Recreational swimming is the fourth most popular sport in America with well over 91 million participants according to the CDC. Swimming in a lake, river, ocean, or recreational swimming pool is a great way to spend time.
Recreational swimming can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, and give you something fulfilling to do in your spare time. If you are wondering why swimming is important check out this nifty informative article.
Here we will explain how swimming can benefit your life, and the safest places to conduct this activity. That way you can decide if diving into the world of swimming is right for you.
Benefits of Swimming
Some experts in the scientific community think that swimming is the best way to get a full-body workout. Swimming provides a low-impact method of burning calories and elevating your heart rate.
In addition to providing you with an efficient and low-impact workout, swimming also provides many of the following benefits.
Mental Health Benefits
Staying active is one of the best ways to improve your overall mental health. Getting lost in vigorous exercise allows you to forget your troubles and focus on something productive.
Recreational swimming is even better for mental health than other forms of exercise. This is because spending time in moving water produces an abundance of negative ions that energize you and make you feel happy.
Great for Heart Health
Swimming is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. It is not as abrasive as running and allows you to activate almost all of your muscle groups.
Going for a swim each day will help your blood flow and overall cardiovascular health. If you are worried about your heart, swimming is one of the best activities to strengthen it.
A Social Experience
After these past few years, we can all use a bit more socialization with members of our community. Swimming provides a safe and active context in which you can socialize.
Try joining a recreational swim team if you are the competitive type. If you are more laid back, a swim-meet club may be more right for you. Those interested in getting healthier should check out a swim-based group fitness program.
Swimming Helps You Build Lean Muscle
Unlike lifting heavy weights or engaging in other strength-based exercises, swimming helps you build lean muscle. You can shed pounds and downsize your waistline much easier participating in swimming than other sports.
Educational and Athletic Opportunities
Swimming during high school or college is an excellent way to earn a scholarship to college. If you get good enough at it you may even end up as a professional athlete or compete in the Olympics.
Types of Recreational Swimming
Recreational swimming is a broad category and includes many adaptations of the sport. Some recreational swimming activities are team-based. Others are participated in by the individual. Here are a few examples.
Water Polo
Water polo is a fun swimming-based adaptation of the classic equestrian sport. It involves pitting two teams against one another. It involves passing a ball and between players in an attempt to score a goal much like soccer.
Participants must remain treading water and are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool. You can check out the full list of rules here if you are interested in playing competitively.
Swimming Laps
Swimming laps is a great form of exercise for groups or individuals. You can either compete against opponents in the form of a race or compete against your own times.
If you are non-competitive and still want to swim laps you can go at your own pace and see how many lengths of the pool you can swim before getting tired.
Ocean Swimming
Some people enjoy the experience of swimming in the ocean. Saltwater is great for your skin. Waves, currents, and marine life add extra dynamics to the already exciting sport of swimming.
If you decide to swim in the ocean make sure that your level of ability matches the environment you are swimming in. Ocean swimming can be dangerous if you get in over your head without proper experience.
Down-River Swimming
Some people enjoy the thrill of swimming down river, much in the same way that people enjoy rafting downriver. This requires high levels of swimming experience and endurance but can be exhilarating.
At the highest level of down-river swimming, participants swim through obstacles such as rapids or riffles.
Swimming Pool Activities
From aerobics to yoga, to classic games like Marco Polo there are many fun swimming pool activities to choose from.
At the very least you can head down to a local swimming pool for a nice refreshing dip or lounge around the poolside.
How Should I Start Swimming?
If you don’t have much experience swimming, your best bet is to take some swimming lessons before getting too deep into it. Stay in the pool until you are more confident in your abilities.
Once you start to get the hang of swimming you can branch out into the other activities and swimming arenas mentioned in this article. Without proper training on how to swim you could drown, so start small and have fun.
Swimming Is an Important Life Skill
Why is swimming so important? Well in addition to all of its other benefits it is an important life skill. You never know when you may find yourself needing to swim across something or engage in social swim activities.
In addition, if you know how to swim you could save someone’s life one day. There are on average 11 fatal drownings per day in the United States. If you are a strong swimmer, you can prevent some of these.
Swim and Grow Stronger
Why is it important to swim? Swimming helps you grow stronger mentally, physically, and even spiritually. Many humans have a deep connection with the water and swimming is the best way to interact with it.
If you are interested in swimming, regardless of your skill level contact us today. We have many fun recreational swimming-related activities that can help you maximize your water time.
