Swimming as a Good Habit

Swimming As a Good Habit

I like swimming and I search about it in the Kent library. I have ten-year experience in competitive swimming and twelve years in pleasure swimming. I was born close to a lake where my father practice fishing and while my mother hire yachting facilities. I requested my father to take me with him to fishing expeditions but he refused because I did not know how to swim. At the age of seven, my brother trained me how to swim. Since then, I have become and swimming enthusiast. Why is swimming a good habit for me and should everybody adopt it?

Swimming is an excellent sport that has helped me to have an excellent physical appearance. The sport is fantastic recreational activity while at the same time offers me an excellent recreational activity. Everybody should seek the benefits of the sport since it brings pleasure as a hobby, while giving the swimmer a chance to work out. Overweight people can drastically eliminate the extra pounds hassle free. Individuals move the body against resistance of water, a training that helps to exercising the entire body muscles (Viviene 117).

Swimming is a serene and relaxing exercise for eradicating stress. It helps the mind to stray while focusing on nothing apart from the strokes’ rhythm. It enables more oxygen to flow in the muscles and body system such that by the end of the work out, one feels comfortable and relaxed. The exercise facilitates release of endorphins that brings about the relaxation effect. Scientific research asserts that it helps to replace brain cells damaged by stress through a process known as hippocampal neurogenesis (Amira et al 9).

Swimmers benefit from low-impact treatment for some conditions and injuries that require limited strain such as a dislocated joint. The pressure on connective tissues and joints is reduced by approximately a 1/10th by flesh buoyancy. Swimmers can engage in myriad of workouts with low chances of acquiring physical injuries. This enables ligaments and joints to maintain optimum versatility (Greenway et al 3224).

Expectant mothers gain from swimming because it assists them to brace up abdominal and shoulder muscles that are often strained during the gestation period. Patients suffering from conditions like arthritis also find swimming beneficial because it is a low impact workout that effectively relieves stiff muscles. The exercise does also improve circulation since water can reduce the body weight for up to 90% when one is immersed up to the neck level (Harvard Mental Health Letter 7).

Medical researchers have discovered that swimming does improve blood pressure. Individuals who incorporate swimming in their workout routine have reduced vulnerability to high blood pressure. The workout also minimizes the susceptibility of patients to stroke and heart diseases (Viviene 119).

The aerobic power of swimming is effective in correcting the cholesterol level of swimmers. It helps individuals to gain higher levels of HDL (beneficial cholesterol) and minimal LDL (harmful cholesterol) (Greenway et al 3220).

Another advantage of swimming is that it is an aerobic workout. According to the American Heart Association report, the exercise fortifies the heart by assisting it to become bigger and more effective in pumping. The improved blood flow lowers the rate of coronary heart disease among ladies by approximately 30-40% in ladies. Swimming has also been associated with helping to improve the endothelium (the slim film of cells fortifying arteries and tend to lose versatility at advanced age) (Harvard Mental Health Letter 7).

Although swimming does not help in improvement of bone density, it enhances bone strength. Bone density is achieved through weight bearing exercises. Each arm stroke and kick in resistance training contributes tremendously in development of muscles and reduction of aging (Amira et al 6).

In conclusion, swimming comes with unlimited advantages backed by scientific and physical research. It has helped me to improve my coordination, balance and posture tremendously. Everyone is guaranteed to benefit from this workout.

Works Cited

Harvard Mental Health Letter. Feb2012, Vol. 28 Issue 8, p7-7. 1/2p.

Abou-Dest, Amira; Albinet, Cédric T.; Boucard, Geoffroy; Audiffren, Michel. Journal of Aging Research. 2012, p1-12. 12p. DOI: 10.1155/2012/273185.

Greenway, Kate; Walkley, Jeff; Rich, Peter. European Journal of Applied Physiology. Sep2012, Vol. 112 Issue 9, p3217-3225. 9p. 7

Temple, Viviene A.; Walkley, Jeff W.; Greenway, Kate. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. Jun2010, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p116-120.

Cited: Harvard Mental Health Letter. Feb2012, Vol. 28 Issue 8, p7-7. 1/2p. Abou-Dest, Amira; Albinet, Cédric T.; Boucard, Geoffroy; Audiffren, Michel. Journal of Aging Research. 2012, p1-12. 12p. DOI: 10.1155/2012/273185. Greenway, Kate; Walkley, Jeff; Rich, Peter. European Journal of Applied Physiology. Sep2012, Vol. 112 Issue 9, p3217-3225. 9p. 7 Temple, Viviene A.; Walkley, Jeff W.; Greenway, Kate. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. Jun2010, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p116-120.