Swimming provides what no other aerobic exercise can do - the ability to strengthen the body without heavy stress on the skeletal system. When the human body is immersed in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed in water up to the waist, your body needs to hold only 50% of its weight, when immersed in the chest - only 25-35%, on the neck - 10%, the rest of the weight is held by water. It is these conditions that provide the ideal environment for overstressed muscles or aching joints, especially if you swim with excess weight or arthritis.
Who, when and why is it useful to swim?
Swimming is recommended for people with arthritis to stretch their muscles, strengthen them, and get the most out of aerobic exercise. It is hydrotherapy that is considered one of the best aspects of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
- Swimming = tone and strength of muscles and bones
When running, a person "pushes" his body through the air, while the swimmer must move in water, the density of which is about 12 times higher than the density of air. This means that every swimmer's move is a resistance exercise, which is the best way to maintain muscle strength and tone.
Swimming is also a great way to strengthen bones, especially for postmenopausal women.
- Swimming = excellent flexibility
Unlike machines, which tend to train a specific muscle group, swimming moves all parts of the body, making the joints and ligaments flexible:
- wide arm movements;
- hips engagement;
- head movements;
- spinal mobility;
- "stretching" of the body when moving forward.
It is the above body movements that explain why swimming is about stretching the whole body from head to toe.
- Swimming = healthy heart
In addition to toning the "visible" muscles, such as the chest, triceps and quadriceps, swimming exercises strengthen the most important muscle in the body - the heart. Being an aerobic exercise, swimming not only strengthens the heart, but also increases its efficiency in terms of pumping blood, which improves blood flow to all parts of the body.
The American Heart Association recommends swimming for 30 minutes a day. This helps to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 30-40% (in women). Moreover, such exercises help to reduce blood pressure.
- Swimming = excellent figure
Swimming is recognized as one of the most effective fat burning exercises that helps to control weight. The rate of calorie burning in people who swim varies depending on the intensity of water exercise and individual physiology - from 60 to 150 calories in 10 minutes!
- Swimming = healthy respiratory system
Unlike the gym, where the air is often too dry, swimming allows you to exercise in a humid environment, which is very beneficial for asthma patients. However, swimming is not just for asthmatics. Thanks to swimming, the volume of the lungs increases, and the swimmer himself learns to breathe at the right pace.
- Swimming = lower cholesterol
High cholesterol levels in the blood often endanger human health. Therefore, monitoring the amount of "good" and "bad" cholesterol (high and low density lipoprotein, respectively) is very important for each person. And swimming is a great way to keep that balance within normal limits.
Moreover, aerobic exercise, including swimming, helps keep the endothelium in good condition. What is an endothelium? This is the thin layer of cells that line your arteries that loses its flexibility with age. Aerobic exercise (because it causes the vessels to contract and expand) helps the endothelium to "stay in shape".
- Swimming = good mood and healthy brain
Endorphins, which we know as the chemicals that make you feel happy, are one of the nicest bonuses of swimming. In addition to the "natural high", swimming, like yoga, allows you to enjoy moments of relaxation, which are the result of constant contraction and relaxation of the muscle, as well as rhythmic breathing.
Swimming is beneficial because it triggers a process called hippocampal neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons in the brain.
- Swim = live longer
If the previous reasons didn't convince you to start swimming, here are the results of a 32-year study (on 40,547 men aged 20 to 90): the risk of premature death in swimmers reduced by as much as 50% compared to runners or physically inactive people.
What diseases are good for swimming?
- asthma;
- diseases of the joints;
- curvature of the spine;
- obesity;
- diabetes;
- hernia of the spine;
- osteochondrosis;
- varicose veins;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- overweight.
In addition, swimming is an excellent preventive measure that helps prevent the development of diseases of the joints, bones, posture disorders, diabetes, heart disease and other ailments and disorders in the body. However, estet-portal.com warns: in the presence of chronic diseases, a preliminary consultation with a doctor is required!
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