Mistake #1: Didn’t make a certificate
For those who visit the pool regularly, a certificate is required. Without it, in many centers you are simply not allowed into the water. And it's not just about hygiene. Swimming has virtually no contraindications. But they should not be used by those who have serious heart problems, chronic diseases in the acute phase, skin diseases, or epilepsy. In these cases, consultation with a neurologist, therapist, orthopedist and other specialists is necessary. Read why you should go to the pool here.
Anti-swimming disease
The body gets maximum impact from swimming. But it is also a carrier of diseases. Does swimming help cope with them? Well, how could it be otherwise?!
Swimming and asthma
How frustrating it can be when you try to start exercising but can't control your breathing. But this is familiar to many. Unlike training in the dry air at the gym or experiencing the seasonal pollen of an outdoor workout, swimming brings an element of moist air into your workout. Research shows that swimming not only relieves asthma symptoms, but can actually improve lung health.
In a recent study, a group of children completed a six-week swimming program and showed improvements in symptoms such as snoring, mouth breathing and others. These improvements were recorded even one year after the swimming program. People without asthma also benefit from swimming because it improves overall lung health and teaches proper breathing techniques.
The only condition in the case of swimming pools is that they use salt instead of chlorine, because... the latter can have an unfavorable effect on asthmatics; here, doctors’ recommendations are already needed.
Reduction of internal inflammation and sclerosis with water
While the benefits of swimming for the heart and muscles are known, studies also show that aerobic activities such as swimming reduce internal inflammation, which sometimes leads to atherosclerosis forming in the heart.
People with multiple sclerosis may also find benefits from swimming. Water makes the limbs buoyant, providing them with gentle resistance.
A 20-week swimming program in one study resulted in a significant reduction in pain in people with multiple sclerosis. People have shown improvements in symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and impotence.
Reducing systemic inflammation in the body leads to regression of diseases in other areas, so we can expect more news about the health benefits of swimming.
Swimming reduces stress and depression
Everyone talks about the runner's euphoria and its beneficial effect on the human condition. You and I couldn't agree more with this. However, swimming can also introduce some endorphins into your body chemistry. The principle of obtaining the hormone of happiness is the same - long, continuous training with rapid breathing. Sound familiar? Same thing.
In addition to the happiness hormone, you may also experience relaxation comparable to a yoga practice. As already mentioned, swimming constantly stretches the body. Combine these exercises with deep rhythmic breathing and you will experience a peak of relaxation that is very rare in sports.
Swimming at the same time has a calming and meditative effect, as the sound of your breathing and splashing water helps you focus on your inner state, excluding external stimuli. It is a natural remedy for stress and depression.
Scientists examined a group of swimmers immediately before and after swimming at a youth association in Taiwan. Of the 101 people examined, 44 complained of stress and depression associated with fast-paced life. After the voyage, the number of complainants was reduced to 8.
Swimming may reverse brain damage through a process called hippocampal neurogenesis.
Although more research is needed in this area, scientists conclude that swimming is a potentially effective and fast-acting treatment for depression and stress. So if you feel like you're drowning emotionally, jumping into the arms of water can be the very healing thing for the soul.
Swimmers are heart machines
Well, how can we not mention the cardiovascular system, which is crazy about swimming. Swimming makes the heart and lungs strong. It simply reduces the risk of death. Compared to inactive people, swimmers have half the risk of heart problems. Several other studies have shown that swimming lowers blood sugar and normalizes blood pressure.
Mistake #2: Not eating anything before training
Before going to the pool, like before any other workout, you need to eat. It should be something easy. The ideal option is fruits or berries. They will provide the body with “fast” energy. Porridge or any other “slow” carbohydrates are not the best option. They are only good for those who do not make sudden movements during training. Ideal formula: 1 banana and a handful of berries 40 minutes before visiting the pool.
Run
Pros: Jogging increases the tone of the body, develops the lungs, strengthens the heart muscle, and improves metabolism.
Contraindications:
► Diseases of the cardiovascular system. During running, the main load falls on the circulatory system. The greatest danger from jogging is with coronary heart disease.
► Diseases of the respiratory system (bronchitis, asthma). Running forces the lungs to pump large amounts of oxygen. Patients with a weak respiratory system inevitably begin to choke when the speed increases.
► Spinal injuries, flat feet. Shock waves generated by running can cause microtrauma to joints and intervertebral discs, even in healthy people.
► Varicose veins. The pressure on the legs while running is three times the body weight, which has an extremely negative effect on the course of varicose veins.
