Yes, swimming is great exercise. But can it help you lose weight?

When it comes to physical fitness, we have no shortage of options to choose from. Whether one chooses great cardio exercises such as running, jogging or jumping rope; or resistance training options like weightlifting, push-ups, pull-ups or squats; there are no shortages of workouts available. 

One form of aerobic exercise that has been on the rise lately is swimming - in part because "it's easier on the body but still has most of the same health benefits that you would expect in land-based exercises," explains Hirofumi Tanaka, a professor of kinesiology and the director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Lab at the University of Texas.

Is swimming good exercise?

In fact, as a full body workout, swimming is actually better than many land-based exercises in many ways. "Arguably swimming is a better form of exercise than many other exercises, especially for heart disease prevention," says Takana. That's because the exercise has been shown to work both your heart and your lungs and thereby trains the body to use oxygen more efficiently, per Harvard Medical School.

Chris Travers, MS, coordinator of exercise physiology and sports performance at Cleveland Clinic, praises swimming as being a "widely accessible and ageless" exercise that's also great for building and maintaining muscle mass.

Tanaka similarly points out that swimming "involves several large muscle groups," but also notes that "because it is a non-weight-bearing activity, swimming is softer and more friendly to joints." This makes it especially attractive for people with bone or joint diseases such as osteoporosis or arthritis. 

Swimming has also been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels; and 2017 research shows that swimming regularly decreases one's risk of early death by as much as 28%.

Is swimming a good way to lose weight?

On one hand, swimming is an excellent way to lose weight as the exercise builds muscle and muscle promotes fat loss. The exercise also burns a lot of calories. Harvard Medical School has determined that a 185-pound person burns about 420 calories swimming laps for an hour, compared to about 189 calories burned by that same person walking at a moderate pace for the same length of time. What's more, recent research found that over time, swimming leads to significant reductions in body fat and BMI.

On the other hand, "swimming in cold water stimulates appetite," says Tanaka. This occurs because humans, like other mammals, burn more energy when exposed to the cold in order to maintain normal body temperature. This expenditure of energy increases one's desire to replenish it through eating. "If you ask triathletes, they will tell you that they can eat the entire pizza after swimming," Tanaka explains, "but after running, they would be satisfied with one piece of orange. So long as one is aware of this propensity to want to overeat after swimming though (and avoids doing so!), swimming can be a great way to shed some pounds.

How often should I swim for exercise?

One of the caveats of swimming is that it burns the most calories when strokes are mastered and executed correctly - just splashing around in the water isn't going to do much for anyone. "Swimming is a skill-oriented activity, so you need to have some skills to elevate heart rate during swimming," says Tanaka. Without that, there are still aquatic exercise classes and water walking - but neither will provide the same health benefits as swimming laps. 

Once you have some swim strokes down though, Travers says that swimming for 150 minutes each week - 30 minutes every weekday - certainly meets the exercise recommendations set forth by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' physical activity guidelines. 

"The most important thing for most people is finding an exercise that they will enjoy doing on a regular basis," says Tanaka. For individuals still on the lookout for such an exercise, "I recommend you give swimming a try." 

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