If you want to get fit and don't know how try swimming. There's hardly a better sport that can build your body, soothe your mind, regulate breathing and stimulate circulation better than swimming and that too without putting extra stress on the joints. It's an ideal exercise for just about everyone. You can achieve many things from cardiovascular fitness, flexibility to strengthening your muscles.
Effective stress buster
How do most executives de-stress after a long day's work? By taking a swim. Yes, swimming is a great way to unwind and let your tensions float away. It is believed that water has a positive and soothing effect on the human body since water makes up 60 per cent of our bodies. Ever tried floating in the pool? It is surely one of the great pleasures of life. The buoyancy and soothing qualities help your muscles relax and ease away the tensions.
Swim to lose weight
If you are specifically looking to lose weight through swimming it is a highly debatable issue. According to some studies, swimming is not a good activity if you want to burn calories while others hold that swimming can help in losing weight. Many researchers believe that swimming can actually make you fat! This school argues that swimming may actually slow down fat loss in some people because of the natural and innate survival mechanism found in the human body. According to them since fat helps in floating and saves from drowning, it is difficult to lose fat in water.
Further, that layer of fat provides protection against hypothermia in cold water. There are other theories too, which do not support swimming as a good weight loss exercise. According to these theories, swimming does not provide the same calorie-burning effect as land-based aerobics because calorie burning is a complex mechanism that can get affected by many factors like your weight, the intensity and speed of your motion, and the resistance created by moving your body through space and against gravity. These factors change considerably in water and thus hamper the weight loss process.
The other side of the picture is that swimming can actually help in weight reduction. Regular swimmers develop long lean muscles that are incredible fat-burning machines and further toned muscles produce an overall slimming effect. This school also believes that swimming, like all aerobics, contribute to weight loss and has a calorie-burning potential of 350-420 calories per hour.
Thus the debate continues. However what is irrefutable is the fact that swimming is a complete fitness activity that treats the mind, body and soul. So for all you water babies, dive now!
Showing posts with label Swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swimming. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Swimming Technique for Arm Action(Butterfly)
Your arms are the main propulsive forces in butterfly stroke. Take them seriously, learn their action correctly or just be a watcher, watching others 'Butter-flying'. Correct arm action is frankly a necessary qualification for making any true to life impression in this stroke. Unlike the front crawl your arms work simultaneously in butterfly, clearly, calling for more strength and flexibility than any other stroke. The arm action can be divided into three stages. These are:
The Entry
In Butterfly, your hands enter the water about shoulder width apart, in front of the head. Make sure that your elbows are held high and enter the water only after the wrists. Make sure that your face is already underwater as the hands enter.
Pull and Push
Once in water your hands turn outwards just below the surface with firm wrists, and move out and then pull inwards towards the centre line beneath the stomach. Remember your elbows should remain high throughout the pull, with the hands fixed as they press back on the water like paddles. See that your hands sweep out close to the thighs, pushing the water back towards the feet. Keep in mind that at this point your head should come up to breathe. Don't forget that in this pull and push your hands follow a smooth and continuous movement, in spite of the bending path.
Recovery
Make sure that when your hands reach the thighs, they are whipped out of the water without any pause and must swing rhythmically back to the point of entry. But remember the palms should face downwards and the elbows should be held relatively high and slightly bent.
Practice for the Arm Action
Bend forward and practise the arm movements in front of a mirror. Move your arms deliberately and slowly. Think about the entry, the pull and the recovery.
Walk in the water, with your shoulders just breaking the surface of the water. Put your face in the water and practise the arm action.
Do the same practice again, this time using four leg beats followed by a glide and one arm pull. Try to keep this going, concentrating on the pull. Think about pressing the hands in towards the centre line beneath the body. Later you can reduce the number of kicks.
Now try to make the arm stroke continuous and leave out the glide. Aim to kick your legs twice during each complete arm cycle. Hold your breath as you do these practices, but try to increase arm strokes every time. Just concentrate on pulling.
Master the arm technique and you will be able to swim the butterfly perfectly.
The Entry
In Butterfly, your hands enter the water about shoulder width apart, in front of the head. Make sure that your elbows are held high and enter the water only after the wrists. Make sure that your face is already underwater as the hands enter.
Pull and Push
Once in water your hands turn outwards just below the surface with firm wrists, and move out and then pull inwards towards the centre line beneath the stomach. Remember your elbows should remain high throughout the pull, with the hands fixed as they press back on the water like paddles. See that your hands sweep out close to the thighs, pushing the water back towards the feet. Keep in mind that at this point your head should come up to breathe. Don't forget that in this pull and push your hands follow a smooth and continuous movement, in spite of the bending path.
