All photos courtesy of Abby White and the Times Free Press / Chatter
Initially Published In Chatter Magazine by Times Free Press – Article linked here
Water.
We drink it. We’re made up of it. We wash our car with it. We keep fish in it. We use it to make mac n’ cheese. It fills our snow globes. It’s in our whiskey.
And for many of us, we exercise in it (water, not whiskey). In fact, swimming has long been considered one of the best forms of exercise. It helps with everything from muscles to metabolism to mobility to mental health, and experts seem to suggest that swimming is practically a miracle sport — the leafy greens of the athletic realm. Here, we’re looking at what makes swimming as healthy as a bowl full of kale.
The Wellness of Water
Most people think of swimming as being a good cardio workout that helps with weight loss and overall fitness, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
“It’s really a full package,” says Kateryna Moisyeyeva, a local triathlon coach who prefers to be called simply Kat. She trains athletes ranging from people attempting their first triathlon to veteran Ironman-ers and even professional athletes. “No other sport offers the same package of benefits from one workout. You get your cardio from swimming, and you get resistance training from the resistance of the water. The mental and emotional benefits are just a cherry on top.”
Suzannah Bozzone, a double-board certified physician in family and lifestyle medicine and an avid swimmer herself, agrees that swimming is a full-body workout that builds muscle, burns calories, boosts metabolism, increases lung capacity and so much more.
Swimming can increase serotonin and blood flow and boost mood. This, in turn, helps reduce chronic disease and even cancer, she says.
“We see a significant reduction in cardiovascular deaths — a 41% reduction, according to one study — in swimmers compared to non-swimmers,” Bozzone says.
And because it strengthens your lungs, she explains that it can also help people who suffer from asthma.
The Path of Most Resistance
General guidelines from the official health gurus advocate for two to three sessions of resistance training weekly — for bones, muscles and general well-being. And swimming counts for that, too.
The resistance training that comes with pushing against the water to propel yourself forward while swimming is comparable to strength training with weights, Bozzone says — so much so that one study found evidence suggesting that swimming could actually support bone health and help prevent osteoporosis. And although she recommends doing additional resistance activities beyond just swimming to achieve maximum benefits, swimming still helps you bulk up your muscles.
“You’re getting your deltoids; you’re getting your triceps; you’re getting a really great arm workout if you’re going through your stroke effectively,” Bozzone says. In fact, she adds that you get much more of an upper-body workout with swimming than you would with other common sports, such as running, walking and biking, which are mostly legs. For that reason, if you ask her which sport provides the best workout, she gives a slight nudge to swimming — though she admits she’s somewhat biased.
And it doesn’t end there. Swimming also works your core, and kicking in the water works your legs. In fact, according to Kat, doing flip turns in the pool is the equivalent of doing a whole lot of squats.
“With swimming, everything is engaged,” she says. “You’re working on your mobility and flexibility at the same time.”
The number of benefits will blow you out of the water.
“Really in all scopes of wellness, [swimming is] so incredible,” Bozzone says.
As You Live and Breathe
The breath control required in swimming can also have a soothing effect, much the way breath is used in yoga, says Bozzone, who is also a yoga instructor.
“That power of the breath and oxygenation throughout the body and the power that it holds to calm us is something that’s very special and unique to swimming,” she says. “It’s hard to get that in other exercise forms to that capacity.”
Kat agrees. She says that swimming forces you to find rhythm in your breathing, which then relaxes you. “You work on exhaling completely, which activates all of those positive serotonin levels and lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels,” she says. “It’s almost a meditative state.”
But even if you don’t actively swim, Bozzone says that just being in the water, floating, has advantages. “That sensation of floating and the freedom that comes with that … It just takes the stress off of you,” she says. “We see reduced anxiety and depression.”
“You feel so weightless. You feel so unstoppable,” Kat says, adding that there’s science behind why it makes us feel so good to take a dip: The water has negative ions that soothe our nervous system and support our brain function and immune system, she says.
Group Fitness
Swimming is a very forgiving and accepting sport — most anyone can learn to do it. As long as you can swim (and not necessarily even well), you can get a lot out of it.
For example, Bozzone says that swimming is good for people who might have underlying conditions — such as pain, pregnancy, heart disease, joint problems/arthritis, fibromyalgia, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy — that could make other forms of exercise difficult. Not only is swimming easy on the joints, but it can actually help reduce stiffness.
“Swimming is just so empowering and so beautiful in many ways because it’s available to people who maybe can’t walk because of arthritis, a lot of joint pain or being significantly overweight and all the pressure that gravity puts on us,” she says.
Swimming also doesn’t discriminate based on age or ability.
Kat says that she recently worked with an 80-year-old swimmer who was still working on getting faster. “Swimming is truly an ageless sport. That’s why I love it so much, because toddlers can swim, and then people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s can swim, and they all can improve,” she says. “No other sport will offer the same.”
Swimming even has the added bonus of being a life-saving activity. But then, so is running, if you’re being chased by a hyena, but learning to swim at a young age can prevent accidental drownings.
Open-Minded
Open water swimming — whether in a lake, river or ocean — has additional advantages because you’re exercising in nature, with all the perks that come with being outdoors. Kat says that it provides the same mental and physical benefits as forest bathing or “grounding,” two practices involving connecting with nature for the sake of wellness.
“The exposure to nature … has been clinically shown to improve depression and anxiety and [help] your mental health significantly,” Bozzone says. She says there’s research suggesting that when exercising outdoors, you can work out longer and harder without feeling as tired. So it’s just more fun.
Kat certainly thinks so. She says that an early-morning swim in the river keeps her focused and happy all day. “Open water swimming is just so fantastic,” she says. “My favorite swims were in the open water at sunrise. You cannot describe the feeling that you get as you jump in the water and see that fireball in the sunrise. I just love starting my days that way.”
Of course, unless you’re an E. coli whisperer or have the immune system of a kindergarten teacher, they advise against getting into excessively dirty water, as well as avoiding particularly dangerous conditions such as aggressive tides or rushing rapids. But with normal precautions, swimming outside (even in an outdoor pool) can be the best way to swim.
Get Into the Swim of Things
For those already doing laps regularly, keep on stroking. It’s good for you. But if you’re still fearing the freestyle, Kat encourages you to give the water a whirl.
“Don’t be afraid to start if you’re not already a swimmer,” she says. “There is no right age or fitness level to get in the water. And this is truly the sport that you can do all your life, and you can do it well.”
It might seem daunting at first. Many people are reluctant to take up swimming, at least beyond a doggy-paddle level. For reasons that vary from comfort level in the water to swimsuit styles to stroke technique, swimming can be off-putting to many (there’s a reason why it’s the least popular sport in a triathlon).
But dare to get your feet wet. You just might be surprised to find that you like to swim, Kat says. Besides, the pluses way outweigh the minuses.
“I think swimming offers so many benefits, and it cannot be underestimated,” she says. “This sport is so inclusive. It doesn’t matter the age; it doesn’t matter the shape; it doesn’t matter your fitness level. Everybody can benefit.”
