Whether you choose to run or swim, both will help you lose weight and improve your cardiovascular capacity. The benefits of swimming outweigh those of running for many reasons.
What’s so good about swimming?
- Resistance effect in water: strengthens the body.
- Burn calories
- Keeps Blood Pressure Low – Good cardiovascular exercise without straining your heart.
- Weightlessness of water: no stress on the joints, lengthens the spine
Resistance effect
A great natural advantage of swimming is the resistance effect. Water is 1000 times denser than air, so when you swim, it’s like training with weights without dumbbells. The water itself is your weight training.
You get a full-body workout when you swim that puts little stress on your joints. Activates the muscles of the upper and lower body. This includes the legs, trunk, upper and lower back, arms, shoulders, and chest.
Like weight training, swimming engages and tones muscles due to resistance. While running is a great cardiovascular exercise, it doesn’t do much to improve a dynamic muscular body.
Burn the Calories
A moderate intensity workout classifies keeping your heart rate at 50-70% of maximum heart rate.
A rigorous workout runs at 70-85% of maximum heart rate. After a vigorous 30-minute breaststroke swim, you can burn up to 300 calories. This can vary based on your weight. The heavier it is, the more calories it will burn. By burning 500 calories more than you consume every day, you can lose one pound of fat a week. Okay, this doesn’t sound like much. But think long term. After a month, you can lose about 4-5 pounds, almost half a stone. Multiply that by 6 months and you have lost 2 kilos of body fat.
Why does swimming help the heart work more efficiently?
When the body is in an upright position (for example, when running or jumping), the heart has to work hard to pump blood and oxygen to and from the lower extremities. This increased demand on the heart can lead to spikes in blood pressure, which is not good for the heart.
The American College of Sports Medicine states: “Swimming works the cardiovascular system without causing significant increases in blood pressure.” Because the body is horizontal while swimming, the heart has to work just as hard. There is almost no gravity involved, so the blood pressure remains low.
The weightlessness of water
Yet another benefit swimming has on running is the weightless effect in the water. At the end of each stroke (chest stroke, freestyle, etc.), your body stretches. Because water supports your body, it allows you to stretch while on the move. The spine can then lengthen, lengthening the spaces between the vertebrae.
Physical therapists encourage patients with disc problems to swim because of this spinal lengthening effect. Take the pressure off the discs.
Benefits and risks of running
Running generally has great benefits.
It reduces the chances of getting: –
- Type 2 diabetes
- Depression
- Cardiovascular disease
Gets better: –
- Bone density
- Weight control
However, you need to consider the risks of long-distance running without a supervised coach. They can advise you on nutrition, rest and good running technique. For safety reasons: – A medical check-up is essential to detect heart conditions, biomechanical problems or other risk factors.
The marathon run over stretches the immune system. It causes the body to produce excessive amounts of cortisol to reduce swelling. The advice for runners is to increase vitamin C, get enough sleep, and avoid outside stress. This aids recovery and boosts immunity.
To sum up
I don’t want to dissuade runners from what they obviously love to do. Its health benefits are undeniable. However, long-distance running puts enormous pressure on the ankle, hip, and knee joints.
Swimming has advantages for strength, weight loss, low joint stress, and cardiovascular endurance.
Swimming has no negative points other than the need to learn to swim. It can be a problem for many people who did not get to know water at a young age. I mean, it’s never too late to learn. Swimming lessons are inexpensive and there are plenty of instructors by the pool, no matter where you choose.