By Arthur A. Burley 
Experts recommend that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. Swimming is a great way to strengthen your cardiovascular system and whole body. Swimming burns nearly as many calories per hour as running without causing any damage to your bones or joints.
Swimming is the fourth most popular activity in the United States. Why is this? Swimming laps every day can bring you a lot of health benefits. Continue reading to find out more about swimming and how you can incorporate it into your daily routine.
Benefits
Your whole body will benefit
Swimming is a great way to exercise your whole body from head to toe. Swimming:
- Increases your heart rate without stressing the body
- tones muscles
- Strengthens
- builds endurance
To add variety to your swimming routine, there are many strokes that you can use.
- Breaststroke
- Backstroke
- Sidestroke
- Butterfly
- Freestyle
Each one focuses on a different muscle group, with the water providing gentle resistance. You’ll use most of the muscle groups in order to move through the water, no matter which stroke you choose.
Works your insides, too
Your cardiovascular system, as well as your muscles, are getting a workout. Swimming strengthens your heart and lungs. Researchers believe swimming is good for your health and may even lower your chance of dying. Swimming has about half of the death risk as inactive people. Other studies have also shown that swimming can help lower blood sugar and maintain a healthy weight.
It is suitable for people suffering from injuries, arthritis, or other conditions.
For people with disabilities, swimming can be an option to do safe exercises.
- arthritis
- injury
- Disability
- Other issues that can make high-impact exercises challenging
You may find that swimming can help you reduce pain and speed up your recovery after an injury. One study found that osteoarthritis patients experienced significant decreases in their joint stiffness and pain, as well as fewer physical limitations after participating in activities such as swimming and cycling.
It was even more surprising that there were very few to no differences in the benefits of the two groups. Swimming seems to offer many of the same benefits that are often prescribed for land exercises. These water exercises for people with arthritis are non-swimming.
Excellent choice for those with asthma
Swimming is a great activity if you have asthma. You can also do breathing exercises like holding your breath to increase your lung capacity and control your breathing.
A few studies have shown that swimming can increase your asthma risk due to the chemicals used in treating pools. If you have asthma, talk to your doctor about possible risks associated with swimming.
Beneficial for MS patients, too
Swimming may be beneficial for people with Multiple sclerosis (MS). Swimming helps to keep the limbs supported during exercise by making them buoyant. Water provides gentle resistance.
A 20-week swimming program was shown to significantly reduce pain in people with MS, according to one study. The participants also experienced improvements in symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and disability.