It is very important for anyone to get at least an hour of vigorous activities each and every week. And it is hard to think how to do it, right? Well, actually, I feel you. But there is one activity that may help you –swimming. Swimming is actually a very excellent way to work the entire body as well as the cardiovascular system. The physical health is not just the only one to benefit from it. But also some other aspects of life, like the mental health. The benefits of swimming are way more than meets the eye. If you want to know more about this common yet beneficial activity, feel free to give this article a read.
What is Swimming, really?
As we know swimming is one of the best recreational activities that we can do whenever we have problems. This is one of the activities that can make us forget our problems for a while. But what really is swimming?
Swimming is an activity that uses the legs as well as the arms to move the body in the water. Furthermore, this activity takes place in open waters like sea, river, lake or even in pools. Swimming is also a sport. In fact, it can be an individual or a team sport. Furthermore, competitive swimming is one of the most anticipated sports every Olympic. There are many events in swimming, these include individual medley, freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and more.
In history, swimming has emerged as a competitive frivolous activity in England in the 1830s. furthermore, in 1828, they opened the first ever indoor swimming pool to the public. And by the year 1837, the National Swimming Society already held various swimming competitions in artificial swimming pools that are built all over London. Since then, swimming has grown in popularity all over the world.
As stated earlier, competitive swimming has been part of the Olympic competitions. In the actual fact, in the 19th century is when the competitive swimming has become popular as a sport. The main goal of the sport is to actually break the personal or even the world records while of course, beating the competitors in any of the given events. A strong resistance is a must to be able to obtain a maximum speed and to win an event.
Swimming is also a nice sport to meet some new friends and not just competitors. Also, it can be a good recreational activity to be able to free your mind from any stress. Also, it is beneficial in relaxing the soul and giving a peace of mind.
Swimming Styles
In the competitive swimming, there are actually four major styles, they are:
- Freestyle: this is a swimming category that has a few restrictions. Furthermore, freestyle is one of the most common of all the swimming competitions.
- Breaststroke: this swimming style requires a swimmer to be on their chest and the torso needs not to rotate. Moreover, this is the most popular recreational style in which the head of the swimmer is out of the water most of the time.
- Backstroke: this one of the competitive events in Olympics. This particular swimming style actually has the advantage of the easy breathing. However, the disadvantage of it is that the swimmers are not able to see where they are headed to.
- Butterfly: this is a swimming style that requires a swimmer to swim on the chest, with both of the arms are moving in a symmetrical manner. This is accompanied by the butterfly kick or what they call the dolphin kick.
In a competition, there is only one in all of these styles are being used. Not unless it is in the case of individual medley. The IM or individual medley requires all of the four styles
Benefits of Swimming
Swimming is undeniably fun. Aside from it provides a lot of physical benefits, it is also effective in providing mental benefits.
Mental Benefits of Swimming
The recreational swimming is beneficial in making you feel more positive after having exercise. Furthermore, the fun it brings actually decreases the stress. In fact, swimming produces a natural as well as a positive response to being in the water. Furthermore, swimming with some other people in a public pool promotes socialization. This is really beneficial for the mental health since it helps you feel more relaxed and at ease.
Physical Benefits of Swimming
Swimming is undeniably beneficial for the arthritic joints. Moreover, it helps in reducing discomfort and stiffness as well if you are suffering from arthritis. Furthermore, water also helps in giving you resistance which is good for the muscular strength as well as for the strength training. Additionally, swimming also increases the muscular endurance and strength. Also, it increases the capacity of the cardiovascular functions, thus making your heart more capable of pumping the blood more efficiently.
Swimming is really a great time to be relaxed and free from stress. Not only that it alleviates problems, it also improves not just the physical health, but the mental health as well.
