Having your own pool is the passport to staying fit as swimming is not only considered to be a great way of staying fit, but it can also be a lot of fun too, making it a win-win situation.
If you are looking to get fit or stay fit then the first thing that you want to do is set up an exercise routine that is safe for you to follow and will give you the workout that you are looking for.
Exercising your muscles
Riptide Pools, swim spas and exercise pools are a great starting point and when it comes to a specially built exercise pool, you can swim endlessly to work all the major muscle groups during your swimming workout.
Swimming laps is an excellent way of developing muscle systems throughout your body and whilst also helping to keep your weight down. The general consensus is that the people who swim regularly are much less likely to be overweight or develop any obesity problems.
Low impact
Swimming is regarded as a low impact sport because it gives you the opportunity to exercise various parts of your body with the potential stress or injury to your joints and other vulnerable areas, which can occur when you carry out land-based exercise such as running, which has high-impact issues to consider.
An important factor to remember when you are working out your swimming programme is to learn when to realize when you have done enough exercise as it is sometimes difficult to gauge how much energy you are expending while doing your laps in the pool.
Calorie loss
If your goal is primarily calorie loss as opposed to general fitness levels, you should understand that swimming will not allow you to achieve the same level of calorific loss that you would do by running, as a comparison.
The reason for this is that when you are running, your body temperature fluctuates more and can burn calories more quickly when it is raised, whereas with swimming, your body maintains a more even temperature due to the cooling effect of the water, meaning that you would have to swim for longer than you run to achieve the same calorific loss.
Preferred stroke
Many of us develop a preferred style of swimming and the stroke that you choose to use will also have an effect on the number of calories that you burn as well as your general fitness levels.
How good your swimming technique is and how hard you actually swim will determine how many calories you burn and how long it will take to reach a good fitness level.
What to eat
There is often a lot of discussion about what and when to eat both before and after swimming. The best advice would probably be to aim to have a meal about 3 hours before you swim, maybe consume a sport type energy drink if you want to during the exercise routine and then aim to re-hydrate and replenish your levels about 20 minutes after you have stopped swimming.
The pool can be your secret weapon for staying fit, so make the most of the facilities that you have available.
Tom Willis writes freelance articles and operates a ‘fitness group for adults’ on the weekends and particular weekdays. He enjoys reading and spending time with his wife, often losing to her in Scrabble.
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