This post is a beginner’s guide to swimming, with an expert-recommended workout plan for weight loss and the list of benefits of becoming a swimmer! Read on to get the details. Swipe up!
Why Is Swimming Good?
Swimming is a fat-burning, full-body, low-impact workout. This is precisely why it is best for weight loss, fitness, flexibility, coordination, and reducing stress (2), (3), (4), (5). “Exercises like running or jumping are not only high impact. If you have any type of muscle imbalances from the core down, that high impact is incrementally worse on your body. So the harder you try (or faster you go) in running or jumping, the more you set yourself up for pain and injury. For swimming, there’s no impact,” says Mahoney. “Further, because it’s a horizontal exercise, you don’t have a downward gravitational pull that impacts lower body mechanics. So, it’s easier on the body and burns a lot of calories since it’s total-body,” she adds. NASM-certified personal trainer, John Gardner assures that “swimming is an excellent form of aerobic activity that helps in generating the benefits of physical activity while still being easy on the joints. It can help promote weight loss, build muscle, prevent injuries, and relieve back pain.” Dinesh Kumar Reddy, a certified fitness trainer and competitive bodybuilder, lists out the benefits of taking up swimming:
1. Entire Body Workout
If you want to work your whole body, then the best workout to go for is 150 minutes of swimming with moderate intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity swimming. Swimming works your entire body, from head to toe, all at once. The water acts as natural resistance, which can help increase muscle mass.
2. Easy On The Joints
Swimming does not involve any impact on the ground, which means your knees don’t have to cope with added force from the impact (2).
3. Improves Balance
Swimming will improve your balance as there is no support, and yet you have to make movements, twists, and turns through the water (2), (6).
4. Enhances Mind-Body Coordination
The lack of support and utilization of your limbs demands extraordinary mind-body coordination. This can also increase your eye-hand coordination and balance (6). It can be a relaxing and enjoyable way to exercise, which can help keep you motivated and consistent with your workouts.
5. Reduces Stress
Swimming favors the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is responsible for regulating moods (4), (7).
6. Prevents Diseases
When you swim, you help prevent diseases such as osteoporosis, which affects the bones in women over 45 years old (8). Swimming may help boost your immune system and your metabolism, which will allow your body to continue to burn calories even after your swim session is over.
7. Improves Heart health
One of the main advantages of swimming, which is true for all aerobic sports, is that it strengthens your heart function and improves your circulatory system (9). It goes without saying that swimming is one of the best forms of exercise. But can it also help you lose belly fat? Scroll down to find out.
Can Swimming Help You Lose Belly Fat?
“Since there’s no way to spot-reduce fat like belly fat, you won’t be able to target problem areas with swimming alone. However, it’s an incredibly efficient workout that can help you burn calories fast,” says Craig. “However, it works on losing fat across the entire body, not just belly fat. But, because you use your core muscles during swimming, it can speed up the process of fat burning and help you lose belly fat faster than performing ab exercises, for example,” reasons Gardner. In other words, you will lose full body fat and improve lean muscle mass, so losing belly fat is a given. Take a look at the following swimming workout routine for weight loss by experts.
Expert-Designed Swimming Workout For Weight Loss
The following three workout routines are created by CISSN and ISSA-certified Isaac Robertson, NASM-certified John Gardner, and Dinesh Kumar Reddy, a certified fitness trainer and competitive bodybuilder.
Swimming Workout 1
Swimming Workout 2
Swimming Workout 3
Moderate Intensity High Intensity Follow any of the above routines that suit you best. Start slow and then move on to high-intensity swimming workouts. You will be able to burn a good amount of calories in a day, which will help you shed a lot of pounds by the end of a month. Exactly how many calories will you burn? Scroll down to find out.
How Many Calories Can You Burn By Swimming?
“Swimming burns about 423 calories in a person weighing 160 pounds in an hour, and approximately 500 to 900 calories in a person weighing 200 pounds,” says Reddy. Therefore, you can burn anywhere between 1600 and 3600 calories if you swim 4 days a week. This would lead to a weight loss of approximately 2-4 pounds a month (1 pound fat = 3500 calories) (10). Finally, here is a list of precautions and tips before you start swimming to whittle away the fat. Take a look.
Tips And Precautions To Take
If you are a beginner, do a supervised swimming workout. Learn the correct breathing techniques. Get used to being in the water and moving freely, and then go for swimming workouts. Consider lessons or start with a kickboard or fins to make it easier at first. Avoid drinking too much water during and before swimming. Wear goggles and a cap to protect your eyes and hair from chlorine. Try to work out when the pool is less crowded. Add progressions like hand paddles or swimming in a shirt to increase the resistance. Invest in a waterproof activity tracker (smartwatch) to time your intervals, monitor your heart rate, and track your calories. Take a break if you are feeling tired or run down. Never push yourself so far that you become exhausted or begin vomiting.
Does swimming change body shape? Swimming can help tone your body, increase muscle mass, and reduce fat. Is swimming better than the gym? It depends on your goal. If you want to improve your cardiovascular health, agility, and mobility, then swimming is a better choice than going to the gym. But, the gym is great if you want to focus on strength and resistance training. Is swimming better than walking? You burn more calories swimming than you would walking for the same amount of time. Swimming also works on your entire body as it engages your arms, legs, and core. Is it unhealthy to swim every day? No. Swimming is a great exercise to practice every day. It keeps you in shape and active. However, you should take the necessary precautions (like using waterproof sunscreen) to make sure you are not exposed to the sun for too long.
