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Dive into swimming;
Exercise in the pool to beat summer heat and stay fit Newhouse News Service July 25, 2008 It's hot, and you have a choice to make: Exercise and stay in shape, or give in to your sluggish body and cool down in the pool.
Why not combine the two? Exercise in the water with some swimming.
"It
keeps your body in really good shape," said Cindy Elsner, 47, who has
been swimming for 29 years. "And you see some people that are in their
80s and 90s that are swimming laps. It just tones the whole body.
"I
have three kids, and I was able to do it through my pregnancies and up
until the day I delivered," said Elsner, who is a pediatrician at
Colonial Park Pediatrics, near Harrisburg, Pa.
Swimming can help your fitness routine whether you're pregnant, in your 90s or in high school.
"Cross-training
is always great when it comes to overall fitness and wellness," said
Chuck Fields, the general manager of Central Penn Health & Fitness.
Fields has a master's degree in exercise science and used to certify
personal trainers.
"It's going to stress the muscles a little
differently," he said. "You'll be able to take the shoulder through a
wider range of motion."
Expect your shoulders, back and hips to
get the biggest benefit from the pool. But the motions of swimming will
force most of the body's muscles to move in different ways and adapt to
new stresses. That will force them to develop more completely, giving
you a higher level of fitness.
Swimming benefits the
cardiovascular system as well. It strengthens the heart, veins and
arteries. And since you have to control your breathing instead of
gasping faster for more air, the efficiency and capacity of your lungs
increases.
Exercising in the pool is often recommended for older
people or those with joint problems because it places minimal pressure
on the joints. Yet low-pressure activities such as swimming are good
for healthy joints, too.
"The big thing about swimming is that
it still allows you to train and put that extra stress on the muscles,
but it is able to take the load off the joints with the buoyancy of
water," Fields said.
There actually might be "different strokes
for different folks." Many people like the breast stroke because it
allows them to breathe with their heads completely out of the water.
The crawl is typically the fastest way to swim laps. And, of course,
there's the butterfly, which is more energy- and skill-intensive than
the other strokes.
Remember that each stroke will work muscles
in different ways. Even if you love the breast stroke, it's a good idea
to vary your stroke when swimming to get the best workout.
Of
course, swimming isn't a miracle exercise that fits all needs. Anyone
focused on losing weight is better off running or hitting the exercise
bike.
"It's probably not one of the better body-fat reducers,"
Fields said. "The water temperature makes our body retain fat for
insulation."
The controlled breathing required in swimming also
can make it hard for runners to adjust to exercising with the crawl.
When you run, you should breathe in through your nose and out through
your mouth. But swimmers don't keep their heads out of the water long
enough to breathe through the nose — the air must go through the mouth.
The
water might be easy on your joints, but swimming too hard or too often
still can lead to injuries. To help avoid getting hurt, stretch after
swimming and be sure to give your body enough rest between trips to the
pool.
And don't worry that other swimmers will be snickering at
your flowered bathing suit or sneering as your long hair slows you down
in the water. You can enjoy the physical benefits of swimming without
owning fancy goggles or a full-body shave.
"The skullcap and the
Speedo are for that person who needs to cut that half a second off
their time to move them from second place to first place," Fields said.
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