The Physical Benefits of Swimming for All Ages

Looking for an easy, fun, and even relaxing way to keep up with your fitness goals this year? Swimming is one of the best activities you can do. It gets your entire body moving, it keeps your heart rate up, and the resistance from the water makes it nice and gentle on your joints. Read on to learn more about some of the key physical benefits of swimming for all ages.

Improves Strength

Since swimming requires you to use your entire body to move through the water, it’s incredibly beneficial for building strength. Unlike other methods of exercise, such as running, where you’re primarily working out your legs and other lower body muscle groups, swimmers have to use their legs, glutes, torso, and arms while they kick and glide in the pool. With every pull through the water, your body is getting one of the best strength-building workouts.

Helps Build Bone Mass

Though it was originally believed that swimming couldn’t impact or improve bone mass since it’s not a weight-bearing exercise, further research has since been conducted that shows how swimming can in fact benefit our Bone Mineral Density (BMD). This is especially beneficial for increasing or maintaining proper bone mass as we age.

Improves Flexibility 

Whether you’re perfecting your front crawl, butterfly or backstroke, your body is twisting, stretching, kicking, pulling, and pushing with every move. This type of repetitive movement and lengthening helps to boost flexibility throughout the body, which can also help to prevent injuries – especially among elderly populations.

Reduces Inflammation

Inflammation can lead to pain and disease which is why it’s so imperative to reduce throughout the body. Thankfully, swimming is another great way to do just that. Since it’s considered an aerobic form of exercise, or cardiovascular conditioning, it increases oxygen as we exercise, keeps the heart healthy, reduces inflammation, and lowers the likelihood of disease and chronic pain.

Considering a new pool this year or want to transform your backyard into an outdoor oasis? Contact us today for all of your pool-related needs and solutions!