Losing Weight and Other Benefits of a Swimming Workout

You want to lose some weight, but you don’t like the gym because it gives you muscle and joint pain and you find gym exercises too difficult and not at all pleasant. Why not try the pool? If you enjoy water, swimming might just be the perfect solution for you.

Here’s how to make the best out of your pool time and some other important benefits of swimming.

Health Benefits

Choosing swimming instead of jogging or going to the gym isn’t an illogical decision at all. Swimming activates muscles in your whole body, but it’s a low-impact exercise and it doesn’t put any unwanted pressure on your joints and bones. This makes swimming a good choice of exercise for people with certain health issues, such as arthritis, various injuries and even multiple sclerosis. It’s also an excellent option for people with asthma due to the humidity of indoor pools. Other than working out your entire body, swimming burns calories, and builds up your strength and flexibility. It improves the function of your cardiovascular system, strengthens your heart and lungs and reduces the risk of a stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Furthermore, it boosts your mood, relieves you of some stress and helps you sleep better.

How To Get Ready

First of all, you need to find a swimming pool in your vicinity. This should be an easy job, since all the information can usually be found online. Find out if the pool uses chlorine or salt water, since chlorine might not be your first choice if you have asthma. If you have several choices, you might want to visit them all and see which one you like best. If you’re inexperienced, make sure that the depth of the pool suits you and that there are lifeguards present. Swimming pools usually have separate times for men, women and children, so ask when the best time would be for you to use it. It would be great if you could use the pool for an hour three or four times a week. As far as any equipment is concerned, you should get some cute and comfortable swimwear, some goggles and earplugs, a swimming cap and a bottle of water.

How To Get Started

The way you start depends on your fitness level and your swimming skills. If you’re a beginner, you might get tired after a few laps, but don’t let that discourage you. Start with short intervals. Swim for half a minute and then rest for half a minute. With time, increase your swimming time and decrease your resting time, until you hit your goal, for example 20 laps without stopping. Then you can work on the intensity and speed. Another important thing is the type of stroke you choose, since different strokes focus on different muscle groups. You can change strokes during each of your swimming sessions, which should also make it more fun for you. And even if you can’t swim at all, you can get adult swimming lessons at most pools, so ask about any special offers they might have. Finally, don’t forget to stretch and warm up before you enter the pool, since you want your muscles to be as flexible as possible for your pool workout.

Weight Loss

The best combination for losing weight is a healthy diet with a reduced calorie intake and physical exercise, in this case swimming. You should be particularly careful not to indulge yourself in high-calorie meals after your workout, but have some fresh vegetables or fruit instead. Your swimming session should increase your heart rate, which means you’re burning calories. Swimming can burn about 500 calories per hour, and the number rises with the weight of the person swimming. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn swimming. For the best effect, opt for the butterfly stroke or the front crawl, since they burn the most calories.

Becoming a regular swimmer will allow you to lose weight and improve your overall health. Start slowly and then work towards increasing your endurance and finding the perfect stroke combination for your workout. Your body and mind will be grateful.

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in business and marketing related topics.