Swimming is a good form of cardiovascular exercise because it utilizes large muscle groups in the shoulders, back, legs, arms and chest, and allows you to work those muscles in a sustained, rhythmic fashion. This challenges your heart, lungs and circulatory system to work harder to deliver oxygen and energy to all these working parts, thus making you stronger and healthier.
Types
There are four basic strokes in swimming---freestyle (or crawl stroke), backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The most common stroke for cardiovascular exercise is freestyle, although many who swim for exercise break up their workouts by doing periods of breaststroke or backstroke. Butterfly is a difficult stroke to master and is usually performed only by accomplished swimmers.
Prevention/Solution
Exercising in water decreases the stress on joints that often leaves runners aching and injured. This makes swimming a good form of exercise for people who are injured, pregnant, overweight or for whom other workouts might be unsafe.
Benefits
In addition to being an excellent cardiovascular exercise, swimming---due to the resistance of the water---also provides a workout similar to lifting weights. This is an added benefit; as the President Council on Physical Fitness and Sports notes, this allows you to combine the muscular endurance workout of weightlifting with your cardiovascular workout, which saves you time while making you healthier.
Effects
According to researchers at the University of South Carolina, swimming cuts men's risk of dying by about 50 percent compared with runners, walkers and sedentary people. A 2009 study at the university also found that swimmers had higher cardiovascular fitness than walkers. Researchers concluded women would enjoy the same benefits from swimming.
Considerations
Easy freestyle swimming, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, burns almost as many calories as jogging---more than 500 calories in an hour for a 154-pound person. However, according to experts at the respected Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, swimming doesn't elevate and sustain your post-workout metabolism the way running does, so you won't continue to burn calories after your swim the way you would after a run.
Expert Insight
Swimmers can utilize a different set of muscles---and thus prevent overuse injuries and improve their overall fitness and technique---by simply using a different stroke. Terry Laughlin, the director of Total Immersion Adult Swim Camps, notes that freestyle swimmers can roll over on their backs and swim backstroke, making it "the ideal cross-training and recovery stroke." This quality allows swimmers to lengthen their workouts and improve their fitness.
Potential
The American Council on Exercise advocates water aerobic classes because they help people perform stretches they might not be able to achieve on land. The buoyancy of water allows you to move your joints through a wider range of motion, which will improve your flexibility.
References
- Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Choosing the Right Exercise
- The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: Guidelines for Personal Exercise Programs
- University of South Carolina: Arnold School of Public Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: How much physical activity do I need?
- Alexandria Masters Swim Team: How to Use Backstroke to Enhance Your Freestyle
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