Dive Into Deep Health
Go for a swim and reap the anti-aging, low-impact rewards
Perhaps more people would dive right into a swimming regimen if they kept up with research showing swimming slows the aging process and reduces men’s risk of dying. But before taking the plunge, they should think about their workout goals, because swimming or water aerobics may not be right for them.
Aquatic workouts are ideal for certain populations because water’s buoyancy allows for freedom of movement without jarring the body, says John Spannuth, president, U.S. Water Fitness Association, Boynton Beach, Fla. Injured, arthritic and pregnant individuals may find that aquatic exercise is their safest means of staying fit.
The pool is also a good starting point for people new to exercise or who dread breaking a sweat.
Although there’s 12 to 14 times as much resistance in water as in air, “One of the benefits of being involved in water exercise is that it really doesn’t feel like work. The water usually keeps your body cooler so you don’t feel hot and sweaty,” Spannuth says.
The general population can get a rigorous, full-body workout in water. Its natural resistance builds muscles and works the heart.
“Water is a natural weight-training machine. You don’t have to be using free weights for strength training,” Spannuth says.
Unless people are swimming in unsanitary conditions, or with sharks, aquatic exercise is, inarguably, good for overall wellbeing.
A 2008 University of South Carolina study showed that swimming cuts men’s risk of dying by about 50 percent compared with runners, walkers and sedentary peers. The study also found that swimmers’ cardio-respiratory fitness level was higher compared with walkers. Lead researcher Dr. Steven Blair concluded swimming was a “good alternative” for people who cannot participate in running and other rigorous aerobic activities, but did not go so far as to say swimming is superior.
Dr. Joel Stager, a researcher at the University of Indiana, studies the relationship between swimming and aging and found that all the physiological markers associated with the aging process are slowed dramatically in people who swim regularly; however, he looks at Masters swimmers, not ordinary folks.
There is a downside to aquatic exercise. If the goal is weight loss, water-based workouts might not be the quickest means to that end. Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Mass., offers aquatic exercise classes for various fitness levels. Aquatics Director Bill Meier has observed many benefits, such as social interaction for seniors. However, “Weight loss seems to occur more slowly than with land-based activities,” he says.
But what does the science say?
“Regarding weight loss, we have completed a study that supports other work demonstrating that aquatic exercise is equal to land-based exercise in increasing lean body mass, and many of our subjects lost weight,” say Dr. Bruce Becker, director, National Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.
However, the amount of weight lost was not statistically significant while the increase in muscle mass was.
In a study published as far back as 1987 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, beginners who started a swimming program without dietary restrictions as compared with a walking or cycling program actually gained weight while the walkers and cyclists each lost between 15 and 20 pounds on average.
However, in a similar study conducted nearly two decades later, in 2006, University of Utah researchers compared the effects of aerobic exercise in the pool (swimming and water walking) verses walking on land. Both the “wet” group and the “dry” group of obese female subjects lost 13 pounds on average. In other words, the programs were equally effective.
Setting weight loss aside, “Many studies have shown quite comparable fitness gains between aquatic and land-based exercise,” Becker says.
Indeed, amateur athletes could benefit from adding swimming to their training programs because water’s resistance makes it harder to breathe. “This can improve respiratory efficiency and endurance,” Becker says, as well as guard against muscle fatigue in the lower body during intense aerobic activity.
Bottom line? And any form of exercise is better than doing nothing.
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