National Geographic Report: Swimming Is the Best Form of Exercise

120706-F-MQ656-228 JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM (July 6, 2012) Sailors from the Royal New Zealand navy and U.S. Navy dive into the pool to start a 200-meter freestyle relay during a Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) international swim meet. Over one hundred Sailors from multiple nations gathered at Scott Pool to compete in a friendly swim meet and get to know each other prior to the start of the operational portion of RIMPAC 2012. Twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from Jun. 29 to Aug. 3, in and around the Hawaiian Islands. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the worlds oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth/Released)

Photo Courtesy: Michael R. Holzworth, TSgt, USAF

National Geographic: Swimming the Best Form of Exercise

Swimming is more than a way to race, but a way to exercise.

The water provides cardio with natural water resistance that builds and tones muscle and burns calories, all giving a boost to health in everything from the heart to mental health.

National Geographic called it the best form of exercise in a recent article. It is a sport that spans ages, cultures and geography.

“Propelling one’s body mass through water activates numerous systems throughout the body and makes the low-impact, high-results nature of the sport second to none,” the article stated.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans make more than 300 million recreational swimming visits per year, which has made the sport the fourth-most popular recreational activity in the country.

“Swimming provides an array of specific benefits such as improved cardiovascular and respiratory fitness, improved muscle strength and endurance, improved lean body mass, lower risk of traumatic injuries such as occurs during high-impact activities, and improved mental health and well-being,” Mitch Lomax, a pulmonologist and exercise physiologist at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, told National Geographic.

According to the report:

Studies show that swimming also increases range of motion, reduces joint pain, enhances flexibility, improves posture, and slows down the aging process. It’s also been shown to help people with multiple sclerosis, and arthritis, and is good for blood glucose management.
One public health analysis found that a 155-pound person burns 281 calories per hour treading water or swimming at a moderate pace but can burn as many as 704 calories per hour swimming laps freestyle at a vigorous pace. The butterfly stroke burns as many as 774 calories per hour.
Studies show that moving through water increases blood flow to the brain and causes a release of the hormones serotonin and dopamine.

Read the whole National Geographic article here.

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