How Does Swimming Keep You in Shape

Losing weight these days have become one of the constant struggles of many. The food industry also keeps evolving and re-inventing mouth-watery, gastronomic dishes making getting into the right shape a difficult thing to do. While losing weight is often associated with the idea of regularly going to the gym and eating healthy or watching what you eat, swimming can also be a key to keep you in shape. Watersports or activities may not come to your mind if the getting in shape is the objective. Some would sign up for a gym membership, try walking or jogging. However, going to the gym and performing exercises/routines which may involve running or lifting weights may not be a good idea for some people who have bad knees. Some find the idea of running a tedious task. That is why swimming can be an option! So how does swimming help keep you in shape? Find out through this blog.

Casual swimming. You can count on casual swimming when it comes to getting into shape. It is the type of swimming you do when you’re in the pool enjoying with your kids and family or even hanging out at the lake! It burns calories, but not as many as you burn when you practice a regular habit of swimming laps. However, if you decide to go swimming with the fam at the pool thrice a week and devote an hour to swim, you will be more likely to lose half a pound every week.

Burn calories. Losing weight through swimming or any other form of workout/exercise requires you to burn 3,500 calories more than the number the body requires to maintain your weight to lose a pound. You can find out accurately how many calories you need to burn to maintain your current weight by using a basal metabolic rate calculator. When you finally know how many calories you should be burning, you will then know how long you will need to swim.

Strokes. Consider the type of strokes you will be doing as it will determine the amount of calorie you have to burn, hence, the number of weight you lose. Backstroke and sidestroke both burn 650 calories. The Breaststroke burns 820 and the butterfly burns 900 calories. The freestyle, the usual stroke you see people do however burns 650 to 820 calories an hour, depending on the intensity. Also, walking in waters can help you burn up to 820 calories if done briskly. The good thing about swimming as a way to weight loss is that you can vary the strokes, working on a variety of muscles while swimming laps.

Appropriate diet. Of course, any form of weight loss exercise when partnered with appropriate and balanced diet will prosper good result. It’s a fact that swimming can stimulate appetite given that swimmers are more worn-out of carbohydrates after exercising compared to people who run. Immediately after exercising, you can consume a low-fat carbohydrate snack to avoid having a large appetite later on. Large appetite can lead to frustrating your weight loss hard works. Take some low-calorie vegetables and fruits when you’re hungry. Fill-up on meals that contain lean protein, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains.