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4 Great Benefits Of Taking Up Swimming

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Doctors are always telling us to take care of ourselves and to try to lose some of that excess weight that we have been carrying around. There are a number of ways to lose weight effectively and keep it off, but one of the tried and tested methods is swimming. It is an entire workout for your whole body and it is of great benefit to your cardiovascular system. It is also low impact so it is perfect for those of us who have weak knees or are a little older. There are so many benefits to taking up swimming as a hobby or as a means to lose those extra pounds and here are some of them.

  1. It Covers All The Bases – Swimming does insure that your whole body from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, gets a great workout. It increases your heart rate without any undue stress to the rest of your body, it tones all your muscles, it builds body strength and it increases your endurance. There are so many strokes that can be utilised like the breaststroke, the backstroke, sidestroke, butterfly and freestyle and each of these puts different emphasis on different muscle groups and the water in your pool provides the resistance. Even in the Winter months, you can get swimming pool heating, so that you can keep up with your exercise routine.
  2. It Sorts Out Your Insides As Well – While the outside of your body is getting what it needs, the inside is also. This type of exercise is great for your cardiovascular system and so it makes your lungs and heart really strong. It also may help in reducing your blood sugar levels and also your blood pressure and it is great for people who have injuries and arthritis. It assists with joint pain and provides the same workout as something you would do on land but with less stress on the joints.
  3. Burns Calories – Swimming is a great way to burn off those calories and compared to other sports, it burns a lot more. Swimming can burn between 400 and 700 calories an hour and if you compare that to brisk walking there really is no comparison. Walking might only burn off 300 calories for the same amount of time exercising and that is also having an impact on your joints like your knees.
  4. Better Sleep Patterns – Regular aerobic exercise like swimming helps you to sleep better. The beauty about the swimming pool is that it offers access to those who are not able to do the other cardio exercises like cycling and the elliptical. Most pools can be adapted to let less abled people enter using wheelchair lifts and gradual inclines where the person can be pushed into the pool in their wheelchair. It is also a great way to relive stress in your everyday life and everyone who comes out of a pool is always smiling.

Swimming is a great way to get fit and to lose those pounds that you keep promising yourself that you are going to burn off. All it takes is a swimming costume and you are ready to swim.