Gracefoods

Before you use the heat as an excuse to refrain from exercise, think about the one thing you can do to have fun and still keep fit. If swimming came to mind, then you’re on the right track. It’s fun, it’s cool and it’ll keep you fit.

Swimming is a total body workout that builds endurance, keeps you toned and burns calories. To lose a significant amount of weight your endurance level needs to be very high, so that you may swim for longer periods at a time. Since it’s such a cooling activity, swimming does not induce a high metabolic rate. You need a high metabolic rate to burn calories fast. Therefore, if you swim to lose weight then you need to do it for longer to see any change. Beginning swimmers should only swim for about 12 – 20 minutes to build endurance until their strokes improve. Intermediate and advanced swimmers may swim for longer for this same purpose, but for 20 – 30 minutes and 30 – 60 minutes respectively.

In spite of this swimming has many benefits. It:

• strengthens the heart
• increases oxygen and blood flow to heart and lungs
• improves posture, flexibility
• increases circulation
• lowers blood pressure reducing risk of heart disease and stroke
• relaxes muscles reducing stress
• strengthens strained shoulders and abdominal muscles in pregnant women

It is a low risk activity. In other words, swimming does not jar bones and joints. The water keeps bodies buoyant, which is also good news for those who are recovering from injuries and need to do low impact exercises. Swimming may be used as an addition to regular workouts like step aerobics. You can use it to warm up or cool down as it relaxes and stretches the muscles at the same time. To get the most out of your swimming:

• vary your strokes (freestyle best for full body workout)
• substitute running or walking in the water for doing laps
• use pool wall to do leg lifts
• tread water to tone calves and thighs
• take water aerobics classes

For those who would rather go to the beach and dip yourselves in the Caribbean Sea, open water swimming can be more dangerous. There are creatures of the sea to avoid and tidal strength to be wary of. So, before you take full advantage of the fact that you live on an island follow these safety rules:

• let someone know where you are going to swim (lifeguard, friend)
• do not swim too far out
• do not swim alone at night
• use landmarks to keep track of your location
• coordinate breath intake with wave movements to avoid swallowing water instead of air

Before starting any exercise routine, consult with your doctor. In the case of swimming do this especially if you have asthma or an injury.