As you may know, we at Eldorado Springs are HUGE fans of water—and not just for drinking. Our historic swimming pool is open all summer, which means that now is your chance to get out there, relax, and enjoy some fun in the sun. Swimming offers many benefits: it’s an excellent way to stay in shape, relieve stress, and socialize with others. Of course, it’s also fun! Read on to learn how incorporating swimming into your next workout can seriously improve your overall health.
Why Choose Swimming?
When it comes to swimming, the list of benefits seems unending. Swimming builds endurance, strengthens and tones muscles, improves muscle flexibility, increases circulation, promotes cardiovascular health, and more.
Swimming is a low-impact exercise that works your entire body, without the added stress. If you’ve ever suffered from shin splints or aching knees, you know how painful traditional forms of exercise can be. With swimming, you won’t feel the effects of a workout wreaking havoc on your joints. Another benefit is that you can also perform other exercises more easily in water, like lunges with weights.
Another benefit of swimming is that the water provides resistance, allowing you to work your muscles and burn more calories with every motion you make. Swimming burns as many calories, if not more, than traditional forms of exercise. For example, a 130-pound person swimming freestyle can expect to burn anywhere from about 415 to 590 calories in an hour, depending on how fast they swim. Comparatively, running for an hour at a 9 minute mile pace is estimated to burn 700-1000 calories. If a calorie burn without the stress is what you’re after, you may want to think twice about running and go for a swim instead.
Ready to Take the Plunge?
If you’re thinking about incorporating swimming into your fitness regimen, just think of it as any other sport. That means don’t forget to warm-up—a few arm rotations and some stretching will do the trick—and don’t neglect to cool down after your workout. That being said, here are some beginner exercises and tips to help you get started.
We hope to see you at the Eldorado Springs Swimming pool this summer! Feel free to bring along any food but please leave the grill, alcohol and glass bottles at home. Worked up an appetite but forgot the snacks? Our snack bar offers a variety of refreshments along with hot dogs, popcorn, pizza, sandwiches and all sorts of other sweets. Happy swimming!
