When I was a kid, I spent most of my time in the water during the summer. It was fun to swim and you didn’t even realize you were getting exercise. As you get older, returning to the water activities of your childhood is both healthy, enjoyable and a great way to achieve weight loss.
What is it about swimming? It just feels good to float, weightless. The rules of gravity on your body don’t apply anymore.
Unlike jogging, water exercises are easy on the joints. The low impact nature of swimming means that problems like joint pain and arthritis will not be aggravated. It feels effortless while you’re doing it but later you realize that you have had a good work out.
Unlike jogging, doing water exercises promotes meeting people who enjoy the things you enjoy. It makes it so much easier to stick with an exercise plan when you are with a group of people who share your interests.
Water activities improve cardiovascular functioning. Aerobic activity improves heart health by lowering blood pressure, losing weight and increasing your metabolism. The same benefits you get from running or floor exercises can be found with water exercise, but in a low impact, non-jarring way.
You may feel that water exercises won’t give you the benefits of strength training like lifting weights. However, there are dumbbells made for the pool that feel light on land but heavy in the water. The added resistance comes from the effort needed to move the dumbbells through water instead of air. Now you’re getting strength training without the joint stress of lifting weights.
As we get older, it’s so important to counteract muscle loss and to keep our strength up. Training for strength also means improved balance, flexibility and mobility.
No dumbbells, no kick-board, no problem. You don’t always need any equipment or a planned set of exercises when you get in the pool. Swimming laps is great for building up all of your muscles. Core muscles in your stomach and back as well as your arms, shoulders and legs all get a great workout and as you increase the length of your workouts you’ll find your endurance improving rapidly.
One of the not so obvious benefits of any form of exercise is the improvement to your mental state. When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins that improve your mood and your positive outlook. More oxygen getting to your brain and increased blood flow means you’re thinking is sharper.
Are you a busy adult looking for an enjoyable exercise that’s also low-impact? Remember how much fun you had swimming as a kid? Then, head down to the swimming pool and get back to a fitness program that will be fun and will improve your overall health at the same time.
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