Lap it up and live longer!
Research shows swimmers live longer than walkers and runners - not just a little bit longer, it’s a solid winning margin!
A study following more than 40,000 men aged 20 to 90 for 32 years found swimmers were 50 percent less likely to die during the study period than walkers or runners.
The results is encouraging for swimmers and lead researcher, Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. “I was expecting to see swimmers and runners have a lower risk of dying," he says. "I was a little surprised that the swimmers had a statistically significant lower death rate than the runners, but they did."
Water offers some pretty amazing upside as a work out environment. It’s cool for starters, the ocean is free and public pools affordable. As well as supporting your weight so there is less stress on your joints, H2O is 800x denser than air. This is that resistance we feel as we move in water and why it’s so much harder to walk across a pool than walk across a room. The benefits that come with this resistance is what makes swimming laps such awesome exercise. It pushes our performance without asking a lot of our joints.
Being highly aerobic and low impact is a magic combo few other exercises can match. The proven health benefits swimming offers come without the strain to lower joints that people experience with running and walking. "People who can't walk or run because of physical limitations—arthritis, for instance—can reap all the health benefits of an exercise program by swimming," Blair says.
Because swimming is low impact, it’s something everyone can do every single day. The water doesn’t care hold old you are and swimming is adaptable and offers options for every physical size, shape and impairment. It is also one of the few exercises those carrying injuries can do.
For those nursing injuries, temporary or permanent, getting in the pool offers exercise with limited chance of further damage or discomfort. FINIS has a range of technical equipment that can help make the process easier - like kickboards, pull buoys or fins. It's always a good idea to start slow and to take advantage of aids so you have the best shot at healing and getting back to full strength quicker.