There are so many great reasons why swimming is good for your body. Here are just a few:
1. It incorporates both cardio and strength training into your workout, but it’s not hard on your joints.
Unless you’re cheating and touching the bottom of the pool during your workout, you have to be moving at all times or you’ll sink. Plus, because water is so much denser than air, it provides your muscles with constant resistance. Not to mention, you could have a crazy intense workout in the pool and be right back in the water the next day – because swimming is such a low-impact workout. So, not only is it good for injured athletes or those with fragile joints, it’s even great for those who want to work hard without feeling like their body has been through the ringer the next day
2. It’s great for your lungs, so it makes you a better runner.
Because we can’t breathe underwater, our body learns to use oxygen more efficiently when we’re swimming – adapting to take in more fresh air with every breath, and expel more carbon dioxide with every exhalation. This can allow for lower resting heart rates, lower blood pressure, and endurance capacity, which can make it easier to train for longer running exercises that require a lot of endurance.
3. It eases stress and makes you biologically younger.
We know that exercise in general produces endorphins that make you feel happy and energized, but swimming can boost your mood even more. When you’re underwater, you can’t hear or see much of anything, so the sensory overload that we experience on a daily basis is reduced significantly. Plus, according to a study done by Indiana University, even all the way up to your 70th birthday, swimming can positively affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular performance, central nervous system health, cognitive functioning, muscle mass, and blood chemistry, making frequent swimmers biologically up to 20 years younger than their actual age.
