Pack your swimsuit and off to the pool. But this time it's not just for splashing around. We'll tell you why swimming is healthy and show you how to swim properly.
Whether young or old. This sport is suitable for everyone.
Swimming is a full-body workout that is not only good for the body, but also for our mental health. And I'm not just telling you this because I'm a swim coach myself and love the water, experts say so too.
But by swimming, I don't mean sitting comfortably in a hot tub, having a Swimming noodle workout or that you drift on the giant inflatable shell.
I mean real swimming in cool water. And more than just 2 minutes :)
Although the swimming pools and indoor pools are well attended, the sports pools are mostly empty. A pity. But let's change that together. I'll tell you why swimming is healthy, and you'll do a few laps in the pool on a regular basis. Deal?
Try these water gymnastics exercises!
11 reasons that make swimming healthy
There are so many good reasons to swim regularly. I'll tell you the best ones here.
More momentum for our cardiovascular system
Swimming is the healthiest sport and can be practiced at any age. The sport gets our entire cardiovascular system going and trains our heart muscle in the process.
The water pressure causes our blood vessels on the surface of the skin to constrict. The blood is transported back into the chest cavity more quickly and the heart has to work harder. The heart volume increases and the heart rate decreases. This makes the body more efficient.
Muscle building makes swimming healthy
With swimming, you not only train endurance and coordination, but also strengthen the muscles. Different muscle groups are used almost simultaneously.
Especially the upper body muscles are trained. But also the leg muscles are not neglected.
And it doesn't matter if you do the crawl, backstroke or breaststroke. You build up a nice, even musculature all around. You'll be rewarded with a toned and trained body.
This is how you build muscle while swimming!
More air through the swim training
Also for the lungs is Swimming healthy. By swimming, you strengthen the respiratory muscles and achieve a greater respiratory volume. Asthma patients are therefore recommended to swim regularly.
This makes athletic swimming a very effective form of fitness training. Anyone who has ever swum more than a few lengths knows that this type of swimming has little to do with bathing. It is a really strenuous full-body sport.
Sport that is easy on the joints
The sport of swimming is very easy on the joints and ideal for those who are overweight, have joint and Back problems. Due to the buoyancy of the water, less force acts on the body and the joints are spared.
In the water, we only have about 1/7 of our weight that we actually have on land. That does our joints a lot of good.
The joint cartilages are supplied with oxygen during swimming and wear and tear of joints, as well as rheumatism is prevented.
Stay healthy through swimming
Swimming strengthens your immune system and helps prevent chronic diseases, such as diabetes and Hypertension to avoid. People who swim regularly have significantly lower blood pressure.
Healthy weight loss with swimming
You have a few kilos too much? Swimming is the best Sport for weight loss. Especially for overweight people is Swimming healthy. Those who have a few kilograms too much, do much easier in the water than in other sports.
The reason for this is that the water carries a large part of our body weight. This is why water buoyancy is so gentle on our joints.
With just one hour of breaststroke, we burn about 530 calories. With crawl swimming it is about 900 calories.
The water temperature also plays an important role. The ideal water temperature is 26 degrees. The colder or warmer the water, the more energy is consumed.
The body must regulate its own body temperature and therefore consumes more calories.
That's why you can lose weight so quickly while swimming!
Swimming increases the basal metabolic rate
By swimming regularly we build muscles and after a while our Basal metabolic rate. Due to a higher basal metabolic rate, we have a greater Calorie consumption at rest. This allows you to eat more without gaining weight. :)
Those who manage to Kraueln for an hour burn up to 900 calories.
Prevent vein problems and varicose veins
Swimming is also healthy for our veins. Swimming improves our blood circulation and prevents vein problems. With regular swimming you can also alleviate varicose veins.
Sports swimming is favorable
One reason why swimming is healthy is the price. It sounds strange at first, but cheap sports motivate us to do fitness more often. And swimming can keep up very well.
To benefit from the sport of swimming, all you need is a block of 10 for the outdoor or indoor pool and a bikini ready. No training equipment, no expensive purchases and nothing. Ideal or?
Swimming as a rehabilitation sport
Swimming is very often used for rehabilitation of accidents and injuries, because swimming is healthy for the joints and exerts little pressure. Patients can move gently and specifically build up the muscles.
Swimming helps relieve stress
The uniform movements and the floating feeling in the water clear the mind and reduce stress.
When you pull your lengths through the water, your body also releases happiness hormones. You usually only notice this after you've climbed out of the pool. You'll be rewarded with a grin - and not much puff at first. But that changes quickly.
Reduce stress in 4 quick steps
Why the right technique is so important in swimming
Even though swimming has a low risk of injury, proper technique is key. Only if you do it right, swimming is healthy!
If you do not master the technique, you may experience tension or pain. The breathing technique plays a very important role.
The Breaststroke we have already learned as a child. But most of us have learned the wrong movement pattern.
For chest, it is important that you lie as horizontally as possible in the water. Leave your head in the water. You lift it only to breathe. Breathing takes place as soon as the arms open.
