- Water's buoyancy reduces a person's “weight” by about 90 percent, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Pool water's buoyancy counteracts the force of gravity, making swimming an ideal low-impact form of exercise that puts very little stress on those bones and joints.
03 Burns Calories
- Swimming is one of the easiest and best ways to burn unwanted calories: an hour of swimming burns about 500 calories.
04 Helps You Quit Smoking
- The water puts out the smoke. If that doesn't do it, the 'No Smoking' sign will. If you've ever tried to quit smoking or know someone in the process, they can be pretty irritable. Jump in a pool and swim—it works.
05 Improves Coordination
- Swimming works your body's motor coordination. Over two thirds of the body musculature is engaged when you swim. The upper and lower body, trunk, head, arms, and legs are forced to work together to make a balanced effort.
06 Improves Posture
- Swimming strengthens joints and improves posture by improving the position of the spinal column. This makes it an excellent exercise for people with all kinds of back problems and issues.
07 Good for Anyone; Everyone
- All of the time! Whether you are rehabilitating after surgery or are in optimal condition, swimming is an ideal exercise for any fitness level.
08 Total-Body Workout
- Swimming is the original total-body workout: it targets everything from sculpting your back to toning your arms. No heavy equipment or weights are necessary. Instead of buying lots of different pieces of exercise equipment to work specific muscles, jump in the pool, and tone your whole body in a few laps.
09 Come As You Are
- For the average person, swimming does not require lots of special equipment and gear. All you really need is a swimsuit. The other extras, like a
towel, swim cap, goggles, swimmers earplugs, kickboard, pool float (for relaxing), noodle, and all of that extra stuff is up to you and your budget.
10 Cardio Conditioning
- Swimming is considered to be the ultimate aerobic activity.Compared to running, there is more breath control with swimming, which creates an increased demand for oxygen, making those muscles work harder without knowing it. Swimming also strengthens the heart, making it become larger. The heart's pumping action also becomes more refined, which leads to better blood circulation.
11 Beats the Heat
- It's no great revelation that swimming is refreshing: when temperatures climb sometimes the only relief can be found in that big body of water. Too bad there are so many other bodies sharing that space! Some people enjoy swimming at night under the stars. No need to use UV sunblock, and it's sometimes just you, whoever you're with, the night sky, and the pool. Magical!
12 Self-Esteem
- It's true with any exercise or sport—they build confidence and raise self-esteem. So you may not get a team t-shirt or a trophy, but regular swimming also does these things, while boosting your self-reliance. You feel more powerful—ready to face the world.
13 For a Lifetime
- Swimming is one of the few sports you can do throughout your lifetime. Like a special friend, It will always be there for you.
14 Taller, Longer, Leaner
- swimming has the ability to build longer, leaner muscles. It's those "swimmer's muscles" combined with resistance training and cardio that help boost your metabolism to keep those calories burning longer. Swimming can also put your body through a range of movements, helping your muscles stay nice and long and flexible.
15 Joints
- Let's say you're recovering from an injury and are hoping to rebuild strength. Swimming will fulfill that need and desire. It's easy on the joints and gives sore knees a rest from constant pounding on the pavement—something you may not be able to do for a while.
16 Weight Loss
- "The key is to push yourself a bit." Whatever your reason for not incorporating swimming into your life, this list above should illuminate the ways in which the sport can add to your quality of life.
17 Socialization
- If you own a pool, then you know what a magnet it can be in the summer time. Everyone wants to hang out at the kid-with-the-pool's house. While it may mean extra water-watching time for Mom or Dad, there's no denying that it brings children and adults together. Pools are all about socialization—they are a culture unto themselves.
18 Team and Individual Sport
- Just think about the Olympics, and what you or most people enjoy watching the most. For many, it's the swimming competitions, especially with those inside- the-pool cameras, catching every breathtaking part of the competition. Starting from childhood, participating on a swim team can build up strength, confidence, and the ability to get along with others—which will help later in life.
19 Prevents Drowning
- Simply put, knowing how to swim means a person is less likely to drown. Start swim lessons at a young age and continue until the child is proficient in swimming. And no diving
in smaller residential pools
20 Improves Mental Health
- It's a proven fact that physical activity improves mood in children and adults. For people with conditions like fibromyalgia, swimming can help decrease stress and anxiety, while relaxing, strengthening and toning muscles. Water-based exercise improves mental health. Swimming can improve mood in both men and women. Water-based exercise can improve the health of mothers and their unborn children and has a positive effect on the mothers’ mental health.
21 Helps With Chronic Diseases, Post-Op, and as Physical Therapy
- Water-based exercise can help people with chronic diseases. For those afflicted with arthritis, it improves the use of affected joints without worsening symptoms. Rheumatoid arthritis patients notice an improvement in health after participating in hydrotherapy than with other activities. Swimming and water- based exercise also helps affected joints and decreases pain from osteoarthritis.
Post-Hip and Knee Replacemen the doctor may have recommended hydrotherapy. That means swimming. You can get in the pool right after sutures have been removed and the wound is healed, usually 6 to 8 weeks after surgery.
For Asthma Patients swimming has proven to be beneficial for asthma sufferers. Think about it—certain strokes will encourage lung function and breathing control. If you suffer from exercise-induced asthma, jumping in the pool may relieve symptoms, because it allows asthmatics to work out in moist air, reducing symptoms. Because swimming requires breath control, it also improves overall lung and breathing capacity.
22 Relieves Stress
- Stress from work, school, family, and job hunting all begins to build up. While it may sound simple, being able to just jump in a pool and swim can provide an enormous relief of pressure. Aerobic exercises like swimming can trigger the release of endorphins in the brain, which are chemicals that bring about feelings of contentment and euphoria.
23 Boosts the Immune System
- When cells in the body regularly get blood and oxygen, they function better and do a more effective job or removing toxins like carbon dioxide. This helps your body's overall well being. Swimming also has a positive effect on the lymphatic system. When the lymph system is in order, white blood cells are regularly distributed, resulting in increased immunity against diseases and infections.
24 Family Oriented
- Where there's a pool, the family congregates, for swimming, entertaining, and a barbecue. It creates a reason to get together—kind of a focal point, or something around which to build activities.
25 Going Solo
- While rules used to advise us to "swim with a friend" for safety's sake, that doesn't mean you have to arrange a date every time you want to go swimming. Keeping safety in mind at home, your child can swim solo at home provided you or a designated water watcher is stationed at the pool. The same would be true for a senior adult who goes swimming in his or her backyard pool—it's best to have someone around to keep an eye on you during your workout.