What is something that your inner child loves doing? The sort of activity that made you lose
track of time because you were so invested in it. The one that made you excited just by thinking
of the prospect of doing it. For me, it was swimming: hours spent splashing in the Peruvian
ocean, the waves nurturing me and comforting me. Now that I live in the Midwest I don’t have
the ocean with me, but I still get joy from swimming every single day. Here are 5 reasons why
you should make swimming your next favorite workout.
1. Diving into the pool is truly therapeutic
Being under water helps you forget about all of your every-day problems, letting you connect
with your body and soul and letting stress go. When you come out of the pool, you will be as
relaxed as if you had just gotten a massage session.
2. it is a killer workout
Swimming is one of the most complete and thorough workouts ever. It is the perfect combination of cardio and resistance exercise, helping you develop all the muscles in your body while improving your endurance, increasing stamina, strength and flexibility. Swimming has been proven to be much more effective than boring and painful hours on the elliptical or doing cardio at the gym.
3. it helps you be more mindful
When swimming, you have to think about how every stroke synchronizes with every flutter kick. You are truly grounding yourself underwater, developing an incredible mind-body connection as a result.
4. it is fun!
In all seriousness, swimming is an extremely fun form of fitness. Even when it’s winter, you can go to the pool and pretend you are at the beach or a lake (or at least, that’s what I do). Swimming is freeing, relaxing and entertaining. It helps you challenge yourself without damaging your joints and without sweating (a huge advantage, in my opinion).
5. it makes you happy
Trust me. As all exercise does, swimming releases endorphins, which are chemicals that make you feel happy and pleased with life. But there’s something about wearing a swimsuit, the smell of chlorine and feeling the water on your skin that boosts those endorphins and makes you infinitely more happy than just hitting the gym.
So go and dive into the deep end of the pool (or take the stairs, whatever you want is fine). You
will be healthier, fitter and happier! Guaranteed.