Swimming: The Whole Body Workout

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By Brian Chichester

Whether it's relaxing in steamy hot springs, strolling barefoot on the beach, or camping near a lake, water heals us mentally, spiritually, and sometimes even physically.

Restorative water-based health treatments are as old as Hippocrates. In fact, the Western world’s “father of modern medicine” even invented a water filter, called Hippocrates’ sleeve, more than 2,000 years ago to strain impurities from rainwater. The architecturally renowned Roman baths, early predecessors to modern-day spas, featured everything from hot- and cold-water treatments to wading pools.

One spa that takes a cue from the ancients is the Lifestyle Center of America, a medical resort nestled in the Arbuckle Mountains of southern Oklahoma. The center specializes in educating and treating obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases by using water-based techniques along with modern medical technology. Regularly alternating warm- and cool-water baths, saunas, whirlpools, swimming, and group water aerobics help people improve circulation and strengthen muscle tone while enjoying the experience.

“One of our most popular activities is water aerobics—people love it,” says George E. Guthrie, M.D., the center’s medical director. “There’s also water volleyball. People who haven’t been able to exercise in years are suddenly working out.”

Although not everyone may be able to visit a medical resort, everyone can benefit from a health-improving, water-based workout, especially during the summer months.

Why Water Works
Water-based workouts have several distinct advantages. For starters, as Guthrie says, aerobic water activities are easy on the body, especially for people who are overweight or have injuries that make weight-bearing exercise painful. Water supports your body, easing strain on joints that higher-impact activities may irritate. Pool-based exercise can include walking as quickly as possible from wall to wall in the shallow end while waving your arms against the drag of the water. Or it can mean a full-fledged aqua-aerobic routine or swimming laps.

Note that swimming requires a higher level of activity to reach the same level of cardiovascular intensity as other exercises. For example, your heart may beat 10 times slower per minute with lap swimming than it would during running or cycling. That’s partly because your body is in a cooler environment, thus taxing the heart less. However, you’re still getting a workout. A 150-pound person swimming backstroke for 30 minutes can burn 300 calories. Vigorous strokes, such as the front crawl, can burn 400 calories.