What are the health benefits of lifeguard swimming?
Lifeguard Swimming has effects that cannot be obtained in everyday life by moving the whole body while floating in the water. Among them, swimming has seven health-promoting effects:
Health benefit 1 – improvement of stiff shoulders
By moving the muscles around the shoulders while lifeguard renewal, blood circulation is improved and stiff shoulders are relieved.
The crawl and backstroke are especially recommended. You can move the trapezius muscle called “stiff shoulder muscle” without overdoing it.
At that time, if your shoulders and neck get cold, blood circulation may worsen, which may worsen your stiff shoulders.
Health benefit 2 – Strengthening cardiopulmonary function
When Lifeguard swimming, you have to take a breath at a limited time, so consciously breathing, such as exhaling vigorously underwater and breathing deeply just barely above the water surface, will lead to improved cardiopulmonary function.
As your cardiopulmonary function becomes stronger, your body will be able to take in oxygen more efficiently.
Health benefit 3 – Relieves swelling
We usually live under the pressure of the air called atmospheric pressure, but underwater, the pressure of the water exerts a greater pressure than on the surface.
Therefore, just by standing in the pool, water pressure is applied, the work of pushing blood back to the heart is performed easily, and the swelling of the legs is eliminated.
Health Benefit 4 – Burning Body Fat
Lifeguard Swimming is an exercise called aerobic exercise, and by continuously moving the body while applying a light to moderate load, a large amount of oxygen is taken into the body, which is effective in breaking down and burning fat.
Just because you want to burn body fat doesn’t mean you should just swim as hard as you can, but by taking your time and not overdoing it, you can improve your burning efficiency.
Health Benefit 5 – Improved Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is caused by excessive salt intake, smoking, and lack of physical activity. Therefore, moderate aerobic exercise such as Lifeguard swimming is effective in improving hypertension, in addition to diet and drug therapy. (Reference: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare e-health net ” Exercise to improve hypertension” )
However, since rapid exercise puts a heavy burden on the body, those with high blood pressure should always undergo a medical checkup by a specialist to confirm whether or not exercise therapy is possible, and then start within a reasonable range.
Health benefit 6 – sleep better
Some of the problems related to sleep, such as “I can’t sleep well,” “I have trouble falling asleep,” and “I wake up early,” can be improved by eliminating the lack of exercise.
In particular, aerobic exercise can provide a moderate feeling of fatigue and balance the autonomic nerves that cause insomnia, making it possible to sleep well.
Health Benefit 7 – Reduced Stress
Lifeguard Swimming mindlessly in the water not only frees you from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, but also helps you relax and relieve stress by moving your body.
Additionally, aerobic exercise has the effect of relaxing the mind and body and releasing negative emotions, thus reducing stress. (Reference: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Let’s maintain our hearts ” Move your body “)
Swimming can be bad for your health.
So far, we have talked about the effects of swimming, but the effects of swimming are not all good. Sports injuries are a typical disadvantage of swimming that adversely affects health.
What is Sports Injury?
Sports injuries are physical troubles caused by sports. Stress fractures, which are common in athletes, and Osgood’s disease, which is common in boys in elementary and junior high school, are examples of sports injuries.
Sports injuries are caused by overuse of specific body parts due to excessive practice, which is also known as “overuse syndrome.”
While sports injuries cause pain when muscles and tendons are overloaded, sudden injuries caused by sports such as fractures, sprains, and dislocations are called sports injuries.
3 sports injuries caused by swimming
Overuse is common in any sport, but Lifeguard swimming is prone to the following sports injuries, so you need to be very careful.
If you feel pain, please consult a specialist as soon as possible.
Swimmer’s shoulder
Swimming shoulder refers to pain in the shoulder due to inflammation of the muscles and tendons due to excessive strain on the shoulder joint during swimming that rotates the arm, such as crawling and butterfly.
In order to prevent swimming shoulder, it is necessary to try to recover without putting a burden on the shoulder. Also, if you feel even a little pain, don’t overdo it and take a rest.
lower back pain
Swimming that uses the swell caused by the vertical movement of the weight, such as breaststroke and butterfly, puts a strain on the lower back, making it easier for back pain to occur.
In particular, if you try to take a deep breath and your upper body arches too much, you will put excessive stress on your lower back every time you take a breath.
Breaststroker’s knee
A breaststroke knee is when the knee is twisted outward when kicking, which puts strain on the ligaments on the inside of the knee and causes pain due to inflammation.
Also Read About: Go lifeguard and swimming and stay fit
In contrast to wedge kicks, which are kicked with the legs open, whip kicks, which do not open the legs much, put a lot of stress on the knees.
For more information on breaststroke kicks, check out this article. Explains the difference between the two types of kicks using illustrations.
