Swim for Your Health

By Alex Kuhn, Elite Aquatics Coordinator
Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center
wrcameronwellness.org

I was recently speaking with a member of the Wilfred R. Cameron Welless Center, who has been exercising consistently for over two decades. She is a mother of three and works full-time, yet she has participated in classes ranging from yoga to kettlebell, competed in sports such as soccer and gymnastics, and even recently ran a marathon!

Assuming she also swims, I asked her to join me for a morning workout in the water. Her reply surprised me: “I could never swim! Do you know how difficult it is to swim? I wish I could.”

She’s not alone in missing the benefits of swimming. Many people do not know the many benefits of exercising in the water.

First, swimming is an exercise that builds your cardiovascular endurance.

Swimming will strengthen and improve your heart and lung power, which feeds blood and oxygen to all of your muscles. As a result, whether you are picking up your kids after being on your feet for many hours or wanting to catch that late movie, you will have more energy to perform the activities you enjoy.

If your joints hurt performing land-based activities, try swimming—it provides the same benefits, but is a low-impact exercise. Your body is buoyant when submerged in the water. As a result, the force applied to your joints is less than the force from a similar land-based exercise, such as running or cycling.

Land-based exercises show increased damage to the joints in your ankles,
knees and hips. Swimming significantly decreases the chances of injuries to these areas of your body.

And who says weightlifiting is the only form of resistance training? A study by Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, reports that water provides the body 12-14 percent more resistance than exercising on land (to read more, click here).

Swimming burns more calories and tones your muscles, particularly in the upper body.

Pregnant? You can swim up until the birth of your child. The buoyancy of the water can make exercise more comfortable than exercising on land. Whether you wish to swim or perform light water aerobic exercises, the continued exercise will help the delivery of oxygen to your baby, as well as help you sleep better.

Don’t pass up this exercise that lasts a lifetime and offers countless benefits!

Follow the lead of that mother of three—she gave me 30 minutes to help her swim. After our first session, she swam the first lap of her physical fitness life! Today, she competes in triathlons and has a goal of competing in the Hawaii Ironman (or should I say Ironwoman?).

I have no doubt she will get there.

If you have a fear of swimming for exercise or are looking for ways to exercise in
the water, I would love to help. Please call me at 724-250-5242 or email me at
akuhn@wrcameronwellness.org, and we can discuss how to get you wet, so you don’t sweat!

About this column: Each week, physicians from Washington Hospital bring you news about health and wellness issues—just for women.