Summer is ending but that doesn't mean your time in the pool has to stop. You can actually reach your fitness goals with the perfect workout - swimming!
Yes it's a very entertaining Olympic and Paralympic sport, but it also has many benefits for everybody, young and old. Here are a couple of them:
- Swimming can give you a full-body workout (cardio/strength training) because it requires the use of nearly every major muscle group.
- Swimming can reduce stress, improve your mood, and improve mental health.
- Swimming can increase your energy in the daytime while helping you sleep at night. Just swimming for 30 minutes 3 times per week is proven to increase metabolic rate and energy levels, while the stress-relieving properties of swimming will help you to consistently get a good night's sleep.
- Swimming is great for providing a good cardio workout that can lower blood pressure and control blood sugar. This can help guard against heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
- Swimming burns double the calories walking does. Swimming for 30 minutes can burn 200 calories - twice the amount of walking.
- Swimming is good for the lungs, and a great option for those with asthma. In addition to the humidity of the pool providing relief to asthmatic swimmers, aquatics is known to increase lung capacity, and encourage more controlled breathing.
- Swimming may help those with mobility issues feel more in control of their bodies and their workout due to the support and resistance offered by the pool.
- Swimming can make you smarter by increasing memory and cognition - which leads to our next point.
- Swimming can slow down aging. Swimming is known to stave off joint immobility, provide relief from the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis, and delay the effects of dementia and cognitive decline.
- Swimming is the ideal activity for everybody. Kids can benefit from the motor-skills building effects of swimming, and expectant moms will appreciate the support and relief that the buoyancy of the water provides as it is a low-impact workout.
The colder seasons may be in the horizon, but guess what, Merritt has indoor pools too! So once it starts to get nippy outside, you can keep on swimming by visiting our Towson, Downtown, Canton and Eldersburg clubs.
You can even join in on a group fitness aquatics class. Plus, we have some aquatics programs that will allow you to develop as a swimmer, swim competitively, and even get certified as a lifeguard.
So what are you waiting for? Grab that swimsuit and head on over to the pool!
