Why swimming is the best sport when you want to do something for your health

Everyone knows that sports and exercise are healthy. But swimming in particular offers some very special advantages – in this article we´re going to show you which ones.

Especially in summer many of us are drawn to swimming pools. While many people sunbathe by the pool and only take a dip in the water to cool off, some take the opportunity to use the pool for exercise, for example to swim laps. This is a great idea, swimming is one of the best sports for your health and offers advantages over sports activities outside the water.

This is why swimming is particularly healthy:

The main advantage is that swimming is a non-weight bearing exercise, which means reduced strain on the spine, hip, knee and ankle joints when swimming. This leads to reduced overall impact on the body when compared to a sport like jogging. 

This advantage is particularly beneficial for certain groups of people, for example, overweight people who would like to lose weight, will benefit from the reduced strain offered by swimming. Depending on the speed, it is possible to burn up to 650 calories per hour in the water, and water temperature also plays a role: the colder the water, the more calories we burn. 

The non-weight bearing nature of swimming can also be enormously beneficial to older people whose physical activities are limited or those suffering from arthrosis or back pain who otherwise have no opportunity to exercise in order to improve their health and general well-being.

Even after accidents and sports injuries – swimming is a popular means of restoring physical performance and quickly improving quality of life.

Swimming is also an excellent way to train endurance, the steady movements get the cardiovascular system and trains the heart muscle. While we are in the water, our body is under higher pressure – the blood vessels on the surface of our skin are compressed. As a result, the heart has to work harder to transport blood around the body.

Regular swimming causes your heart volume to increase, reduces your sitting heart rate and your heart works more efficiently in the long run.

Swimming – The allrounder for your body

Swimming has other advantages as well: The strong leg movements stimulate blood circulation and there are very few other sports that involve as many muscles simultaneously as swimming.

Because of the natural resistance of the water, it is possible to train and define the whole body. The even movements of the arms can also release tension in the shoulder and neck area.

Swimming can also work miracles for your lungs: When in the water, the pressure on your lungs is increased, you have to exert more effort when breathing and thus increase your lung volume. Especially for people suffering from asthma or former smokers who want to regenerate or train their lungs, water sports are ideal because they actively improve your breathing capability. 

Water sports strengthen your immune system

It is scientifically proven that sports strengthen the immune system – moderate training is particularly effective. This effect can be explained by the fact that our immune system becomes a little irritated or stressed during each training session and is stimulated – in the long run this means that it works better.

The reason for this lies in the lymph nodes – this is where the immune cells meet pathogens. The lymph fluid is transported exclusively by muscle movements – longer periods of physical inactivity can, therefore, weaken our immune system, as our body is not designed, for example, to sit in the same place all day long at a constant temperature. Since swimming puts stress on all parts of the body, this sport is particularly effective in strengthening the immune system.

What is the right swimming style to improve my health?

There is no right answer to this question – the right swimming style depends on your personal preference, but it is important to pay attention to the right technique for each style.

We’ll let you know what you need to pay attention to when you breaststroke, backstroke or crawl.

Breaststroke

Even though it is a natural reflex for some people at the beginning, it is important to make sure that the head is not held above the water during breaststroke – when the head is stretched too much, this puts strain on the cervical spine, which can lead to unpleasant tension in the back and neck area. The head should dive underwater with every stroke towards the ground to allow the body to glide forward in an extended position and remain relaxed.

Backstroke

This style is the most gentle on the body, as the swimmer remains in a horizontal position all the time and there is no stress on the neck area. Beginners should make sure to swim straight, especially in the pool, so that they do not accidentally get in other people’s way.

Freestyle

This swimming style is the most efficient from a sporting point of view, the swimmer moves through the water very quickly. A Lot of energy is used up by the intensive arm and leg movements. If you want to burn fat and/or build-up muscles, you should focus on freestyle in your swimming program.

Advice for beginners: Start with small steps

If you start doing sports again, have had a long break or have never trained regularly before, it is often difficult to start training. Swimming is particularly suitable because of the “weightlessness” mentioned above and because it is easy on the joints.

If you are a beginner, we suggest not to take on too much for your first training sessions. Simply set yourself the goal of swimming for 15-20 minutes at a time. 

Depending on how fast you swim or how difficult it is for you, you may feel like adding a few more laps each time. If not, it’s okay – you have reached your first goal and can slowly improve. By slowly building your distance you can achieve your fitness and health goals.

Swimming and the Powerbreather – The dream team for your health

No matter if you are a beginner, do sports as a hobby or professionally – with Powerbreather you can enjoy water sports even more. There are several reasons for this:

1. You are able to concentrate on your technique: If you train with a conventional snorkel, it can easily happen that water gets in and you choke – especially in chlorine or salt water this can be very unpleasant. If you train without a snorkel, you lose a great opportunity to focus on your stroke technique and body position in the water.

Powerbreather solves both problems – the ingress of water into the snorkel itself is prevented by special valves and you can keep your head straight at all times – even during swimming manoeuvres such as the flip turn, the Powerbreather remains firmly in place.

1. You can maximize the training effect: With the Powerbreather the breathing resistance can be increased or decreased by changing between valves with different levels of resistance. This way you can adapt your training ideally to your current fitness or your form of the day.

1. You may test the Powerbreather without any risk: Because we are 100% convinced by our product, we give everyone the opportunity to test our snorkel for 90 days – if you are not satisfied with it, you can easily get your money back.

Now you can start – All benefits for your health at a glance:

Whether you are an experienced swimmer or new to the sport, swimming is the perfect exercise for your health and fitness program.

A further advantage is that the immune and cardiovascular system is strengthened when swimming compared to other sports and joints are protected by buoyancy in the water.

In addition, you can choose between three different swimming styles, depending on what suits you best – you don’t have this luxury when jogging, for example, where there is only one right way.

If you want to enjoy your sport in the water and concentrate on the essentials, you should definitely think about getting a Powerbreather – both beginners and professionals can only benefit from a professional swimming snorkel.

Feel free to drop by our shop and let us find a Powerbreather for you – we will be happy to answer all your questions. 

Have fun in the water!