Pellegrini, Detti, Paltrinieri…
Thanks to the stars of the sport swimming certainly isn’t an unknown or little-practised pastime: it’s greatly loved for its many significant physical and mental benefits like raised concentration, reduced stress and socialization. Let’s find out more about them.
VERSATILITY
You really don’t need the stroke power of Michael Phelps to be able to swim: it’s a sport for everyone, you can do it all-year round in the sea or in the pool, on your own or in company, for fun or competitively – and with a low risk of injury.
IT’S GOOD FOR THE HEART
If you swim often, even for a short time, the heart’s oxygen consumption is lowered and you save energy. Your heart rate slows down because the heart gets used to the effort and is well trained.
IT HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT (AND MUCH MORE BESIDES!)
It’s true.
Depending on your style and speed, an hour of swimming burns between 400 and 700 calories.
IT PROTECTS YOU FROM STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS
Swimming reduces your blood pressure and regulates the levels of glucose and fat in the blood, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases like strokes and heart attacks.
IT’S THE MOST COMPLETE SPORT THERE IS
Swimming exercises your whole body. Water creates more resistance than the air, and for this reason it prompts you to use all your muscle groups, strengthening their tone and harmonizing their activity.
SWIMMING AS THERAPY
Activities in the water are a form of therapy recommended by doctors for correcting the posture, re-educating movement and for treating various pathologies. They is also greatly used in physiotherapy.
IT ENSURES MUSCLE FLEXIBILITY
The movements involved in swimming enable the joints and ligaments to stay flexible: each stroke encourages stretching and strengthening of the muscles.
IT IS A TREATMENT FOR ASTHMA
Swimming is a real panacea for this disorder, as demonstrated by a number of studies published in the scientific journal Respirology stating that swimming would be particularly effective on children who suffer from asthma.
IT PROTECTS AGAINST TYPE 2 DIABETES AND LIMITS CHOLESTEROL
Constant exercise like swimming protects people of both sexes from type 2 diabetes. No wonder an active and sporty lifestyle is always recommended for pre-diabetics by medical professionals,
helping them to lose weight and regulate their cholesterol levels.
IT HELPS YOU TO LIVE LONGER
According to researchers at the University of Southern California, swimming helps reduce the risk of premature death in both sexes. People who swim regularly have a risk of death up to 50% lower than those who practice running and walking or those who don’t do any sport.
So… all you need to do now is dive in!