Swimming regularly has huge health benefits. One of the main reasons swimming is such an important form of exercise is that it is available to everyone, of any age or ability, and is a life long skill.
Benefits for everyone
- There are no harsh impacts on the body as it is a non-weight bearing exercise and can be a good form of rehabilitation for certain injuries and illnesses.
- Increases muscle strength; water is 12 times as dense as air making your body work harder.
- Swimming uses whole body movements through broad ranges of motion leading to increased flexibility in the joints
- Weight can be kept under control if you swim regularly and eat healthy, depending on what stroke you swim, calories burned every 10 minutes of swimming ranges from 60-150.
- Swimming can also reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Stress, tension and anxiety can all be relieved by swimming.
- Social benefits; interaction with others and meeting new people is a great advantage of swimming, whether it be meeting up with friend, or training competitively.
Benefits for children specifically
- Safety in and around water is a vital aspect of the learning to swim process, and an invaluable life skill.
- Swimming is great for children’s physical health, improving heart and lung function, strength, flexibility, stamina, and better health in later life.
- Also a great activity for their emotional health, water is a relaxing environment to be in, again stress and anxiety levels are reduced, and enjoyment and interaction with other children is excellent for social skills.
