Swimming is the fourth most popular activity in the United States. Many people go swimming in their rest time. Maybe you will think because swimming can bring cool to people in summer. But not only in summer, but in other seasons, many people go swimming. So why do many people like swimming? You can gain many from swimming laps regularly, physically or mentally. Read on to learn about the benefits of swimming.
Part 1: Benefits of Swimming
Here are some health benefits of swimming:
- Builds Strength and Endurance
Swimming helps us to build muscle and strength. Swimming is one of the best full-body workouts. It requires the coordination of muscles in all parts of the body, so the muscles of the whole body can be exercised.
With regular swimming, you'll find that you can hold your breath longer, swim faster, and swim farther. So swimming can also help us to build our endurance.
- Builds Cardiovascular Strength
Cardiovascular is related to the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Swimming can make your heart and lungs strong.
When swimming, all organs are involved in this, which consumes more energy and accelerates blood circulation to supply more nutrients to the moving organs. The increased blood velocity will increase the load on the heart, making it beat faster and contract stronger and stronger, increasing the thickness of the blood vessel wall and increasing the elasticity and blood volume per stroke. It is beneficial for the prevention and treatment of diseases in the cardiovascular system.
When swimming, the pressure on the chest is relatively large, and when the cold water stimulates the muscles to tighten, people will find it difficult to breathe. Therefore, swimming can force people to breathe hard and increase the depth of breathing, so that the amount of oxygen inhaled can meet the needs of the body. It is also beneficial to people's lung function exercise and enhances lung capacity.
- Less Burden on Joints
Compared with other sports like running, swimming has less burden on joints. It reduces the impact of the ground on the bones, reduces the probability of aging of the bones, and makes the bones and joints less prone to deformation. And the buoyancy of the water reduces the stress on the weight-bearing joints when swimming.
- Lowers Stress and Depression
Swimming boosts the body's production of a neurotransmitter called "dopamine," a pleasure chemical associated with learning and feelings of pleasure. At the same time, swimming can also calm people down, remove external distractions, and become more focused, which naturally reduces people's levels of tension and depression.
Also, swimming can help with sleep and improve quality of life because it can help raise our heart rate without stressing our body.
- Help Lose Weight
Many people choose to lose weight by swimming. Experiments have shown that the calories consumed by a person running in a standard swimming pool for 20 minutes are equivalent to 1 hour on land at the same speed. That means swimming burns more calories than other sports in the same amount of time.
Part 2: Precautions
- What to Bring?
- Swimming Gear
It’s essential to bring swimming gear like swim goggles, a swimsuit, and waterproof shoes.
- Water
We need to bring a bottle of water to replenish water in time to prevent dehydration after swimming.
- A Set of Clean Clothes
We should prepare a set of clean clothes to wear after swimming. In addition, we can bring a wearable blanket to wear when coming out of the pool to prevent colds.
- Safety
- Do Not Swim Alone
Accidents happen in an instant, remember don’t swim alone. Beginners should swim with someone who can swim so that they can get help in the event of an unexpected situation.
- Do Not Swim on an Empty or Full Stomach
Do not swim on an empty stomach to prevent accidents caused by physical exhaustion.
Swimming on a full stomach can affect the digestive system and may cause symptoms such as stomach cramps and even vomiting.
- Do Not Swim after Strenuous Exercise
Swimming directly after strenuous exercise will increase the burden on the heart, and a sharp drop in body temperature can easily cause a cold.
Conclusion
I believe you fully know about the swimming benefits for the body after reading this blog. Now, be well prepared and start your swimming journey!
