Swimming For Exercise

Swimming for exercise is an excellent idea to improve your cardiovascular health. The significant point for your health is getting exercise, not just getting wet. Not only is swimming for exercise excellent for cardiovascular health, it is also great for weight control, muscular function and flexibility. Despite this, it is not as useful as walking or running in preventing osteoporosis and building strong, healthy bones as walking or running.

Swim laps using backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly or freestyle for aerobic conditioning as the sidestroke is too easy for significant value in cardiovascular health. To actually see any benefit, however, you must be able to swim for at least twenty minutes without stopping. At first you may not be able to do this. If this is the case for you, then swim until you feel out of breath and rest for a minute. Then, swim again until you feel out of breath. Continue this until twenty minutes have elapsed. You will be able to swim for twenty minutes straight in short order exercising in this fashion.

When swimming for exercise, your heart rate will not increase as much as it would exercising on land. Therefore, your heart rate will not be an accurate measure of the intensity of your workout. Swim at a steady pace that is quick enough to cause you to feel pleasantly tired, although not entirely exhausted, when you exit the pool.


Swimming for exercise will benefit people of any age; it is of particular benefit to the elderly and those with physical handicaps. Most every community has swimming facilities. The local college gym, the local YMCA or YWCA, the city recreation department and public schools in your area are great places to start looking for facilities if you do not have your own pool.

Use these guidelines when you start your swimming for exercise program. If you cannot swim very well try walking as quickly as you can in water that comes at least waist high but no more than the middle of you chest. Start by swimming approximately fifty yards and rest when you feel out of breath. When you are ready, swim one hundred yards then rest for a minute. Then swim another one hundred yards. Gradually increase the distance you swim. Set your goal at swimming seven hundred yards in eighteen minutes. Use the breaststroke, the butterfly or the backstroke for optimum health benefits.

Aerobic conditioning has been shown to slow many changes that are associated with aging. These changes include but are limited to decreased work capacity, an increase of body fat and loss of lean muscle tissue. Additionally, it also reduces the risk that elderly people have of stroke and heart disease and it associated problems. It will improve the health of people of any age. Swimming for exercise is an ideal way to get aerobic conditioning as it exercises many muscle groups at the same time and is extremely low impact so has very low risk of injury. Everyone can do this. Good health to you.