How Swimming can help you lose weight, get fitter and relax

Five benefits of swimming that will get you back in the pool this semester.

What is the main reason we work out? To lose weight, get fitter and build muscles. There are very few sports that tick all these boxes quite as successfully as swimming does. Not only does swimming tick all these boxes has it helped you in so many other areas of sports.

By Caoimhe Hennigan

1. Builds endurance and cardiovascular fitness

A very obvious benefit of swimming is that it does make you fitter. It’s a full body workout whether you are just doing a gentle breaststroke or hammering the butterfly you still get a full body workout. It also helps to improve and maintain a healthy cardiovascular fitness.

2. Helps you lose weight.

Swimming is one of the most effective and quickest ways to burn calories. Along with a healthy diet and regular trips to the pool, it won’t be long until you have reached your target weight.  It also helps to improve and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, keeping your heart and lungs strong.

3. Injuries are incredibly rare

The water is a great place to train without having the risk of injury because the water is supporting your bodyweight it removes the pressure from your joints and keeps the resistance to a minimum. All of these factors reducing injuries.

4. Makes you better at other sports

If you’re a keen runner or cycler or any other type of athlete it would greatly benefit your performance to add swimming to your routine. Being a low impact sport and it aids recovery, swimming could have a huge effect on your preferred sport at either an amateur or elite level.

5. It’s ideal for a mental break

The pool is a place that you can separate yourself from the rest of the world to relax and just de-stress. It’s not only a safe place to be it is a place where you can completely relax and give yourself a mental break.