Swimming is the most aspirational sport to participate in across almost every age-group and serves as an excellent form of cross-training for athletes of any sport. Here are 10 reasons you need to incorporate swimming into your fitness routine!
Tip: 10 Steps To Swimming Smarter Freestyle

1) It’s A Total Body Workout


Unlike other fitness regimes, swimming engages every muscle group and energy system! Water is 800 times more dense than air, and that added resistance allows for an awesome total body workout. Swimming improves flexibility, range of motion, and functional strength in the water. This leads to improved core strength and mobile stability in all your joints, as well as stronger muscles and enhanced motor skills.


2) You Burn A Lot of Calories

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See Also: 5 Ways To Burn More Calories When You Swim!
Because swimming engages so many different muscle groups, you can burn anywhere from 400-1,000 calories in a 1 hour swimming workout. Each competitive stroke engages different muscle groups, so you’ll burn more or less depending on how much of each stroke you swim, your body weight, and intensity level.

3) It’s As Intense As You Want It To Be

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Swimming allows you to push yourself as hard as you want to based on your personal fitness goals. Whether you’re going for a leisurely swim, or training for a competition, you can bring that level of intensity to your workout by modifying your rate of speed, total distance, duration, or stroke variety.

4) It Gives You Measurable Results

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Unlike other sports, Swimming constantly gives you measurable results providing frequent feedback on your performance and overall fitness level. You can measure your total distance swim, rate of speed, stroke count, and a number of other metrics. This data provides you with a way to analyze your progress over time so you continue to improve and stay on track to your goals.

5) It’s Low Impact

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Swimming is by far the best low-impact exercise. If you struggle with injuries, especially in the joints, finding low-impact exercises to do is extremely important. But even if your body is in perfect shape, swimming is a great form of fitness to prevent injuries from developing.

6) You’ll Gain More Confidence

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Swimming helps you realize your own personal strengths and limitations. This knowledge and awareness of your own abilities will lead to more self-confidence, as well as developing a more optimistic attitude.

7) It’ll Improve Your Lifestyle

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Beyond improving your fitness levels, getting involved with swimming will cause you to live a healthier lifestyle. Before you know it, you’ll be eliminating junk food from your diet and turning down invites to hang out at the pub in favor of going to the pool.

8) It’s Meditative

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If the idea of pounding around a track or crushing weights stresses you out, stress no more. Swimming boosts endorphins that increase feelings of wellbeing. Plus the rhythmic strokes and sound of water make swimming much more relaxing. It’s been shown that swimming produces the same relaxation responses as yoga, and the stretching and contracting of muscles can heighten this experience.

9) It’s Easy To Get Started

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Once you’ve found a pool, it’s easy to get started. Keep it simple, and set micro goals for yourself. Showing up regularly is the key to seeing consistent improvement over time. You’ll eventually want to add structure to your workouts so you get the most out of your time in the water. Download the MySwimPro app for personalized Swim Workouts and Training Plans, instructional video content, and an awesome training log.

10) You Have Nothing To Lose

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Showing up is often half the battle. Swimming is no exception. Even if you’re still on the fence about it, the only way you’ll ever make progress is to get-up off the couch and dive right in!
10 Steps To Swimming Smarter Freestyle
Swimming not only helps with general physical fitness, but it encompasses a host of other benefits such as muscle toning, breath control, and meditative qualities. It’s a total body workout that is low-impact on your joints and also stretches your body—something it probably doesn’t get enough of.
When was the last time you sat at your desk with your arms extended over your head?

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