Have you considered supplementing swimming into your exercise routine this summer? There are amazing reasons why swimming is great for your overall health.
Here are five reasons why you should be swimming this summer!
Swimming is a total body aerobic workout
When you swim, you are using your entire body to propel through the water. It isn’t solely your arms and legs that are performing the workout, your core muscles, including your abdominals, back and hips, are constantly working to propel you in the water. The core muscle movement is an essential component to swimming, as it allows you to become efficient in your strokes.
Swimming has minimal impact on your joints
Swimming is a low-impact sport that is often a recommended activity if you have recently injured yourself or starting to return to physical activity after surgery. Swimming puts minimal stress on your knees, hips, feet and other weight bearing joints, allowing you to build muscle strength and endurance. Swimming is a great cardiovascular workout without the wear and tear on your joints. Swimming makes your heart and lungs strong and can possibly lower blood pressure and help control blood sugar.
A safe exercise for people with injuries, arthritis and other conditions
Swimming is a safe exercise for people with conditions that make high-impact exercise difficult. For those with arthritis, injury, disability, asthma and other conditions, swimming helps to reduce your pain and assist with recovery from injury. Breathing exercises associated with the sport help expand lung capacity and gain control over breathing.
You can control the intensity of your workout
As mentioned, swimming is a low-impact sport where you can control how intense you wish the workout to be. To control your swimming workout, you can increase or decrease the pace of your stroke, vary the strokes you are swimming and perform special sets to diversify the workout. Completing an assortment of strokes and special sets is a great way to remain fit this summer.
Improves your sleep and boosts your mood
Swimming has the power to help you achieve a better sleep as research suggests regular aerobic exercise boosts the quality in life and sleep. All types of aerobic exercise, such as the elliptical, bicycle, pool and exercise videos are great in achieving a better quality of life and sleep. Further research suggests aquatic workouts are psychologically beneficial to those suffering from dementia, as there was a significant improvement in mood after a group participated in an aquatic workout program.
Swimming has many benefits for your physical and psychological health, and is a great activity for all stages of life. If you feel that swimming is a path you wish to take during your rehabilitation journey or your exercise routine, book in an assessment today.
We can assure you of the right intensity and programs to complete this summer.
At Progressive Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Penrith, we are able to assess, treat, educate and manage all musculoskeletal injuries. We focus on hands-on treatment, exercise prescription and self management techniques tailored to your specific needs. We utilise evidence based treatments to maximise your outcomes.
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Elin, is an alumni of St. Edward’s University and holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, furthered her academic journey by attaining a Doctor of Physiotherapy from Macquarie University in 2022.
Her passion for sports, particularly football (soccer), is evident in both her academic pursuits and personal endeavors. Specialising in the comprehensive well-being of athletes, Elin focuses on restoring them to peak performance while actively preventing future injuries.
Elin’s professional expertise is centered on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, with a specific emphasis on addressing and preventing knee injuries. Her approach integrates expert treatment with a commitment to educating and empowering patients, fostering their active involvement in enhancing their health and overall quality of life.
As an active participant in NPL football with SD Raiders, Elin brings firsthand experience and a profound understanding of the sport’s demands. Beyond the field, she extends her influence by contributing sports coverage over the weekends.
Christopher (Chris) Han graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, and then completed the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University in 2018. Chris is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Sydney and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health in the field of low back pain and is due to complete this in early 2024.
Chris is currently an assistant Physiotherapist for the NRL Referees. Chris has previous experience as the head Physiotherapist at Panthers Premier League Netball and a number of elite sporting athletes in the private setting.
Through Chris’ experiences, he has a particular interest in all areas of the body and musculoskeletal physiotherapy, sports, vestibular rehabilitation, and Men’s Health (pre and post prostate surgery).
Suzanne graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Health Science (Sports and Exercise Science) in 2015. She then went on to continue her studies at Macquarie University graduating from the Doctor of Physiotherapy post-graduate degree in June 2019.
Since graduating, Suzanne has worked in the local Penrith area in both private practice and Sports Physiotherapy. Suzanne has worked with sporting teams including Penrith District Netball Association, Mt Druitt Rangers (NPL), Penrith Valley Figure Skating Club, and local dance and cheer schools.
Suzanne has a particular interest in working with artistic athletes including cheerleaders and dancers. She has a professional background in both cheer and dance and has previously worked as both a cheer coach and dance teacher. Suzanne’s previous experiences are an invaluable resource to her as a physiotherapist, as she has a thorough understanding of the level of physical fitness and skill acquisition that these athletes must have in order to be successful on stage and in competition.
Suzanne’s other areas of clinical interest reside in lower limb musculoskeletal injuries, spinal pathologies and women’s health.
Nathanial graduated as a physiotherapist in 2012 which saw him work in private practice and hospital settings gaining experience in all areas of physiotherapy including hand therapy, splinting/casting, pre/post-operative care, Men’s Health and general musculoskeletal, occupational and sports physiotherapy. Since then he has gone on to complete further studies in physiotherapy enabling him to be the only dual titled Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist in Penrith.
Nathanial has a strong background in sports physiotherapy achieving accreditation with NSWIS as a service provider and working with many elite sports teams.
Nathanial has a particular interest in working with elite athletes, complex cases and in particular assessment and management of knee, hip and shoulder pain.
Andrea graduated from the Australian Catholic University completing her Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science in 2018 and Master’s of Clinical Exercise Physiology in 2020. After graduating she attained accreditation with ESSA as an Exercise Physiologist.
During her studies she gained clinical experience in both hospital and private practice settings, in cardiac rehabilitation, neurological conditions, cancer and chronic musculoskeletal injuries.
Since working at Progressive, Andrea has a specialist interest in treating musculoskeletal injuries, helping people in the mid-late stage of rehab to get them to return to sport or work. As well as helping people manage chronic conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and diabetes.