Sensation! Scientific research has shown that long-distance running provokes... cellulite. The marathon depletes the body's reserves and destroys muscle tissue (in order to use it as energy) and thereby contributes to the accumulation (during the body's rest period) of fat deposits and the appearance of cellulite.
Mistake #7: Don't take care of your hair
Chlorinated water is a hair killer. It destroys the structure and makes them brittle. Even two swims will be enough to ruin the quality of the strands. Be sure to take a hat with you. If you plan to wash your hair after training, apply nourishing oil or a moisturizing mask to the ends. We wrote about how to care for your hair in summer here.
Football, hockey, volleyball, basketball
Pros: Team games increase the speed and accuracy of reactions, cultivate discipline, fighting and strong-willed qualities, improve posture and coordination of movements, teach them to restrain excessive emotions and find a compromise, and improve the functioning of the visual and vestibular apparatus.
Contraindications:
► Asthma. An attack of physical exertion asthma can be caused by physical activity, and bronchial asthma - by inhaling cold air.
► Peptic ulcer. Nervous-emotional stress is a factor that not only triggers, but also feeds the disease.
► Flat feet, connective tissue weakness, osteochondrosis. For these diseases, sudden movements, spring loads and shock loads on the feet are contraindicated.
► Spinal injuries. These sports create long-term vertical stress on the spine.
► Problems with the cardiovascular system. With them, dosed loads and careful attention to your condition are important, which emotional team games do not allow.
► Myopia. During exercise, blood pressure and the tone of the eye muscles increase. This increases the risk of complications.
► Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Active sports disrupt the secretion of gastric juice.
If you have diabetes, you should consult a doctor.
Sensation! Scientists have found that team sports are harmful... for raising boys. It turned out that the degree of involvement in the game is directly related to the increase in aggressiveness and alcohol consumption. Little consolation can be the fact that those who play football and hockey are less likely to become depressed and smoke less.
How to curb your appetite after a pool workout
After swimming, the feeling of hunger worsens, and this is quite natural, because your body has incurred large energy costs. In addition, active muscle work influenced increased appetite. How much and what can you eat after training in water, so as not to gain weight, but to lose weight?
You should not suffer from hunger pangs, otherwise the benefits of the workout will come to naught. “Swimming on a full stomach will not increase your chances of drowning,” says Christina Keating, a rehabilitation physician. — Such myths are associated with the idea that during digestion, blood rushes to the stomach, due to which the muscles do not receive the required amount of oxygen, and cramps may begin. But during swimming, the body produces adrenaline, which activates blood circulation, and the muscles receive enough oxygen.”
- Before jumping into the pool, drink some water and have a light snack (about 100-200 kcal). You need to eat a full meal 1.5 hours before swimming. Include in your menu foods that contain complex carbohydrates (porridge, durum wheat pasta, fruits, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms) and add easily digestible protein (nuts, lentils). If you want to lose weight and speed up your weight loss rate, then replace complex carbohydrates with vegetables. Weight loss will go faster, but the feeling of hunger will not disappear.
- Before training, you should absolutely not eat fatty foods. If you are overweight, then after the swim it is better to take a light protein meal. For example, a protein shake or low-fat kefir (no more than 200 ml). As a last resort, if you don't have any protein on hand, eat a low-sugar fruit: an apple or a pear - but no larger than your fist. Such a “snack” will help the fat burning process not to stop, since there will be no intense release of insulin, as a reaction to carbohydrates.
- If you are not overweight, after the swim you can treat yourself not only to proteins, but also to carbohydrates. The calories contained in the eaten product will be beneficial: for about 10–25 minutes after exercise, the so-called “protein-carbohydrate window” is open, when even simple carbohydrates are acceptable. You can also afford a turkey sandwich... The main thing is to combine proteins and carbohydrates. In this case, the calories will be used to restore muscle tissue.
- If you literally cannot bear hunger, eat a piece of baked chicken breast (150 g) with vegetables, since in one “sitting” you can absorb no more than 30 g of pure protein, and 100 g of chicken meat contains 20 g of protein. Having a snack immediately after the swim will help you survive the next 1.5–2 hours, after which you can safely eat. By increasing the portion of your snack, you risk getting extra protein that won't be absorbed.
“When swimming in a natural body of water, fresh air increases the feeling of hunger,” comments Ekaterina Ivanchik, a nutrition specialist. “But this appetite is benign, because it is associated with an acceleration of metabolism. In nature, we inhale air rich in oxygen (its gas composition is different from the city atmosphere), and this activates all our metabolic processes. That is, if we allow ourselves a little excess at a picnic or after swimming at the beach, it will have less consequences than if we ate the same thing at home, lying on the couch.”
