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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Make a splash!

Eisha Sarkar
Posted on Hello Wellness on Apr 20 2011 11:53AM

As the mercury rises, a dip into a clear blue body of water seems to be the perfect way to start or end your day. Swimming provides comfort, helps you concentrate and is the best form of exercise. It increases your strength and flexibility, builds stamina, improves cardiovascular conditioning and corrects your posture. It helps in weight-loss, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, thus reducing the risk of heart disease and stoke.

Take a dip to tone up

While exercises such as cycling and running strengthen specific muscles of the body, swimming works on different muscles simultaneously. It is fantastic for toning the upper body, arms and shoulders.

If you don't like the idea of lifting weights, swimming is a great option. The buoyancy provided by water gives you a feeling of weightlessness and supports you well and is hence recommended for people suffering from injuries, back pain, arthritis and disabilities.

Good for recovery
An excellent post-natal exercise, swimming strengthens abdominal and shoulder muscles that get strained the most when caring for a baby. It also reduces joint pains, blood pressure and discomfort associated with pregnancy.

Doctors often suggest swimming to women who have undergone breast surgery as part of the recovery process. It is effective in avoiding muscular atrophy often seen in post-surgery patients who adopt a sedentary lifestyle.

Just chill!
Swimming offers many psychological benefits. By regulating breathing and stimulating circulation, swimming helps release built-up stress and relaxes your mind. It is an excellent recreational activity.

A word of caution...
Still waters run deep so test them before you take the plunge. Do not start with doing laps straight away as that can be harmful. Start with easy breathing exercises and learning the basic strokes before you move onto swimming-based exercises.

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