Swimming for Fitness and Health
Resistance swimming is one form of swimming exercise. It is done either for training purposes, to hold the swimmer in place for stroke analysis, or to enable swimming in a confined space for athletic or therapeutic reasons. Resistance swimming can be done either against a stream of water set in motion by a (usually) self-contained mechanical device (often termed a swimming machine) or by holding the swimmer stationary by means of elastic attachments.
Swimming is primarily an aerobic exercise due to the relatively long
exercise time, requiring a constant oxygen supply to the muscles,
except for short sprints where the muscles work anaerobically. As with
most aerobic exercise it is believed to reduce the harmful effects of
stress. While aerobic exercises usually burn fat and help with losing
weight, this effect is limited in swimming, even though being in cold
water burns more food energy to maintain body temperature.
The reason that swimming does not significantly reduce weight is still poorly understood, but seems to be related to the better heat conduction of water. A number of reasons are suspected.
Water cools the body much faster than air and most researchers believe that subsequently the body aims to maintain a layer of fat under the skin for insulation.
It is believed that appetite decreases as the body temperature increases, as for example during exercise. However, during swimming the body is cooled down almost instantly as the surrounding water is usually cooler than the body temperature, and some researchers believe that this may actually increase the appetite. This assumption is not yet proven by research.
Total Immersion Swimming Instructional Videos
Fast swimming requires a high level of effort, meaning glycogen rather than fat is burned. Prolonged exercise at lower intensity is better for fat-burning.
Some researchers also believe that the metabolism of the body increases
at higher body temperature, burning more food energy. Again, during
swimming the body is cooled down by the surrounding water, reducing the
metabolism, and subsequently the amount of food energy burnt. This
assumption is also not yet proven by research.
There is also a theory that people with a genetically higher body fat content tend to be more successful as swimmers since the increased buoyancy of the fat aids in floatation or the rounder shapes offer less resistance to the water.
Swimming exercises almost all muscles in the body. Usually, the arms and upper body are exercised more than the legs. In competitive swimming, excessive leg muscles can be seen as a disadvantage as they consume more oxygen, which would be needed for the muscles in the arms, although this depends on the swimming style. While breaststroke generates significant movement with the legs, front crawl propels the body mainly with the arms.
Sometimes the swimming consists of swimming laps using a conventional stroke, such as the front crawl; other forms can include different forms of exercise performed in the water, such as water aerobics.
Swimming may be good for asthma sufferers.
Swimming uses all three energy systems, which are the creatine phosphate system, anaerobic glycolysis (also known as Lactic acid system), and the aerobic system. These three systems require energy in form of ATP to function.
Further Reading:
- Swimming for Fitness
- Michael Phelps - Greatest Olympic Swimmer - Workouts and Diet
- How To Teach Your Baby Swimming
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