Some questions about swimming's contribution to fitness
Former Member
Hi,
I am a new member here. Due to a serious knee injury (4 time dislocation), I am interested in taking up swimming. It is especially appealing as it is a low impact sport and involves all parts of the body.
How good is swimming for the heart? I know it forces my heart to work, but is it good to keep it in shape?
Is swimming good for strengthening a knee?
Lastly, swimming is the only sport/exercise I do. As a result, I assume I would have to do quite a lot of swimming to make up for the lack of other exercise. How many hours a week would I have to put in (assuming I swim constant lengths with some rest in between - or as far as I can, but not just standing in the pool).
Sorry for all the questions on my first post
Thanks
Short answer - it is a great way to get and stay in shape if you put some effort into it. If you spend an hour basically floating around you're wasting your time. If you work your way up to 3K yards or meters in an hour and push your self a bit, you will really benefit - of course your mileage may vary. In the past 12 months I lost nearly 50 lbs, dropped 4 inches on my waist.
Good for the heart - my blood pressure is down in the solid normal rage, enough to getting off my meds. My pulse rate went from 76 to 56. So good here too.
As for the knee - little stress on the joints, you can work the muscle groups in the water with the right exercise program. It chould also help with flexibility and range of motion. Kicking is a great workout for the legs.
And I find it a better exercise than running - because I don't feel old and creeky as i do when I ran, and I don't miss or skip workout because my knees or back feel like they are about to shatter.
I say try it out and if it works, you win. Some people just don't find swimming to be their exercise - it is harder than it looks.
Good luck with the knee.
Short answer - it is a great way to get and stay in shape if you put some effort into it. If you spend an hour basically floating around you're wasting your time. If you work your way up to 3K yards or meters in an hour and push your self a bit, you will really benefit - of course your mileage may vary. In the past 12 months I lost nearly 50 lbs, dropped 4 inches on my waist.
Good for the heart - my blood pressure is down in the solid normal rage, enough to getting off my meds. My pulse rate went from 76 to 56. So good here too.
As for the knee - little stress on the joints, you can work the muscle groups in the water with the right exercise program. It chould also help with flexibility and range of motion. Kicking is a great workout for the legs.
And I find it a better exercise than running - because I don't feel old and creeky as i do when I ran, and I don't miss or skip workout because my knees or back feel like they are about to shatter.
I say try it out and if it works, you win. Some people just don't find swimming to be their exercise - it is harder than it looks.
Good luck with the knee.
