How Swimming Can Help You Achieve Your New Year’s Resolution Body Goals

If you’re fortunate enough to have your own pool, or access to one, you can do more than just have a great time. Swimming provides a great opportunity to improve strength, burn fat, increase muscle tone and lose weight. We all make New Year’s resolutions, and if you swim regularly, you can keep these resolutions while feeling great. Swimming can help you achieve your New Year’s resolution body goals in many specific ways.

Improving Strength and Flexibility

Swimming increases strength in the legs and upper body. Because you are constantly fighting against the water to propel your body forward, you’re getting a full resistance workout. The more you do resistance exercises like swimming, the stronger you get. Swimming also improves flexibility due to the movement of the strokes and helps your muscles and joints stay limber.

Burning Calories

During a half-hour swim, you can burn anywhere between 90-550 calories. The more you exert yourself, the more you’ll burn. If you’re new to using swimming as a workout, start slow, otherwise you will tire yourself out before the half-hour is up.

Creating a Leaner Figure

Swimming can improve your figure by increasing muscle tone and creating a leaner physique. Because it works all your major muscle groups, the movements we do while swimming are able to target the entire body and tone us up.

Keeping the Heart Healthy

Our cardiovascular health is as important as our physical health. Swimming ensures that your heart and lungs get a workout too, as they have to supply your muscles with enough oxygen. Additionally, swimming can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

Building Endurance

Some of the world’s top athletes swim in their off-seasons because it’s a low impact workout that builds muscle and endurance. Because your lungs and heart are working out too, your endurance will climb as well. You’ll be able to do other athletic activities like riding your bike, running, and playing sports with improved endurance once you’ve taken up swimming.

Losing Weight

Regular workouts along with a good diet can help you lose weight. Swimming is a great workout that burns calories, especially when done at a slow and steady pace, which leads to weight loss and will help you achieve your body goals.

Besides helping you get in shape, swimming is fun. It’s a great way to de-stress after a long day of work and if you start swimming in January, you’ll notice a change in your body by early February, and be well on your way to the body the want when swimsuit season comes around.

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