1. What are the health and fitness benefits of freestyle swimming?
According to Swim England (2017), In a study of over 80,000 people, swimmers had a
28% lower risk of early death and 41% lower risk of death due to heart disease and stroke which
indicates that swimming can boost your life expectancy. Furthermore, the study also concluded
that swimming is a low impact but high reward activity that includes benefits such as improves
heart health, lowers blood pressure, improves lung capacity, reduces joint pain and increases
bone strength. Swimming also helps children to develop skills quicker. Another study by Lee and
Oh (2015), which aimed to understand the effect of regular swimming exercise on the physical
composition, strength, and blood lipid of middle-aged women, identified that participants who
performed swimming exercise for 60 minutes every time for 3 times a week have an improvement
on their physical composition, physical strength and decreased blood lipids. Generally swimming
builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. It also helps maintain a healthy
weight, healthy heart and lungs, tone muscles and builds strength and most of all provides an allover body workout. It also alleviates stress, is relaxing and improves coordination, balance,
posture and flexibility.
The studies that have been presented all point to the fact that swimming provides
multimodal benefits to anyone who chooses to do this activity and is a highly rewarding task once
fulfilled. It not only reduces the risk of having certain diseases and early death it also improves
one’s physical capabilities but also serves as an avenue to improve one’s mental health.
2. Why is freestyle swimming a good workout?
According to swimming.org, Freestyle is the fastest of all strokes as such it is capable of
burning calories at an average of 300 calories for 30 minutes of swimming. It also gives the
benefits of toning one’s stomach, buttocks, legs and shoulders and is also said to have the
greatest impact on toning back muscles. Aside from the benefits stated above, freestyle is a good
workout because it is the best for beginners although difficult to master. And generally, performing
freestyle is a full body workout and tone up overall.
3. Why are swimming strokes perfect for fitness?
According to ActiveSG, Swimming strokes are perfect for fitness because each stroke
targets a specific muscle group. In freestyle to be more specific aside from those that were stated
before targets the muscle groups; core abdominal and obliques, hip flexors. In terms of the arms
it targets Thenars (hand muscle), brachioradialis (forearm flex muscle), flexor digitorum profundus
(forearm extend muscle), biceps, triceps, deltoids (shoulder muscle). In the neck;
sternocleidomastoid (neck muscle). In the trunks; pectoralis, serratus anterior (side muscles),
external oblique (outer ab muscles), rectus abdominus (abs), latissimus dorsi (back muscle),
trapezius, spinus erectus (muscles that support your spine), teres major, teres minor, rhomboid
major, rhomboid minor (all of these "major and minor" muscles help make up the shoulder
muscles), gluteus maximus (rear-end muscles), abductor magnus (groin). In the legs it targets
quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius (calf muscle), tibialis anterior (shin muscle), flexor
digitorum brevis (foot muscles). The target muscles of freestyle are also the same with backstroke.
(What muscle group does swimming develop and its benefits, n.d.) Backstroke benefits include
burning approximately 250 calories in 30 minutes. It also improves posture and hip flexibility.
Butterfly stroke targets core abdominal and lower back muscles as well as the glutes,
pects, lasts, quads, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, biceps and triceps. (What muscle group does
swimming develop and its benefits, n.d.) Benefits include burning 450 calories for every 30
minutes of swimming and is an excellent option for combining core and upper body training.
Breaststroke targets pectoral and latissimus dorsi muscles as well as the glutes and
quadriceps. Benefits includes burning 200 calories after 30 minutes of swimming backstroke, and
is particularly good option for working chest muscles and hamstrings and is a great cardio
workout. Backstroke is the slowest swimming stroke however but this also poses a significant
benefit as an endurance workout. (Different swimming strokes and their benefits, n.d.)
In conclusion, different strokes evoked in swimming are excellent workout because it
provides options for the swimmer to target specific muscle groups that they want to train or
improve and also it provides a great avenue for people to mix and match these strokes to attain
their own personalized full body workout routine.
REFERENCES:
Different
Swimming
Strokes
and
Their
Benefits.
https://allamericanswim.com/different-swimming-strokes
(n.d.).
Retrieved
from
Lee, B. and Oh, D. (2015). Effect of regular swimming exercise on the physical composition,
strength,
and
blood
lipid
of
middle-aged
women.
Retrieved
from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4625655/
Major new study on health benefits of swimming released. (2017). Retrieved from
https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2017/06/23/major-new-study-health-benefits-swimmingreleased/
Swim England response to the Health & Wellbeing Benefits of Swimming report. (2017). Retrieved
from
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/814454/27601935/1498121732350/Swim+England+
Response+Document.pdf?token=nWIl%2FPm0G%2FAVUN6tBt0nIhjFMXY%3D
The
best
swimming
stroke
for
weight
loss.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
https://www.swimming.org/justswim/best-swimming-stroke-for-weight-loss/
from
What muscle groups does swimming develop and its benefits. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.myactivesg.com/Sports/Swimming/How-To-Play/Swimming-facts/Whatmuscle-groups-do-swimming-develop