Exercise in Winter – Going down under
We snapped this underwater shot the day before Hallowe’en in a friends pool – it was quite balmy for October 30 and the pool was sooo warm! It was nice while it lasted.
I started thinking of winter – not my favorite time of year! I’m not one for the cold, but it doesn’t stop me. I’ll run, skate and love to cross-country ski, but I literally count the days til Spring (which happens to be exactly 53 days away). Winter presents it’s limitations for many people who choose to exercise outdoors. Snow, ice and uneven surfaces can be hazardous to your health! I fell once… did I say once – and that was enough.
Indoors we go – and swimming is amazing as a winter sport. The buoyancy of the water makes for an ideal, low impact, total body workout, not to mention the freedom of not having to wear so many layers (another thing I cannot stand about winter) – all those layers just feels like… a cocoon.
Here’s my favorite reasons to dive in:
Swimming gives your body a great way to reduce stress and helps improve core strength. Taking it underwater helps improve lung function and relieves tension on joints and bones.
Swimming gives your body a total workout, tones your muscles and reduces cortisol levels (THE stress hormone). Must have something to do with floating and gliding effortlessly through the water…without the slamming impact on your bones. Swimming relieves even the stress of exercise itself. If impact exercise just isn’t your thing, jump in to strengthen your body and your mind.
Swimming is aerobic, so it’s great for your heart. It builds the heart muscle and helps increase circulation – makes the heart pump more efficiently. This is fantastic for reducing inflammation – which is at the root cause of every disease. Any time the body can reduce the inflammation, it can begin to do maintenance on the other areas…fix a little of the aches and pains, lower the cholesterol, control blood sugar more effectively. The list goes on.
Swimming burns some serious flab! Depending on the time spent and how hard you go at it, swimming burns a great deal of calories – in fact, it’s one of the best ways to shed those extra pounds. 10 minutes of breast stroke can burn about 50-60 calories, so take that up to 30 minutes and we’re burnin’ the fat – underwater. When you are twisting and turning about in the water, it works your core muscles – but seemingly much easier than spine-crushing crunches or fighting with the Ab-master.
Finally…
Swimming makes you happy. Ever see a dolphin who wasn’t smiling?