Recovery
Make sure that when your hands reach the thighs, they are whipped out of the water without any pause and must swing rhythmically back to the point of entry. But remember the palms should face downwards and the elbows should be held relatively high and slightly bent.
Practice for the Arm Action
Bend forward and practise the arm movements in front of a mirror. Move your arms deliberately and slowly. Think about the entry, the pull and the recovery.
Walk in the water, with your shoulders just breaking the surface of the water. Put your face in the water and practise the arm action.
Do the same practice again, this time using four leg beats followed by a glide and one arm pull. Try to keep this going, concentrating on the pull. Think about pressing the hands in towards the centre line beneath the body. Later you can reduce the number of kicks.
Now try to make the arm stroke continuous and leave out the glide. Aim to kick your legs twice during each complete arm cycle. Hold your breath as you do these practices, but try to increase arm strokes every time. Just concentrate on pulling.
Master the arm technique and you will be able to swim the butterfly perfectly.
How Swimming Compares with Land Workouts
Swimming is clearly one of the best forms of exercise besides being an enjoyable and fun-filled activity. However one frequently asked question about swimming is that is it any different from other land workouts and if so what is the difference? Which is better? Find out more.
Tones your muscles
Swimming is one sport that works all your major muscle groups. Very few sports can do this. Although it may appear that you are using only your shoulders, arms and legs while swimming but in reality almost all large muscle groups play a part. Since most of the power, which you need for swimming, comes from the upper half of your body except during butterfly where it is equal to the lower half, you see changes in your chest, shoulders and arms more quickly. However your lower half also plays an important part. The breaststroke kick is especially good for your inner and outer thigh muscles. Swimming is one sport and workout where your body fat actually helps you as it adds to your buoyancy and makes swimming easy.
Calorie burning and swimming
Although swimming is not considered as the best calorie burner but there is no doubt that you actually burn calories while swimming. If you are aiming for weight loss by burning calories then land-based exercises like tread mill, running and weight training are better and less cumbersome. However, experts estimate that if your weight is 150 pounds and you swim at a moderate pace freestyle than you will lose 600 calories in an hour. Interestingly, your calories burned will increase slightly in cold water, as your body has to do some extra work to keep itself warm in the cold water.
You can get dehydrated in water
You may not feel it while swimming, or even otherwise, but swimming can dehydrate you. Swimming is a good whole body workout and if done at a good pace can break a lot of sweat. However since you are in water, which acts as a coolant, you may not feel thirsty. A vigorous and continuous swimming for about 45 minutes is enough to take a drink break. Just get out of the pool for five minutes to drink some water or keep your water bottle ready by the side of the pool. Unlike land workouts you may not get sweaty or feel thirsty but after swimming you need some water so don't ignore it or you may fall ill.
Swimming is a good physical training pursuit but remember it is different from all land exercises and has its own set of precautions and benefits that should be adhered to get the most out of your swim.
Tones your muscles
Swimming is one sport that works all your major muscle groups. Very few sports can do this. Although it may appear that you are using only your shoulders, arms and legs while swimming but in reality almost all large muscle groups play a part. Since most of the power, which you need for swimming, comes from the upper half of your body except during butterfly where it is equal to the lower half, you see changes in your chest, shoulders and arms more quickly. However your lower half also plays an important part. The breaststroke kick is especially good for your inner and outer thigh muscles. Swimming is one sport and workout where your body fat actually helps you as it adds to your buoyancy and makes swimming easy.
Calorie burning and swimming
Although swimming is not considered as the best calorie burner but there is no doubt that you actually burn calories while swimming. If you are aiming for weight loss by burning calories then land-based exercises like tread mill, running and weight training are better and less cumbersome. However, experts estimate that if your weight is 150 pounds and you swim at a moderate pace freestyle than you will lose 600 calories in an hour. Interestingly, your calories burned will increase slightly in cold water, as your body has to do some extra work to keep itself warm in the cold water.
You can get dehydrated in water
You may not feel it while swimming, or even otherwise, but swimming can dehydrate you. Swimming is a good whole body workout and if done at a good pace can break a lot of sweat. However since you are in water, which acts as a coolant, you may not feel thirsty. A vigorous and continuous swimming for about 45 minutes is enough to take a drink break. Just get out of the pool for five minutes to drink some water or keep your water bottle ready by the side of the pool. Unlike land workouts you may not get sweaty or feel thirsty but after swimming you need some water so don't ignore it or you may fall ill.
Swimming is a good physical training pursuit but remember it is different from all land exercises and has its own set of precautions and benefits that should be adhered to get the most out of your swim.
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