swimming as exercise

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twinkle2356
twinkle2356 Posts: 28 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Is swimming just as effective as gym exercise?

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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,994 Member
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    Just effective as what kind of gym exercise, for what purpose?

    It's cardio, and it's a whole body exercise (as opposed to running, which mainly relies on your lower body). It's not going to be as effective for maintaining bone health as most forms of cardio on land, where you have to support your body weight. I think for most people it tends to be relatively high-calorie-burning, but it's obviously going to depend on your fitness and intensity.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I swim and do acquagym plus a lot of other things. Will swimming take the place of the gym? No. However, I'd suggest doing both. There are advantages to one over the other.

    It is important to do exercise that you enjoy.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    twinkle2356 wrote: »
    Is swimming just as effective as gym exercise?

    Effective in what way? Different exercises have different effects on fitness. Swimming is a great total body cardiovascular exercise that is low impact. I'm not sure what you mean by gym exercises...there are numerous different things one can do in the gym. I namely think of the gym as a place to lift weights or otherwise perform resistance training...but even then, different lifting protocols are going to have a different effect.

    As a matter of general overall fitness, you would want to do a combination of regular cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. Most health bodies recommend 150 minutes of light to moderate cardiovascular exercise weekly and 2x per week of full body resistance training for general health and well being and basic fitness functionality. Your personal preferences and goals would dictate how you go about that and whether you do more or not.

    My primary cardiovascular exercise is cycling and/or mountain biking and some hiking. The MTB and hiking are more active recreation and reserved for the weekends when I have the time to be out there for at least a couple of hours. During the week I typically either road ride or ride on my indoor trainer a couple times per week, do a spin class once per week, lift weights 2x per week, run 1 mile 2x per week (after lifting) and throw in a swim maybe once every 2-3 weeks to do something different. Mixing up a few different things helps build more well rounded fitness than specialization...though specialization is often necessary if your goals are to perform certain events. Specialization in one thing can also result in some overuse issues and imbalances...so do some swimming, do some biking, do some running, do some resistance training.

  • DMVButterfly
    DMVButterfly Posts: 169 Member
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    i swim 3 -5 times per week. use amazon to look up pool exercise equipment. my pool has different free weights to use for the water. do jump squats, lunges, push ups, lateral and other leg raises, bicep curls, dips, lateral raises, etc using pool weights. there is also a device one can use to suspend oneself in the water for jogging. also, YouTube pool exercises, intense pool exercises, advanced pool exercises for tips. i can get a great burn in the pool while not putting additional stress on my joints. the pool i use is also heated so i can swim year round.
  • DMVButterfly
    DMVButterfly Posts: 169 Member
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    also, i use different strokes to target specific muscles groups/get a better burn. side stroke, butterfly, back stroke, freestyle ---
  • twinkle2356
    twinkle2356 Posts: 28 Member
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    yes, i was actually wondering about the bone thing since most of your body floats. Kinda like going into Outerspace. lol. I dance to music in the water, do some yoga moves and stretches. My balance has gotten a lot better.

    I think for the most part swimming is a resistance activity, so I do swim faster to get my heartrate up. I used to go to the gym, but our circumstances right now won't allow the time so swimming it is. I actually feel better and a little revived when i get out of the pool.

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Depends a lot on you. Me— I will gladly swim and play in the pool 1-2 hours most days forever. I join the gym, go 3 or 4 times, lose interest. Swimming is a whole lot healthier in every way for me.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,615 Member
    edited April 2022
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    I’ve started doing aquafit several times a week to support my husband.

    I was talking with an older lady yesterday who swims before class. She’s lost over 80 through laps and aquafit.

    She said, however, that she feels like she gets more out of aquafit than swimming, which surprised her. .

    I was thinking maybe getting her heart and activity rate up swimming and then immediately joining the aquafit class and thus keeping it up is a powerful combination for her.

    I do get a surprisingly good burn during aquafit, like three times what I get in a Pilates class. Different purposes, but interesting. You can’t stand around and gossip in the water, though. There’s a group that goes “at it” and another who seem to think they’re losing weight standing in water and yacking.

    You could start out doing the one or other and add the other. You don’t want to throw yourself at a new exercise. That’s how people burn out and quit quickly.

    I do aquafit, power yoga, Pilates, and I average about 18,000 steps a day I also lift three or four days a week. Personally, I feel like a broad spectrum of activity is great, but any movement that gets your butt off the couch is a step in the right direction.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    twinkle2356 wrote: »

    I think for the most part swimming is a resistance activity, so I do swim faster to get my heartrate up.

    Not really, it's mainly a cardio exercise with a resistance element. Even for a rubbish swimmer like me.
    A bit like cycling and rowing are predominantly cardio with some resistance components.

    Exercise you enjoy and will stick to is of course far more effective than the "optimal" exercise you don't do!

    But it doesn't have to be all swimming, you would get a lot of benefit from adding some resistance/strength/weights into your mix.

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