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Swimming is an excellent form of exercise, providing a full-body workout and improving cardiovascular health. It can also help with mental health and calm anxiety. However, some people overlook important healthy habits when they spend a day at the pool.
1. Warm up & Cool Down.
Like sports or other exercises, it’s a good idea to warm up before swimming and cool down afterwards. Spending time stretching before and after swimming will help you loosen your muscles, increase flexibility, and help prevent injury. This article highlights stretches you can perform the next time you jump in the pool.
2. Using waterproof sunscreen.
If it happens regularly, getting sunburnt can be uncomfortable and have long-term health implications. If you own a pool or swim outdoors often, applying waterproof sunscreen 30 minutes before jumping into the pool can help you protect your skin. If you have trouble finding waterproof sunscreen, you can purchase some online here.
3. Staying hydrated.
While it might not seem like it, you still sweat while swimming. Staying hydrated is essential to replace the fluids you lose while swimming. Hydrating before entering the pool is a great healthy swimming habit to add to your routine. This blog article from vividalifestyle.com recommends drinking 600ml of water during the four hours before you start swimming.
4. Vary your strokes.
Switching up your strokes while swimming is a great way to work out different muscles. This can help prevent you from overusing one muscle group and add variety to your swimming routine keeping you more engaged with your workout.
Types of swimming strokes to try:
Freestyle: one of the most commonly used styles of swimming. Laying on your stomach, propel yourself forward with alternating arm movements. As you move forward with your arms, flutter kick with your legs. Time your breathing to match your strokes, turning your head to the side while your arm is in the air, above the water.
Backstroke: The backstroke is similar to freestyle, but as the name suggests, you perform it while lying on your back. Lay flat and use long arm motions, and perform the same flutter kick with your legs as you do when freestyle swimming.
Breaststroke: This swimming style may take some practice, and you can improve by seeking guidance from a coach or swimming instructor. We recommend starting with this video tutorial from Global Triathlon Network.
5. Take rest days
While swimming is a low-impact activity, giving your body adequate rest and recovery is an important healthy swimming habit to incorporate into your routine. Rest Days allow your muscles to repair and rebuild. Overtraining can lead to fatigue and decreased performance, so listen to your body’s needs.
Adding these habits to your swimming routine can help you get the most out of your workouts and improve overall performance and physical health. If applying all these habits at once becomes challenging to remember, try using them one at a time until they become a consistent part of your swimming routine.
Did you know pools have many benefits outside of exercise and physical health? Read more about them in this blog post.
