The Health Benefits of Swimming

By Sara Butler

If you don’t want to run unless someone is chasing you or you’d rather take high school calculus all over again than get on a stationary bike at the gym, then have you thought about swimming? Swimming is a great exercise that doesn’t really feel like exercise at all. Here are just a few of the ways you can swim to better health!

It Builds Endurance

You may not want to run unless someone is chasing you, but you must do something to ensure you could run if being chased -- and swimming is it! It’s a great activity for building endurance without punishing the joints or leading to other issues associated with other endurance activities. Swimming helps to burn fat, calories, and improve the health of your heart without putting a ton of pressure on your joints and bones. Many fitness pros consider it equal to cycling or running as a way to maintain a healthy body weight and get in shape.

It May Help You Avoid Injury

In general, swimming is considered a physical activity that is low impact. That means it’s kinder to your joints and may help to prevent more significant injuries. Everyone knows at least once cycling enthusiast who has been involved in an intense accident -- swimming is a lot safer!

It Increases Flexibility

Both casual and serious athletes alike should always have flexibility on their mind. That’s because the more flexible your body, the less likely you are to become injured. Swimming helps to build flexibility by offering resistance to your body as you take your joints through a full range of motion.

It Builds Your Core

Your core muscles are incredibly important to your spinal health as well as your overall health and are also important for athletic pursuits. If you want to improve performance, then you need to get in better shape and part of getting in better shape is molding your core.

Swimming is a great core workout because it requires you to balance your entire body in the water. The truth is that a good pool session will be better for your core (and your back) than crunches ever were!

Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise out there. If your gym offers any kind of pool group exercise class, sign up and see what you think!