WANT TO GET fit while cooling off? Swimming - or exercising in the water - could be the answer.
'I've been swimming for more years than I care to remember,' says Beverley Wright, of swim-coaching and training group Harry Wright International. 'It's a great way to get fit or keep fit. It's top of the list as a sport or just leisure activity for people of all ages and abilities.'
Swimming is a low-impact sport, which means there's no pounding of the joints, Wright says. Because the body is fairly weightless in water there's less stress on joints, reducing the potential for back, knee or hip injuries that are common in other activities.
'Swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio vascular fitness,' she says. If you're battling the spare tyre of middle age, if your golf swing has gone awry, or if back ache is putting you off that kickboxing class, then water exercise could be the answer.
'Swimming promotes strength, stamina and mobility,' says Wright, 'And as we're the only mammals who have to learn to swim, it's important that we put the time and effort into learning this essential life skill.
'Swimming is great aerobic exercise because it uses the whole body. Almost all the major muscle groups are used and a variety of strokes will use additional muscles'.