Benefits of Swimming

If you like being in the water, here is some information that will have you smiling all the way to the pool: swimming is an excellent form of all-round exercise. When you exercise on land, there are many factors working against you. First, you have to battle the force of your full weight. Next, you place an awful lot of pressure on your bones and joints, particularly if you are overweight.

Then, there is also the feeling of exhaustion creeping up on you as sweat trickles from every pore and you feel sore muscles creaking in protest. Swimming eliminates all the distress of exercising.
Some of the benefits of swimming are:
Swimming is an excellent exercise for those people who want to lose weight. Studies suggest that people expend more than twice the same number of calories when they are swimming when compared to jogging or climbing stairs. At the same time, since the body's temperature does not rise during this exercise, exercisers are spared the sharp pangs of 'after-workout hunger'.

The benefits of swimming are available even to people suffering from medical problems. The buoyancy of water acts naturally to form a protective cocoon around the body, taking away any excess pressure on the bones, joints and muscles. There is no harsh pounding or jerks to jolt the system. That is why swimming is the recommended exercise for people recouping from an injury or having a history of medical problems.
Swimming is 100% safe. When performed correctly, the rhythmic motion of the arms and legs makes it impossible for you to sustain an injury while swimming. Swimming is an exercise that most people can enjoy, regardless of their weight, age and fitness level.
Swimming is a comfortable exercise. Most people hate working out in summer when the mercury climbs to unbearable levels. Even warm days can put an end to your workout plans. With swimming, you do not need to endure unbearable heat and discomfort. You can control the temperature of the water so that nothing interferes with your exercise routine.

The benefits of swimming makes itself apparent in all parts of your body. It exercises all the major muscle groups, even the lower abdomen and the hips! Since swimming requires you to fight the resistance of water, muscle development takes place. You also improve your strength and flexibility. Improving muscle mass and improving flexibility becomes all the more important as you age and become more prone to injuries and debilitating conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis. Swimming improves cardiovascular health, rejuvenates your circulation and leaves minimal residual soreness in the muscles. Controlled breathing improves the strength of the lung muscles too. Swimming also improves the efficiency of the heart. Contrast this with most land exercises that concentrate on one group of muscles or a single aspect of fitness.

The benefits of swimming extend to the mind too. People who swim regularly automatically get involved in meditation. This is because swimming is a dedicated activity that cannot be mixed with other distractions. When the mind is free to mediate, there is a qualitative improvement in life.
So, if you like water and you've been waiting for a reason to splash in its blue depths, you now have more than enough reasons to do it!

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