Swimming your way to good health: sport gives same health results with less effort

Ebony, July, 1996 by Mauriel L. Whetstone

IF you are looking for an enjoyable, healthy way to spend some of your leisure time, perhaps you should consider swimming your way to good health. Swimming can help you live a longer, more healthy life, and many doctors consider it one of the safest forms of low-impact exercise.

"One thing I think everyone will agree on," says Chicago internist Dr. Fred Daniels, "is that swimming probably does not lower your weight, but it does lower the percentage of your body fat. Your weight is lighter in water, but its resistance is about 775 times greater than air."

One of the strongest arguments in favor of swimming is that you get the same results with less effort. "People who like to jog or who like to walk don't have to exert the same force," Dr. Daniels says. "You're using all of your muscles in the water, so you're developing more solid muscle. You don't see much difference in the weight, but you do see a change in the composition of the body fat."

For these reasons and others, many physicians recommend swimming and water exercise over walking and jogging, especially for the elderly, the disabled and people recovering from broken bones and back injuries.

"Swimming is a nonweight-bearing sport," says Dr. Ronald W. Davidson, a New York City general practitioner. "You can actually move your arms and legs without the problem of gravity. You can move extremities, your back and so forth, even if they're inflamed, and not suffer the aftermath of trying to do the same thing on land."

While many people learn to swim as youngsters, experts say you're never too old to begin. And swimming and aquatic exercises, they say, are the perfect fitness workouts for people who suffer from arthritis and other chronic pain.

"No, it's never, ever too late to start," says Lee Pitts, a certified swim instructor and scuba diver in Fort Myers, Fla. "That's the wonderful thing about being a swimmer. The pounding that your body would take in other sports does not occur in swimming because of the support that it gets from the water. Swimming exercises most of the muscles in the body but at the same time you don't have the pounding on the knees and joints you experience from running or jogging or walking because your body is hydroplaned across the soft water. And swimming is something you can do well into your 90s."

In recent years the number of senior citizens taking to the water has increased. They have discovered that the full-body workout and rhythmic breathing involved in swimming can strengthen their hearts and lungs. And they have learned that swimming can alleviate problems associated with diabetes, high-blood pressure, allergies and asthma.

"With swimming," says Dr. Davidson, "I suggest that you try to individualize it. Start by trying to raise your pulse rate into your target heart zone, which is 220 minus your age. Set up a program where you try to do five or six laps and see how you do after that. Sometimes you can do one lap and that's enough to bring your pulse rate into your target heart zone."

A certified swim instructor can teach you proper swim techniques for maximum health benefits, in addition to the importance of water safety. Swimming instructor Pitts advises swimmers to "never swim under the influence of alcohol. Never swim alone. Always know your limits. Try as much as possible to swim with a lifeguard on duty. Never swim in abandoned lakes, rivers or pools. Always have a telephone nearby for emergencies. If at all possible, make sure that you or someone in your immediate circle of swimmers knows the basics of Cardiovascular Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Never swim when it's thundering and lightening. And as early as possible, get involved in a structured swim class."

Many adults, and Blacks especially, experts say, who don't know how to swim, want to learn but are afraid of drowning. If you want to learn, consider enrolling in classes at a YMCA, YWCA, college, university or park district facility in your area. They usually offer regular swimming classes geared toward both adults and children.

Beyond its many health benefits, swimming can be an inexpensive, entertaining way to spend time with your family and friends. Many parents give their children pool parties to celebrate special occasions, and most local swimming pools sponsor regular sessions for the entire family. Some workers swim in the morning to prepare for a hectic day. Others swim in the evenings to work off the tensions and stresses of the day.

With proper precautions and a willing spirit, toddlers, elders and everyone in between can swim their way to good health.