The Amazing (and Overlooked) Health Benefits of Swimming

Different strokes for different folks was all I could think of when assigned this week’s topic. One of the joys of swimming are the different strokes one can employ to break up the monotony and to work different muscles. Just think of the possibilities: freestyle (or front crawl), breast, back, elementary back, butterfly, side, and combat side (easier than it sounds) are all strokes that can be used during a typical workout. You can also use swimming aids to get more water resistance, such as hand and feet fins, and kickboards to isolate your leg muscles. So you see, there is variety in swimming.

Now, on to the sometimes-overlooked health benefits of swimming on a regular basis…

• It is both a cardio AND strength workout. Well, if you think about it, this is a forced cardio and strength workout due to the fact that if you do not keep moving, you sink. This forced movement increases your heart and breathing rates, thus making it a cardio workout and, the resistance provided by the water (800 times denser than air at sea level) make it a strength workout as well.
• Swimming is a very low impact activity. While swimming, the buoyancy of the water supports your body and there are no jarring impacts with the ground or other people. It also reduces the general wear and tear on the body associated with other high impact activities which makes it ideal for recovery days. All this also makes swimming a great activity for people with joint pain (osteoarthritis), recovering from an injury, dealing with obesity or suffering from disabilities such as MS.
• Swimming trains your lungs to work more efficiently. This process increases if you swim with your face submerged, breathing in-between strokes. While your face is in the water, oxygen is at a premium and your body learns to inhale more oxygen and expel more carbon dioxide upon exhalation. Eventually, this process improves the tidal volume of your lungs (the amount of air that moves in and out of your lungs while at rest) and helps to lower your resting heart rate and blood pressure.
• Swimming leads to improved performance out of the water. Any time your body learns to utilize oxygen in a more efficient way, this will improve performance across all aerobic disciplines. Runners and bikers have known this for years, which led to the development of the triathlon. You will also notice a difference simply doing normal activities in your life, like walking stairs and playing with the (grand)kids.
• Swimming works otherwise underused muscles. Most people have heard that swimming is an all-body workout, but this statement lacks specifics. Swimming works those muscles that you might have forgotten you have, such as your latissimus dorsi (back), trapezius major (neck and shoulder), and deltoids (shoulders). It also works your core muscles (abs and lower back) as well as your gluteus maximus (your butt, not a Roman emperor) and hamstrings. Therefore, do not be surprised if you are a bit sore after your first workout if you have been out of the pool for a while.
• Swimming reduces stress. And it reduces stress perhaps even more so than other endorphin-producing activities. It is thought this is because of the soothing effects of being in water and how swimming, especially face-in-the-water swimming, limits the sensory input one is exposed to. Generally, swimming elicits a sense of calm not unlike soaking in a warm tub.
• Swimming burns calories at a high rate, which, of course, can lead to weight loss. A 160-pound person swimming at a low to moderate pace will burn over 400 calories every hour and if one increases to a vigorous pace, over 700 calories every hour. For comparison, the same person walking 3.5 mph would only burn 300 calories per hour.
• One does not sweat while swimming. Some people have a thing about getting all sweaty while exercising and swimming eliminates that…fear? hang up? thing? While this might not be an overlooked health benefit, it does make swimming more appealing to some.

Now that you know the health benefits (and the fact that you don’t sweat) of swimming, what’s keeping you out of the water?