Health Benefits of Swimming Pools

A half hour swim burns about 200 to 250 calories depending on your weight. That is when you swim at a moderate tempo. Add another 100 to 150 calories if you swim fast. Those numbers were taken from the Healthier People project of the Carter Center of Emory University, Indianapolis and prove, that swimming is indeed a great way to gain fitness and loose weight.

Swimming Burns Calories
While it has to be said, that a half hour of jogging (238 calories) or running (612 calories at 10 mph) would score higher on the calories-burning scale, swimming has one big advantage. It goes easy on your joints and the risk of injuries is very, very low. Water basically neutralizes gravity. You probably have experienced the sensation of weightlessness by yourself. That does not mean, that your muscles do not have to work in the water.

Swimming Builds Leasn Muscles
Water is nearly 800 times denser than air, which means that every stroke, every kick and move is like a mini resistance workout for your entire body. According to woman’s health magazine the combination of “blasting calories while swimming and building lean muscles ignites your metabolism so that you burn even more calories once you've showered and dried off.”

Swimming Makes Younger
It is not a secret: Swimming is something you can do for your entire life, it is good for you and your grandparents and your children, swimming is good for every body. And it even makes you look and feel younger. According to the data presented at the American College Sports Medicine Conference the cholesterol levels, cardiovascular performance, central nervous system, and cognitive functioning of a swimmer are all comparable to someone much younger.

Swimming Improves Flexibility
While other types of workouts tend to isolate one body part at a time, swimming incorporates your whole body and system. One stroke alone puts your body through a whole range of motions: Your arms have to move in wide arcs and push the water back, your hips are engaged as well as your legs, while scissor-kicking through the water and your head has to turn gently from side to side. While reaching forward with your arms you are also lengthening your body, which gives you a great stretch.

In short: Swimming is not only fun, it is a great way to burn calories and build up lean muscles, while improving flexibility.

To learn more about different kinds of water workouts, read our entry: Cool Workouts for the Swimming Pool

If you want to assess your personal workout go to the Calorie Burn Calculator of HealthStatus.