The Danish scientists proved that swimming can be as effective for people to get in shape in the water as on land, Science Nordic reported.
The common land-based 4-x-4 interval training, where four sessions of 4 minutes of hard exercise each are interspersed with 2-3 minutes of less intensive training, is not so common in swimming. According to Bjørn Harald Olstad of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, swimming works many different muscles in a gentle way.
“In swimming, you’re also in a horizontal position, which is more favourable for the heart, and the amount of blood that is pumped out of the heart with each beat is quite high,”
he said and added that while swimming, people often use shorter intervals to make sure your technique remains strong, and they take shorter breaks since there is not nearly so much strain on your joints. Thus, the heart rate also won’t climb nearly as high in the water as it would on land.
Swimming helps to be in top shape without over-training
One swimming’s key aspect is to make sure that body is relaxed in the water, both under water and while afloat. Olstad points that many people are too tense when they swim, and this is a problem many people have with the crawl stroke.
One professional tip is to always exhale when your face is under water, so you only inhale when your face is out of the water. The second tip is to breathe early in the stroke and avoid lifting your head to breathe. One way to think about the timing is that when the arm that is in the water passes your shoulder, you should start rotating your head to the side to breathe.
As for motivation, Olstad suggests something big:
“My tip is: set yourself a goal of doing a triathlon!”
he said. Thus, the best advice to parents is to teach their kids as early as possible to swim in a proper way, that skill will definitely help people in the further life to be in top shape.
