Benefits of Swimming
10 major benefits of swimming that’ll convince you to take it up in 2023
Jennifer Aniston swears by it.
There are a whole host of benefits that swimming gives off, but chances are it’s probably not as regular a part of your workout routine as, say, yoga, weightlifting, running or cycling. As we always say, the workout you enjoy is the one you should do. But if it’s something you’ve been thinking of trying then you should probably read on.
Health benefits of swimming
Regular pool attendance could make you smarter, improve your mental health and enhance your lung capacity and it doesn’t stop there. According to NHS, adding a weekly swim workout to your training raceme can reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, strokes or type 2 diabetes.
You can also expect a full-body toning and improved stamina, which translates nicely into improved overall fitness levels and capabilities. Cross-training (exercise in different ways) is a great way to overall improve your fitness.
So, here it is, what you’ve been waiting for:
10 benefits of swimming regularly
1. Improves your mental health
Swimming is one of the few sports that demands you to leave the outside world, outside. You physically can’t look at social media in the pool, well you can, but it wouldn’t be very productive. So one of the biggest benefits of swimming is that it’s great for giving the mind time to power down from the ‘noise’.
Research has found that hitting the pool was comparable to Yoga in terms of reducing anxiety and stress over a 12-week period.
2. Increases your fitness and muscle mass
NHS guidelines suggest that in order to stay healthy, anyone aged 19-64 should be doing at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. This can include anything from running and walking to a HIIT circuit at home.
If you choose to do particularly vigorous activity, such as fast swimming, you can slash this to 75 minutes – which is only just over an hour each day!
Swimming for fitness is easy to do, you simply speed up. Plus, another benefit of swimming is that it can help build muscle too.
3. It’s lower impact than other forms of cardio
Sore knees and ankles a common complaint for you? Well, you’re not alone there!
High-intensity workouts can exacerbate your aching joints by swapping a few sessions for some pool laps could be exactly what your body was looking for.
As water naturally holds you up, it can reduce your moving body weight by up to 90%, this reduces the stresses and impact on your joints, muscles and bones by the same 90%.
4. Swimming could help you drift off more quickly
Aerobic exercise (e.g. any cardio activity) has been linked to better sleep quality and improved sleep duration, making for another benefit of swimming. Music to our sleepy ears.
According to one study, getting sweaty is the passport to a good night's kip – something we absolutely love to hear.
5. It’s generally a pregnancy-free exercise
Firstly, all pregnancies are different – make sure you check with your GP about what's what before you start any exercise regime.
That said, generally speaking, one of the major benefits of swimming is that it's a pregnancy-safe form of exercise. The water supports you and bump and can help to reduce swelling in the ankles and feet.
And that's not all. Research has found that pregnant women who swim during their early to mid-pregnancy can have a lower risk of preterm labour and congenital defects.
6. There’s more than one way to do it
Unlike running or where there is little variety, there are various strokes you can use to keep your swimming workout fresh, including:
breaststroke
backstroke
sidestroke
front crawl
butterfly
Changing up your stroke will often change the muscles worked, plus, certain strokes such as front crawl lend themselves to faster cardio workouts, while breaststroke can be done as a LISS (low-intensity steady state) workout.
7. It can reduce stress
Exercise is a well-known mood booster, but did you know that another benefit of swimming is that it can help mitigate the effects of stress chemically, too?
When you exercise, your body naturally reduces stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline whilst simultaneously creating feel-good endorphins – nature's mood lifters.
If you're stuck between work and a stressed place, carve out some time to move, in the pool or otherwise.
8. It can help individuals with mobility issues
A lot of take movement for granted. However, at some point you might suffer from a niggly injury or reduced mobility and at these times, make a splash.
As the majority of your body is in constant use, when in the pool you can build cardio and muscle strength without adding extra stress or impact to existing problems. That said, do check in with an expert if you have an injury.
9. Swimming can help women with MS
As the water makes your limbs buoyant, thus helping to support them during exercise, swimming can be a beneficial workout for anyone suffering from MS. But, how?
A Research study looked at pain levels of MS sufferers in those who swam and those who didn't. Over a 20-week swimming program those who did felt less pain.
10. Swimming can make you smarter
The Griffith Institute for Educational Research, a university in Australia, studied 7000 children under the age of five to see if swimming could affect their intelligence levels. The research showed that children swimming at an early age were mastering skills earlier than normal.
The children who swam regularly had superior motor skills and were more adept at mastering skills like language and mathematics when compared to children who didn't swim – sign us up!
