Swimming provides some amazing benefits to your brain and body! But what happens when you stop swimming regularly? We’re taking a look at how stopping your swim routine can affect your body.

You Feel Less Focused


freestyle

You may feel more sluggish or less focused than usual if you don’t swim. Swimming releases endorphins in your brain that help you feel energized. Skipping a swim means your body won’t produce those endorphins, leaving you feeling foggier than usual.

If you can’t swim, try yoga, meditation, or other activities that help your mind focus. 

Your VO2 Max Can Decrease

underwater kick

Regular swim training improves your VO2 max — the maximum amount of oxygen your body can intake during exercise. Keeping up a regular swim routine with progressively increasing intensity will improve your VO2 max. Stopping your swim routine for an extended period of time will cause you to lose your VO2 max gains.

Dryland workouts can help you retain some of VO2 max. Check out these dryland exercises for swimmers!

Your Endurance and Speed Can Decrease 

This may seem like an obvious effect of not swimming, but it’s still worth noting! An extended break from swimming will derail your progress toward endurance or speed related goals.

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Swim

You Won’t Forget How to Swim

Vasily Levchenko swimming freestyle

Swimming is like riding a bike. Even if you take a few weeks, months or years off from the sport, your body will still remember how to swim! You might need to fine tune your technique once you get back in the water, but you’ll never completely forget how to swim any of the strokes. When you’re ready to make your swimming comeback, your body will be there for you!

It’s OK to Need a Break

Remember: it’s ok to feel like you need a break from swimming sometimes. Life gets busy, you feel burned out, you have an injury or you want to try something new. Take these changes in stride and do what you can! The water will always be there for you when you are ready to come back.

Related: How I Lost 75 Pounds with MySwimPro and Changed My Life Forever

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