Dive Right In :: Fitness :: Cardio Exercise

Dive Right In
by author Brendan Brazier

Often overlooked as a form of exercise for children, recreational swimming is an excellent all round activity. Recreational swimming is quite different from the competitive sport. Regular weekly visits to the pool can help your child reap the benefits of this most calming form of exercise.

Swimming provides excellent cardiovascular training. All the major muscle groups become engaged to help transport blood throughout the body. Other health benefits range from better posture to smoother movement to relaxation of the mind during and as a result of swimming.

Posture Perfection

The resistance that water provides helps build muscular endurance. The freestyle swimming stroke, sometimes referred to as the front crawl, exercises the upper back, specifically the
latissimus dorsi muscles (the lats). In day-to-day life this group of muscles pull back the chest and shoulders and keep posture erect. You’ve undoubtedly seen people whose posture is compromised because their shoulders roll forward. Poor posture can lead to myriad problems, ranging from a sore upper back (trapezoid muscles) to low back pain, and even to a reduced ability to breathe deeply with ease.

Opening up the chest by strengthening the back muscles and creating flexibility within the chest muscles is the quickest way to improve the efficient use of the lungs. Once the lungs can draw in air with ease, each involuntary breath will be more expansive, promoting better overall health. It’s been shown that deep breathing can be a contributing factor in stress reduction. It also helps the brain stay more alert by providing more oxygen with each breath.

Fluidity of Movement

Unlike some other forms of resistance training, swimming allows both working and opposing muscles to retain their flexibility and subtleness, creating functional strength. By building muscular strength, endurance, and balance, swimming can be an ideal exercise to improve body carriage in general. In addition to developing basic flexibility, body awareness and finesse of movement are often gained. Essentially, swimming helps establish fluidity of movement.

Improved flexibility, posture, usable real-world strength, increased agility, balance, and body awareness–swimming can improve it all.

When children take swimming lessons and develop swimming skills during the formative years all the health benefits of the sport are magnified. Since children’s bodies are still forming, the benefits that swimming can provide will develop quickly, but most importantly will remain with them throughout life, with minimal effort.

Midstream Meditation

In addition to the physical gains achieved by swimming, the mental gains quite often go unappreciated. Children are inundated with nearly constant stimulation on a day-to-day basis. The solitude of being in the water can provide children with a welcome break from the world. Swimming is an opportunity to either focus on the task at hand without distraction or to enjoy the silence and let the mind wander.

Sensitivity to chlorine can be a concern for some. While most children will not exhibit any symptoms to regular chlorine exposure, others may develop a runny nose, mild headaches, and eye and skin irritation. To minimize the effects of chlorine, rinse off well after swimming and use a chlorine-removal shampoo to rinse hair.

Those who have a low tolerance to chlorine are best to swim in an ozonated pool, if possible. Ozone, equally as effective at killing bacteria, will not cause chlorine-like irritations even to more sensitive children. More and more Canadian communities are choosing to ozonate the water in their local swimming pool. Look for one near you.

Recreational swimming is a family activity that provides plenty of fun and exercise, too. Go ahead! Get wet.

Brendan Brazier, a professional Ironman triathlete, is author of the Canadian bestseller Thrive: A Guide to Optimal Health and Performance through Plant-Based Whole Foods (Oceanside Publishing, 2004). brendanbrazier.com.

Source: alive #275, September 2005

Make a Splash!
Many of us are irresistibly drawn to lakes and rivers, the ocean, local swimming holes and pools. Outdoor bathing invigorates and rejuvenates like nothing else. It's a welcome relief from the summer heat and reconnects us with nature, helping us relax and heal. Water exercise provides unique benefits.

Out of the Cold
My Norwegian friend Ingre swears by the health benefits of her daily swim in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Every morning, she's down at the beach off beautiful Sogne Fjord-even in the sub-zero temperatures of December-to "take the waters" and experience the blood rush that results.

Getting Into the Swim of Things
When I was in my early teens, I was a competitive swimmer. I swam for a club in White Rock, BC, and trained in a rectangle of wharves at the end of the pier under the watchful eye of our coach, Merle McGrath.

Just Do It Together
In our busy, hectic lives, both family time and fitness time may get shuffled to the bottom of our to-do lists. But maintaining good health and spending time with our families are essential to stress relief, longevity, and truly enjoying life. What's the solution? Turn family time into family fitness time!

Aqua Fit
Exercising in the pool is a great way to add variety to your fitness routine. Improved muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness are just two of the many benefits you will gain from putting on your swimsuit and jumping into the water.

Swimming for Gold
Swimming is one of the healthiest exercise activities you can do. It's a great fitness solution for anyone with little time to exercise because it's a whole-body workout. Endurance, muscle strength, and ardiovascular fitness are all accomplished with each arm stroke and leg kick in the pool.

Swim, Bike, Run
Triathlon was introduced in the 1970s in California and migrated north into Canada soon thereafter. Some 50,000 Canadians participate annually in these continuously timed competitions, which feature segments in three of the world’s most popular sports—swimming, cycling, and running.