If sweating it out through regular exercising puts you off in summers, burn off the calories the cool way. Go for a swim!
Calories Burnt in Different Strokes
The following are the amounts of calories swimmers can burn through different swimming strokes every twenty yards of swimming per minute:
• Backstroke: from 3.5 to 4.3 calories
• Breast stroke: up to 5.4 of calories can be burned
• Front crawl: from 4.5 to 5.4 calories can be burned
If you’re not already convinced, have a look at why swimming is an ideal exercise to take up:
Works Every Part of Your Body
Swimming is one of the few exercises that truly work every part of your body, like thighs, legs, neck, back, shoulders, arms, and abdominals.
The recreational activity involves almost all of your major muscle groups. For example, the standard crawl stroke uses the neck, shoulder, chest, back, triceps, and biceps muscles of the upper body, the abdominal, low back, and oblique muscles of the midsection, and the gluteal, quadriceps
, hamstrings, and calf muscles of the legs.
Swimming helps in the overall toning up of the body. It helps you to burn calories and fat, and hence stay in good shape. It is also a good exercise for lungs and heart.
Lower Risk of Injury
In swimming, the weight of our body is very much supported by the water which considerably minimizes the risk of having joint and muscle injuries.
So when you have an opportunity to take advantage of an exercise that doesn’t put stress on your joints and has virtually no side-effects, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of it.
Calming Effect
Swimming is considered the ultimate exercise for one more reason; having a calming effect on people.
There are studies that have shown that swimming has the ability to help lower blood pressure and help people stay calmer. It has been found to have soothing effect on the mind as well as the body, mainly by regulating breathing and stimulating circulation.
Also, since it is mostly a group activity, it provides a great social outlet. Swimming with others thus becomes a rewarding experience.
Easier on the Body
Swimming is easier on the body, even though it requires more physical effort. Because of buoyancy, it is a good exercise with less impact on joints.
People find that they simply don’t have to work as hard to lose weight when they are using swimming as their primary form of exercise.
No Age Limit
There is no age limit. Even babies can swim, though the ideal age to learn to swim is around 6 or 7 years.
There is no upper age limit. On the contrary, for older people, swimming is an advisable sport, since it preserves the joints and can be adapted to the rhythm of each person.
If you are thinking of shedding those extra kilos, but don’t have the will to take up boring exercises, take to swimming. So what are you waiting for? Join that club near your place, go swimming. Better still, take a friend along. Happy Swimming!
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