Swimming is one of the best workouts you can do to get healthy. Whether you’re looking for a workout that’ll be easy on your joints, strengthen your heart, or help you lose weight, swimming is the answer. Hop in the water for your daily workout. You can swim laps at your local pool, or in the lake or reservoir near your house. If you don’t know how to swim, you can even take a class or swimming lessons. Here are some of the benefits of swimming as your go-to exercise.

Swimming doesn’t hurt your joints the way most exercise does. When you run, hike, or even walk, you’re putting stress on your joints and muscles. Over time these joints and muscles begin to hurt. Thankfully, swimming doesn’t do that to your body. You might even find swimming will soothe your aching joints or muscles while you get in a workout.

Keep in mind, if you have osteoporosis, a disease that weakens your bones and makes them brittle, you’ll want to supplement your swimming workouts with strength training or another weight-bearing activity so that you’re continuing to build bone.

First and foremost, swimming is a great cardio exercise. It’ll get your heart rate up as you work your way through the water. Swimming is also a resistance training exercise. All that water surrounding you during your workout provides resistance to your movements. Which means it’ll help tone the muscles in your entire body. It’s hard to find a workout that provides both cardio and resistance training. Notably, swimming works the following areas of your body:

• Glutes
• Core muscles
• Arms
• Legs
• Back

If you’ve had a hard time losing weight because you can’t stick with your workouts, it might be time to try a different workout. Swimming is easier to stick with because it hurts your body less, doesn’t require special equipment, and burns nearly 500 calories an hour. It’s easier to lose weight when you’re burning a lot of calories and you enjoy your exercise.

Want to run a marathon? Include swimming in your training schedule. It’ll help improve your endurance. When you swim your body is learning to use oxygen in more efficient ways, which means your whole body will function better during your workout and you can go longer and farther.

It doesn’t matter if you’re age 5 or 50, swimming is a good exercise for you. It’s great for beginners and more experienced swimmers. It also doesn’t matter if you’re wildly in shape or extremely out of shape. You can start swimming today and build on your endurance and capabilities. If you start swimming regularly when you’re younger, swimming will age with you.

There’s a reason families head to the pool in hordes every summer. Swimming is fun. Swimming as a workout requires a bit more planning and concentration, but it can be just as fun as you learn to push yourself. It’s also a great way to cool down in hot weather. If you can’t imagine running in 90 degree temperatures, head to the pool for your workout.

Swimming is a great, whole-body workout. You can use it to get into shape, strength train, and improve your endurance.

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