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Best Health Blog
Five reasons to swim for health
After watching Michael Phelps and Dara Torres in the Olympic Water Cube, I've decided to take a harder look at swimming; I'm even considering enrolling in a Masters Swimming program this fall. So what are the pros and cons of swimming, and what's the best way to get back into the pool?
Let's start with the benefits: Swimming works most muscle groups at once; it also gets your heart pumping hard, providing an excellent cardiovascular workout; it's great for building lung capacity; and, lastly, it's easy on your joints so it's an activity that you can do at any age. (Anecdotally, at least, it also seems to be a great stress-reliever.)
However, swimming does have some detractions: it's not a weight-bearing activity so it should be combined with one, such as running or a weight-lifting program; it's also a solo sport, which comes with its own set of mental challenges. I thrive off of team sports, so I'm concerned that I'll find swimming lengths lonely, and that I'll have trouble motivating myself to swim farther and faster.
One solution to this is to join a swim club. Masters Swimming is a program designed to increase adult participation in aquatic sports and to improve overall health and fitness. Members of a club participate in organized workouts, clinics and competitions (if desired). To learn more and to find a swim club near you, visit the Canadian Masters Swimming Club at: http://mymsc.ca/index.jsp?locale=en
I have an aunt who swims with a club in Montreal and swears by it—both for the fitness and social opportunities it provides. She's about 50, slender and fit. She finds tremendous motivation from the older swimmers in her group. For example, one of her friends, a woman in her 70s, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy and was soon back in the pool. She was weak at first, barely managing to swim one length. But she slowly worked her way back into shape with the support of the other members of the club.
Need more inspiration? Check out this New York Times article on why older swimmers are faster than ever, or this essay—an literary ode to swimming—in the American Scholar.
For tips on how to get started in the pool, read this article, "Starting a Swimming Routine," posted on the United States Masters Swimming website.
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1 Comment
Swimming has changed my life drastically this year. I had a nasty knee injury back in January with a four week delay to surgery. I was rehabing quite well until a reinjury in June. I took the worker's comp. insurance company almost three monthes to conclude that the two injuries were related based on new tests and independant evaluations. Being unable to walk for such a long time,created a muscle atrophy problem in my right leg. To point that, when measured eight inches above the knees, my left leg was three and a half inches larger in circumference than my right. And, walking or weights was very painful. During the three month wait, a friend of mine suggested getting in the pool. Our school district has a lap swim and water walking program early mornings. The first few mornings were pretty tough, but I began to depend on the mornings in the pool as strength began to return. Unexpected benefits came with the package, such as better wind, phycological relief, release of a lot of penned up energy, and I have made some new aquaintences with other parents in the schools that I would not otherwise have met. I am not finished with rehabilitating that knee or leg yet, but I am a long way from leaving my crutches next to the pool and resembling a flailing flounder trying play Michael Phelps. If you think you will be the only one at the pool who hasn't been in the pool for a while...a long time....years.....since grade school, stop at a pool with an adult program or time, you will be pleasantly surprised. Don't have the Phelps or Sports Illistrated swimsuit physique? Me either. Most don't. Big Deal!! I have also found that EVERYONE has a different reason for being there. A different goal. A different agenda. That is a Big Deal. No competition. That first morning you go and all feels a little foreign. Think of some forty-two year old flounder who hadn't swam a lap in twenty-five years and is worried about somebody tripping over his crutches poolside. You're doing just fine. Oh, it has been about three monthes since returning to the pool. No crutches, yes walking, yes light weight training, about 2000 meters three mornings a week. Try it.