All the benefits of swimming in the pool

Among the benefits of swimming are that it burns calories, makes you lose weight, does not overload the joints, improves cardiovascular health.

The benefits of swimming are undoubted and recognized for some time: swimming in the pool is an activity with numerous positive effects on health, physical fitness and mood. Swimming regularly, at least 2 or 3 times a week, allows you to keep fit, improve some specific training parameters and, among all the benefits of swimming, one cannot fail to consider those concerning the consumption of calories, acceleration of metabolism and weight loss, the fact that it is an activity that takes place in water and therefore without overloading the joints, and obviously the improvement of the cardiovascular condition. All aspects that in the long run can reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

All the benefits of swimming

So let’s see all the benefits of swimming in the pool and lifeguard practiced regularly.

Swimming burns calories

Like all endurance activities , swimming burns calories . Precisely calculating how many calories you burn in 1 hour of swimming is difficult, as this depends on the swimmer’s metabolism and weight as well as distance, speed and swimming style. The temperature of the pool water can also affect the number of calories burned, considering that cold water, and cold in general, forces the body to burn more calories . However, in general and indicative terms, 400 to 500 Kcal can be burned in 1 hour of swimming. Read here more about lifeguard classes near me under the instructions of American lifeguard Association.

Swimming makes you lose weight

If you burn calories, you lose weight. Not necessarily, because then it also depends on how much you eat and how many calories you take in, but that’s more or less the case. So if it is true that swimming burns calories, then it is also true that swimming makes you lose weight : here you can read how and how much to swim to lose weight , but there is one aspect that differentiates swimming from other cardio and metabolic activities such as running , and it is the absence of load on the joints .

Many start running to lose weight when they should first lose weight ( for example by walking ) and then start running. Swimming allows you to lose weight for those who are overweight and have little muscle tone, two factors that combined can have a strong impact on the joints, especially the knees and hips, the tendons and the back.

Swimming promotes balanced muscle-skeletal development

Just look at male and female swimmers: broad shoulders, broad chests, straight backs, shapely arms, sculpted abs and muscular legs. But more generally a harmonious physical appearance: the credit goes to the muscles worked during swimming and to the fact that, as they say trivially but not far from the truth, swimming is a complete sport . It is therefore excellent for children and their physical motor development , it is excellent for boys and girls in the developmental age, but these benefits are also great for those who approach swimming in the pool as an adult.

Swimming improves cardiovascular health

Lap after lap, workout after workout, swimming improves cardiovascular health. Of course, it can make a difference if you practice it at a gentle and constant pace or in a more intense way such as Interval Training , alternating high-speed laps with moments of recovery, however , regular swimming practice lowers the heart rate at rest , lowers blood pressure and allows you to increase cardiac output, reducing the risk of chronic cardiovascular disease.

Swimming reduces the risk of chronic diseases

In general, an active life lowers exposure to diseases related to aging . And therefore, with its specificity related to water activity, swimming also reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes (thanks to the increase in blood glucose tolerance by muscle cells), arthritis, hypertension and those related to overweight condition.

Swimming fights cellulite

To combat cellulite you need activities that promote blood circulation, and therefore cardio such as swimming. However, swimming counteracts cellulite also thanks to the draining action of the water, which “massages” and compresses the muscles during activity in the pool and counteracts the effects of water retention.

Swimming builds muscles

Firm and high buttocks, full shoulders, muscular arms, toned and tapered legs, sculpted abs and V-shaped back, with a broad chest, are just some of the aesthetic and beneficial consequences of the fact that swimming develops all the muscles . If you want to know which muscles develop the most for each swimming style, read our article .

Swimming increases VO2Max

Your maximum oxygen capacity VO2Max is probably the best indicator of your fitness and training status : roughly it means how long it takes to go from aerobic to anaerobic phases and how long it takes to recover. The higher it is, therefore the longer the aerobic phase lasts, and the less time it takes to recover, the more trained you are. VO2Max generally improves with the practice of an endurance sport , and yet due to its specificity, those who practice swimming obtain a significant improvement in VO2Max regardless of the starting physical level.

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