Swimming – For Fun or Fitness?

Swim - sport or play?

Swimming has become a more popular sport recently with its resurgence in the Olympic Games in Beijing, particularly with the success of Michael Phelps. But swimming has been a popular sport long before 2008, and is one of the most basic skills anyone can develop. If you’ve never swam before, or if you barely have swum in the past, what should you do: swim for fun? Or swim for fitness.

You’d be surprised that the two often go hand-in-hand. Swimming is definitely a fun activity usually enjoyed in groups – what’s one of the first things people do when arriving on vacation? “Let’s go swimming!” But, while this aspect of swimming is indeed fun and can provide some great exercise, there are a considerable amount of people who consider swimming to be some pretty serious business.

You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to use swimming as a way of benefiting your health – remember, Olympic athletes often train in the realm of 4-6 hours a day, making even a fun sport like swimming sometimes seem like a day at the office. The reality of any type of fitness endeavor is that you will only get out of it what you put into it – so don’t expect to swim occasionally and develop a perfectly toned beach bod.

First, you have to consider your own goals. Are you looking for a hobby with some fitness benefits, or are you really looking to tone yourself, with swimming as one possible strategy to achieve a goal? The goals you start out with will determine your experience, so before you go joining any gyms or buying lake property, consider these questions thoughtfully.

If you’re looking for a hobby with some fitness benefits, swimming and other water sports – think surfing or even sailing – are great ways to get out in the sun. If you’re looking for an honest workout, swimming can provide that as well, though you might be looking for a different experience than a “dip in the pool” or a romp around the lakeside dock.

Ultimately, swimming can be used for both fun and fitness, but what you get out of it really depends on your goals. You can mix both into your lifestyle, earnestly swimming four days a week while not turning down an offer to go to the water park or to the beach. This is a healthy way to incorporate swimming into your life, even if you sometimes get sick of the sight of water!

In fact, if you’ve been practicing swimming, your water experience will be more effortless and much more fun. The two can go hand-in-hand if you’d like, so don those trunks and get in the water!

Photo Credits: cmaccubbin

Originally posted 2009-03-27 05:35:03.

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