Get in the water and into pure exercise pleasure: Swimming is the ideal sport for all those who want to train their endurance and muscles at the same time and lose a few kilos at the same time. We will show you the benefits of swimming and give you tips for a clean technique and training in the water.
Swimming is very healthy
Breaststroke or sporty swimming in general is not only an effective cardiovascular workout, it also trains the heart muscle. This is because the blood vessels on the surface of the skin are compressed by the water prere. This is how the blood is forced back into the chest cavity. The heart has to work hard against it. This increases after. After the heart volume. The heart rate decreases, the body becomes more efficient and stable.
Swimming also keeps the legs well supplied with blood and thus strengthens the veins. The water prere does even more good: Because breathing in is more strenuous, the respiratory muscles are strengthened. Swimming is particularly easy on the joints and is also suitable for people who have difficulty with other types of sport: because we only have to carry 1/7 of our body weight in the water, swimming is ideal for people who are overweight or have joint or back problems.
Swimming is a real all-round sport
During swimming training – whether breaststroke, crawl or backstroke – you work all muscle groups evenly. This way you build muscle all around and are rewarded with a toned and defined body. Of course, there are also different emphases of the muscle load with the different swimming styles. However, the effects are only really noticeable in competitive athletes.
Swimming not only strengthens the muscles in the legs, but is also a very effective form of conditioning. Endurance training. Anyone who has ever swum briskly for half an hour knows that swimming has little to do with "going for a swim" and is really strenuous. Compared to jogging, swimming is at least as effective, but much gentler on the joints. Get rid of pounds. Keeping your desired weight effortlessly? Then off into the water! Swimming is a real slimming aid! You burn a lot of calories in the water and the sustainably built up muscle mass in the arms and legs increases the basal metabolic rate of the body in the long run, i.e. the calorie consumption at rest.
It has even been scientifically proven that swimming training is an effective fat burner. The study of the Institute for Prevention and Aftercare (IPN) from Cologne has shown that the energy and fat consumption during swimming is just as high as during cycling. One hour of breaststroke consumes approx. 531 kilocalories (kcal) – just as many as cycling. And those who manage to swim for 1 hour can burn up to 900 kilocalories (depending on age, gender and basal metabolic rate).
HAMMER Expert Tip
If you want to lose weight while swimming, the water temperature should be either below or above 26 degrees. Because at 26 degrees, the heat exchange between body and water is in balance. Only below or above this level does the body have to expend energy to regulate the body temperature in the water. So you burn extra calories with each movement.
Swimming is inexpensive
In terms of price-performance ratio, jogging can at most keep up with swimming. To experience the benefits of swimming training, you don't need much: a bathing suit or a pair of swimming trunks. -suit, swim cap, goggles and a 10-ride ticket for the nearest swimming pool. You already have the perfect equipment for your new favorite sport.
Breaststroke or crawl?
The time has come: the leap into the water is made. And what's next? Should you rather breaststroke or crawl? Which is healthier? What makes you fitter? What technique and exercise is better for the body in the water?
To make a long story short: Both swimming styles are healthy and make you fit – as long as you perform them correctly and avoid mistakes. Crawl consumes more calories. Is the more intensive cardiovascular workout. But this style is not for everyone because visibility is severely limited, which is uncomfortable in busy pools. For this reason, the actually very healthy backstroke is also difficult to implement. Unless you have a private pool.
Learn to swim correctly – this is how it works
Even though most people "know how to swim" in principle, to do it properly, you often have to learn to swim "properly" again. Over the years, many people have acquired the wrong technique, whether it's the arm stroke, the leg stroke or the entire swimming movement. And this not only affects the speed, but also puts unnecessary strain on the body. So the right technique in the water is everything. Therefore, we give you below some tips for the swimming styles breaststroke and crawl, so that your legs, your head, your arms and thus your entire body in the water exercise the correct swimming technique.