Are Lap Pools Good For Keeping In Shape?
We’ve all heard the story that regular lap swimming can offer loads of health benefits – but how many of these are true? Well, as one of the leading fibreglass pool specialists in Australia, we like to think we know a thing or two about lap pools. In fact, installing lap pools is one of our favourite jobs. Because not only do we get to connect Aussie families with their dream pool, but we know that pool is going to encourage a healthier, and therefore happier lifestyle.
Yep, you heard that right: lap pools really are good for you! Plenty of healthy exercises – including aerobic and aquatic – can be performed in a lap pool. Better yet, regular lap swimming can be practiced by all ages and skill levels. We hate to tell you, but now there’s no reason not to get healthy! Especially with an award-winning, stunning fibreglass pool from Newcastle Swimming Pools. (Okay, we didn’t hate telling you that – we loved it.)
After all, there’s a reason 81% of Australians live near the water: swimming is just plain fun! Read on to learn exactly how to stay in shape with a fibreglass lap pool.
Stay Safe To Stay Healthy
Disclaimer: all of the ways you can stay in shape with your lap pool require exercise. As with any exercise (particularly if you’re a beginner) you should exercise caution. Pools have the tendency to make you want to dive right in, but hold on! You wouldn’t go straight into lifting weights would you?
How you begin your exercise can significantly affect how easy it is for you to stay in shape. Warming up is the name of the game here. The last thing you want to happen is a cramp while you swim. To avoid this, we recommend static stretching on dry land. Allow yourself some time to swim leisurely once you get into the pool as well. This will help you adjust to the buoyancy of the water.
Next, it’s important to gauge your personal level of fitness. As we said earlier, swimming laps is a great way to stay healthy for all ages and skill levels. But you wouldn’t want to try and pump out 50 laps if this is your first time swimming laps, would you? Give yourself some time to test the waters. Swim a lap or two and measure how much energy you exerted. If you feel up to it, try for a few more. If not, there’s nothing wrong with taking a break. The important thing is to find a baseline number of laps that you’re comfortable hitting each session, and slowly try to increase that with each swim.
Lastly, if you have any physical conditions, or just want to err on the side of safety, then visiting a GP is always recommended when starting a new exercise routine. Another safety tip for you: swimming with a friend or family nearby will provide a safety net for you if you’re not the most confident swimmer.
…Swimming is a great cardiovascular and aerobic workout that can all ages and fitness levels can participate in…
Ways You Can Stay In Shape With A Lap Pool:
- Swimming in general is a fantastic cardiovascular workout. It gets the blood pumping and doesn’t restrict your workout to isolated muscle groups (like the gym.) Instead, swimming utilises the entire body.
- Swimming is a great way to stay in shape for all ages. From children to the elderly, the benefits of swimming can be attained by everyone.
- The natural buoyancy of water significantly reduces the risk of injury, as compared to traditional exercises. No dropping the weights on your toes here!
- On the subject of water buoyancy, swimming is a safe exercise for those with frail bones. The act of swimming has no impact cost such as running on concrete.
- Swimming laps is not just any old exercise: it’s aerobic! What this means is that swimming engages all the muscles in your body in order to propel you through the water. This results in toning your whole body as well as a focus on burning calories.
- Regular lap swimming has been linked to improving blood circulation in your body and even strengthening your lungs, as you breathe during each stroke. Additionally, each stroke will stretch your body’s muscles.
Lap Pools Exercises To Stay In Shape:
While there are plenty of exercises to try in your lap pool, the important thing to remember is that any kind of swimming is healthy! Even just submerging yourself or swimming at your own leisure is a great way to stay in shape and can positively improve your health. However, if you’re ready to take it up a notch, then you could try mastering certain strokes such as:
- Breaststroke
- Freestyle
- Butterfly
- Backstroke
Each of these strokes will give you a healthy way to swim laps in your pool. Alternatively, you could switch your stroke up each time you finish a lap, if that makes things easier for you. Swimming strokes are a great way to burn calories, engage your core, tone and strengthen your muscles and are extremely good at providing an aerobic, cardiovascular workout. Note: some strokes, such as freestyle or breaststroke, are better suited to beginners.
If you’re looking for an alternative way to stay in shape in your lap pool, then you could try pool weights or static exercises with or without those weights. These include:
- Water arm lifts
- Leg shoots
- Jumping Jacks
- Leg kicks
To Sum Up:
Lap Pools are a great way to facilitate staying in shape and a healthy lifestyle. In fact, swimming laps has some surprising benefits outside of exercising:
- No sweating! This should be obvious, but if you’ve been putting off exercising because you don’t like the sensation of sweat on your skin, we’ve got you covered! A lap pool’s water will naturally keep you clean and refreshed
- Swimming of any kind (especially aerobic) is a great mood lifter! Regular swimming has been shown to increase your endorphins and significantly improve your happiness after a quick dip.
- Exercise in general is a fantastic way to improve your sleep pattern. However, swimming is even better at doing this because laps are a cardiovascular exercise. This means your blood circulation is improved, particularly to your heart and brain. This will leave you calmer and more prepared for sleep when that bedtime comes around.
If you’ve read this far, then thank you! It’s not every day that we here at Newcastle Swimming Pools get to talk about a subject we are truly passionate about. We firmly agree with the evidence out there that suggests lap pools are a great way to stay in shape and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Well, now that you know all about how healthy they are, we encourage you to check out our award-winning range of lap pools!
References: * https://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/sustainable-population/14-population-chapter08.pdf
