Swimming. What are the benefits?

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RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I missed the last thread, and I need to remind myself of the benefits of swimming.

I'm not sure if I can or should do the crawl yet, but there are benefits to other strokes and drills.
I'll start.
Swimming burns calories.
Swimming helps me with my range of motion, during some difficult shoulder issues.
It feels good. I like floating.
It's a way to build or maintain some upper body muscle when other attempts to maintain muscle by lifting weights are virtually non-existant.

Replies

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Those sound good.

    If a fast or inefficient swimmer needing a lot of oxygen you can really increase your lung capacity and speed of breathing by the vary nature of when you must breath.

    That will benefit anything else cardio you do.

    I think some gotcha's are in order too.

    Not weight bearing, so bad for bones if only thing done as exercise.
    http://www.swimmingscience.net/2010/07/bone-mineral-density-in-swimmers.html

    Can make you feel hungrier for level of effort done compared to other exercises, might make it hard adhering to diet.
    http://www.sportsci.org/news/compeat/fat.html

    Tough to estimate calorie burn on. Though can get pretty decent estimate.
    http://www.swimmingcalculator.com/swim_calories_calculator.php
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    it gets you wet.
  • shanitomorrow
    shanitomorrow Posts: 64 Member
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    Swimming helps build stamina - went from poodling about to swimming non-stop for an hour over a period of about four weeks.
    Good for any joint injury or problems - low impact.
    Calories range from 500-800 for an hour; I don't eat back all of mine. Good way to bank extra calories for the days when I'm eating out.

    I was swimming in an outside pool, it was a very pleasant, meditative way to spend an hour. Tried it at different times of day - sunrise, early morning, afternoon, sunset and by moonlight.

    Other benefit - different kind of workout for your body, helps to wake it up!

    Downside - dragging wet towels around, getting them dry in limited space; chlorine in the water.
  • Ohhim
    Ohhim Posts: 1,142 Member
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    If you try the open water variety in the ocean, you'll definitely reduce your use of salt in recipes going forward, and gain a whole new appreciation for jellyfish ;)
  • Luke_Luke_Luke
    Luke_Luke_Luke Posts: 41
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    - low impact
    - helps you not drown
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    Those sound good.

    If a fast or inefficient swimmer needing a lot of oxygen you can really increase your lung capacity and speed of breathing by the vary nature of when you must breath.

    That will benefit anything else cardio you do.

    I think some gotcha's are in order too.

    Not weight bearing, so bad for bones if only thing done as exercise.
    http://www.swimmingscience.net/2010/07/bone-mineral-density-in-swimmers.html

    Can make you feel hungrier for level of effort done compared to other exercises, might make it hard adhering to diet.
    http://www.sportsci.org/news/compeat/fat.html

    Tough to estimate calorie burn on. Though can get pretty decent estimate.
    http://www.swimmingcalculator.com/swim_calories_calculator.php

    Thanks for the calculator! Now I know why my kids are always so hungry! 1700 calories just from the swim portion of their practice, plus dry land, plus double practice days... ouch!
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
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    I missed the last thread, and I need to remind myself of the benefits of swimming.

    I'm not sure if I can or should do the crawl yet, but there are benefits to other strokes and drills.
    I'll start.
    Swimming burns calories.
    Swimming helps me with my range of motion, during some difficult shoulder issues.
    It feels good. I like floating.
    It's a way to build or maintain some upper body muscle when other attempts to maintain muscle by lifting weights are virtually non-existant.

    I took swimming lessons about three years ago and learned the forward crawl. My instructor was amazing, we started very slowly? And I was drilled to death before I even attempted proper upper body form. The biggest challenge was with breathing, and once I got that part, it was all easier. I still hadn't reached the point where I didn't think about it any more though.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    I'd ask you this, do you enjoy it? If you enjoy it get out there and swim, you'll burn calories and it'll make you a stronger swimmer in the long term.

    Personally, I'm ok with swimming but I'd rather lift heavy weights and do my cardio on the elliptical so that I can watch netflix. I will throw in a swim once in a while though, I want to get better at it.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I missed the last thread, and I need to remind myself of the benefits of swimming.

    You won't drown if you know how to swim and end up in the water.

    I've been told not drowning is good.
  • alathIN
    alathIN Posts: 142 Member
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    Can make you feel hungrier for level of effort done compared to other exercises, might make it hard adhering to diet.
    http://www.sportsci.org/news/compeat/fat.html

    Some folks attribute this to the cooling effect of the water - and I do certainly perceive it more after swimming in colder water.
    But there's an easy antidote - spend 10 minutes in the hot tub or sauna after every swim.
    Munchies go away like magic.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    It's a full body workout and you don't have to stop exercising to pee. I think it's the only sport with this option.
  • alathIN
    alathIN Posts: 142 Member
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    I think any exercise you enjoy can be a good thing, and I love to swim.
    Came to it relatively late in life - didn't do much swimming at all until I was 43.

    One advantage I haven't seen mentioned yet: US Masters Swimming is a great organization. They are very beginner-friendly. They have lots of swim clubs just about everywhere. It's great to have a group of people you swim with, and coaches who create different kinds of workouts and can help you improve your technique. Most of the groups will have a mix of members from very fast/accomplished swimmers, medium/medium, and slow/newbie. There is an extra push of motivation when you know you have to make the next clock interval, or you're trying to keep up with someone who's just a touch faster than you are (or trying to stay ahead of someone who has the benefit of your draft!).

    If I had to move to a new town, one of the first things I'd do would be go to the USMS website and check out the swim groups in the area.

    Another fun thing about a USMS group is going to meets with your buddies. It is resulted by age group and you swim with people who have similar seed times, so it is a humiliation-free venue. It is a lot of fun to go out and cheer on the people you swim with. I am always inspired by watching the older age groupers. Last meet I went to, there was an 89 year old guy who swam in several events including the individual medley. Swimming is literally a sport you can continue doing all your life. How many sports can you name where people in their 70's, 80's, and even 90's can get out and compete?

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