Swimming, I have decided, is the perfect form of exercise:
1. It is aerobic.
2. It stretches you all over.
3. It is relaxing (water therapy).
4. It strengthens almost every muscle in your body.
5. You come out cleaner than you went in.
When I moved here in the summer of 2009, I took up swimming for exercise. Our condo has a private pool that is hardly used and I had to give up a 28-year running habit due to bursitis in my hips and pelvis. So, when I started in June, I could barely swim a total of fifteen minutes. (If you haven't tried it, swimming is very physically demanding.) I gradually worked up my time to thirty minutes. When summer faded, I joined a nearby athletic club with a giant indoor heated pool just for lap swimming. Now I swim three times a week for about forty-five minutes, which is just over half a mile each time!
Now the best part of that is that my bursitis and occasional sciatica have virtually disappeared! I sleep better, have more energy, have more muscles, and am extremely clean with a hint of chlorine about me.
Hi, I stumbled upon your blog by way of the Steak N Shake post.
ReplyDeleteSwimming has one drawback: it is very low impact. You will not experience the bone strengthening benefits of a higher impact exercise such as brisk walking. Of course, this problem can be mitigated through a balanced regimen.
I'd have to agree about swimming being the perfect form of exercise. Of course I may be biased being a competitive swimmer and all, but there is something about swimming, as if there isn't really any gravity when you're pulling yourself thought the water.
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