Aerobic
Exercise Via Swimming
Jonathon Hardcastle
Swimming is one of the most popular forms of aerobic exercise,
and it is an excellent activity for anyone who wishes to get
fit and stay active. Swimming exercise uses more of the overall
muscle mass of the body than almost any other form of exercise,
and people get an upper-body workout and a lower-body workout,
unlike running or biking or other activities like tennis, where
you get a good workout in just the legs. In addition, as with
most aerobic exercise it is believed to reduce the harmful
effects of stress.
Overall, swimming is an excellent form of exercise. Because the
density of the human body is approximately similar to that of
water, the body is supported by the water and less stress is
therefore placed on joints and bones. Since then the buoyancy
of the water protects the joints, water exercise is a
particularly good choice for people who are overweight or who
are prevented from taking part in other activities because of
injuries or other physical limitations. Therefore, swimming is
frequently used as an exercise in rehabilitation after injuries
or for the disabled. It's also safe for older people and
pregnant women.
For most adults, the upper body is the weakest part of the
body. Swimming exercises the arms and upper body 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. Specifically, swimming and other forms
of water exercise, such as water aerobics, offer remarkable
cardiovascular benefits and are one of the few forms of
exercise that work out the entire body. 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.
Particularly, water aerobics put a lot less stress on the knee
and hip joints than running or many other aerobic activities.
If you put people in the water, they don't have that pounding
and compression on those joints, so they're able to exercise
much more pain free. Moreover, if the water is warm, water
exercise is good for people with arthritis.
Swimming and water aerobics are excellent and popular forms of
exercise for the elderly, so long as the primary focus for
exercise is not to improve osteoporosis.
About The Author: Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for
http://ifitnesscentral.com/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes
articles for http://wonderfulworldoffood.com/ and
http://forsocietiessake.com/
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