If you stick your head out of the water in a spasmodic way, it can cause Neck pain and tension come. On top of that, you're putting a strain on the cervical spine.
An incorrectly executed leg kick is bad for the hip and knee joints.
With breaststroke you strengthen your chest, arm and shoulder muscles.
The Crawl swimming is the fastest type of swimming. It requires a lot of strength and endurance. You use the most energy in the crawl.
You have to be careful not to turn your head too far to the side. Otherwise, you will get neck pain after time.
Backstroke is the easiest and healthiest swimming position. You thereby relieve the spine and strengthens the back muscles.
The head should be carried by the water and breathing will be easier for you. Make sure you don't pull your chin to your chest. Look up to the sky while swimming backstroke.
Another swimming position is the Dolphin swimming. However, the swimming position should only be practiced by competitive swimmers.
Take enough time to learn the right technique. In the beginning, it is not the time that is important, but how much you swim.
Tip: It's best to have a swimming instructor teach you the proper swimming technique.
The right technique - learning breaststroke
Breaststroke is the mode of locomotion in the water that we all know from children's swimming lessons. Nevertheless, many do it wrong.
Here's a little refresher:
Your body is parallel to the water surface.
Your leg movement starts with tightening both legs. When tightening, the tips of the feet should face each other.
After your legs are tightened, the kick occurs. During the kick phase your toes are turned outward.
Close your legs and stretch your whole body. Make good use of the glide phase, this saves energy.
The leg kick is done at the end of the breath cycle. Make sure you open your legs no wider than hip width.
The arms are extended in body extension. The palms face the floor. At the beginning of the arm pull, turn the palms outward.
Open your arms shoulder-width apart. Now bend your elbows and pull your arms back. Your fingertips point to the floor.
Bring your arms back together under your chest and stretch them forward.
Breathing takes place while the arms open.
70% you need for forward thrust is generated from the legs. 30% of the power comes from the arms.
Crawl swimming with the right technique
Crawl is the fastest swimming style and also the most popular.
The leg kick begins at the hips and continues through the upper and lower legs to the feet.
The leg kick is done through a kicking motion where you kick down with the backs of your feet. The kick requires a slight bend of the knee joint.
Once your leg is extended, move it back up through the knee bend and repeat the kick.
The leg movement is synchronized with both legs.
The arm pull begins with arms stretched forward. Fold the palm of one arm down. The fingertips face the floor.
Bend your elbow and bring your hand slightly toward you at chest level. This is called the pull phase.
For the pressure phase, extend your entire arm backward.
The retrieval phase is done by bringing your arm forward out of the water again with your elbow bent.
In crawl swimming, rotation of the upper body is important. To do this, put your back arm all the way back and your front arm all the way forward.
The breath can be taken after every second, third, etc. Arm pull.
As you breathe, turn your head to the side. Breathe only when your elbow is stretched toward the sky.
Learn backstroke
Backstroke is the healthiest position and is similar to crawl.
You lie with your back straight on the water. Your head looks to the sky.
Attention: Do not pull the chin to the chest.
The leg stroke is the same as in the crawl. It starts from the hips and goes to the kick movement.
Make sure that the feet always work below the water surface and never above it.
The knees must not be bent too much that they come above the water surface.
The arm pull is divided into three phases: The swing phase, the pull phase and the push phase.
During the swing phase, your arm comes out of the water at the thigh in a fully extended position.
The little finger always comes out of the water first. Your palm therefore points outward.
Your arm goes backwards over water. Rotate the shoulder joint for this. The arm returns stretched, parallel, above the head. The little finger goes into the water first.
Lower your shoulder and raise your active shoulder.
In the pulling phase, the hand dips with the little finger. Try to grip the water with your hand. Bend your arm slightly to do so.
Bring the arm down in a bent position.
In the pressure phase, you push the water towards your feet. Here your arm must be fully extended.
While one hand inserts into the water, the other comes out of the water.
Dolphin swimming - the most exhausting and difficult discipline.
In dolphin swimming, your entire body moves in a wave motion.
The wave movement starts with dipping the hands, goes over the head to the chest and ends with closed feet.
Dip your hands shoulder-width apart and as far forward as possible. Fold your palms so that your fingertips face the floor.
Bend your elbows. Pull your arms back. Bring the arms slightly toward the body at shoulder level. Here the arms overtake the elbows.
The arms are accelerated and stretched through. At the height of the thigh, bring the arms forward at the same time, as loosely as possible over water.
In dolphin swimming, there are two leg strokes per arm stroke, the second of which should be the more powerful.
An "undulation movement" takes place. The so-called dolphin wave.
As you dip your hands, your first leg kick occurs. The leg kick is initiated from your back.
This is followed by a quick up and down movement. The leg kick ends with a powerful kick movement.
Caution: Dolphin swimming is not for beginners. Only experienced swimmers should dedicate themselves to this position.
Our conclusion
Swimming is not only a lot of fun, but also very healthy. Once you are familiar with the technique, you can really enjoy swimming and clear your head.
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