levels in your blood. As one of the safest forms of exercise for expectant moms. It's low impact and gentle on your body.
The water keeps you from overheating and prevents injury by supporting your joints and ligaments as you exercise, which is especially helpful for moms-to-be with ligament pain. The buoyancy of the water lets you enjoy a feeling of weightlessness despite the extra weight.
It also counteracts increased back strain from your expanding belly. Pregnancy can make your spine and shoulders round forward and tilt your pelvis out of alignment, but swimming gently strengthens the muscles and offsets this tendency. Immersing yourself in water alleviates swelling in your arms and legs, making it one of the most fun and safe forms of exercise.