Swimming to a Longer Life

Swimming is widely acknowledged to be one of the best ways you can exercise, but why is that? It doesn’t pay, after all, to just blindly engage in a health routine; following someone else’s advice as far as your personal health and fitness is concerned can often lead to unsatisfying results, especially if you aren’t aware of what that exercise and diet regimen will do to your body. You are, after all, looking for specific results when it comes to your exercise routine, whether that means losing fat, gaining muscle, or developing some “muscle tone,” as it is called. So what can you expect from an exercise regimen that has you swimming regularly?

Why a Pool is Perfect for You

If you are older or your lifestyle – either due to work or just how you go about your day – puts a lot of stress on your body, then swimming offers a great way to get intense amounts of exercise without putting further stress on the joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, and other systems that often have undue amounts of stress put on them throughout your day. In fact, the pool provides an ideal environment in which to work stiff and aching muscles as well as sore joints, especially if you are suffering from arthritis or you are overweight.

Why is the pool perfect for someone whose body is “worn out” regularly, or for someone struggling with a condition that puts a lot of stress on their endurance and health? It is important to understand how the human body interacts with water. When your body is submerged in water, it becomes lighter; when the water comes up to your waist, your body is bearing only 50% of its actual weight, whereas when you are up to your chest in water, your body is bearing only 25 to 35% of your weight. Up to the neck, you are bearing only 10% of your own weight! That means that the typical pressure put on your body by, well, your body, is no longer there. Even while exercising your muscles by swimming, you are actually giving most of your body a rest while you’re in the pool!

Serious Exercise 

 

So swimming is easier on your body than running, lifting weights, or other exercise regimens that take place outside the pool, but is that all? Far from it, in fact!

Swimming is shown to vastly increase strength while also serving to reduce fat. While it is incredibly difficult to increase muscle mass while shedding fat, doing either is very easy to do in the pool, as the amount of intense resistance exercise you get in the pool is perfect for either goal! Resistance exercises are the best way to increase strength, while the constant activity that swimming demands of you is a great way to burn calories and work toward a goal of losing weight. By following a diet appropriate to your goals, swimming can become a great way to have the body, strength, and health that you most desire.

Speaking of health, swimming provides a number of other “side benefits” that will improve your health, fitness, and general quality of life. For example, swimming allows you to improve your heart’s health. As an aerobic exercise, swimming strengthens the heart by giving it a workout and helping it to become more efficient at pumping blood; that same aerobic exercise can combat your body’s inflammatory response, too, which is one element of heart disease. Lower cholesterol, a lower risk of diabetes, lower stress, higher spirits, and even improved brain function are all lovely side effects from regular swimming! In fact, researches at the University of South Carolina found that people who swim have a 50% lower death rate than non-swimmers!

Making Health & Fitness a Part of Your Life 

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So, the question is, how can you make this a regular part of your life? If you live in sunny California, it actually isn’t all that difficult to have a pool installed in your back yard – it’s not as if you’re lacking in space in this big, spacious, beautiful state! With your own pool right outside your back door, you can make sure that you get a good 15 to 30 minutes of swimming, at minimum, every day. This is the perfect exercise regimen for the professional with a busy life who still cares about his or her own personal health and happiness! A fitter, sexier body, along with a longer, healthier life, is just a pool away!