Make a real fitness splash

Check out the facts that will help you in the pool

If you’re looking for a new challenge to shift some weight or get fitter and healthier, then slip in to your swimwear.

Swimming is the complete and perfect work out and has a host of positives for your body including psychological benefits.

Here are our top reasons why swimming is the best sport you can do.

So whether you’re on holiday or getting up early to head to the pool before work – you should be very proud you’ve picked the best workout possible. It helps you recuperate if you’re injured or suffering from illness

Swimming is the perfect exercise if you’re recovering from an illness and need an activity to ease you back into sport, especially if you have painful joints and need a low impact way to keep fit. The water supports your body and there is no damaging repetitive impact on your knees or feet. It tones your body up

If your DVD exercise regimes aren’t bearing fruit, then look to tighten up your glutes, stretch your hamstrings, improve your core and flatten your tummy by diving into your local pool! You can gain muscle strength throughout their entire body through regular swimming. Where runners see muscle build in their legs, swimmers utilise more muscle groups to move through the water, and hence get an all over body sculpting.

Feeling like you want to work your bottom? Kick our legs harder. Want to tone up and strengthen your arms? Then make these do more of the work in the pool. It works muscles you’d never normally use

When you’re swimming, your arms are moving all over the place, and your body is keeping itself balanced in the water constantly, so you’re often using the deep stabilising muscles in your core which aren’t normally ever activated. It increases your cardio capabilities by strengthening the heart muscle

Swimmers kick with their legs, pull with their arms through the water, they reach with their back and tighten their abs to power legs and stabilise their core. It’s one of the best aerobic exercises to give you a total body toning and heart workout. It can be done by both the very old and the very young

Swimming is suitable for any age group, both the very old and the very young. If you’re struggling for time with your family, then head to the pool

or outdoor lido, it’s a fantastic way for everyone to be active at the same time but at their own pace.

Unlike other sports, there are also no age restrictions or barriers to participation due to health or weight too. Mum, dad and kids can all set themselves their own targets, and exercise together and encourage each other. It’s relatively cheap

Just grab your costume, goggles and a towel and that’s all the equipment you need! It promotes mindfulness

Being in the pool is peaceful. You can zone out from daily life and there’s nothing to distract you. Swimming is also calming and meditative, as the sound of your breathing and the water rushing by helps you focus inward and drown out all other distractions. The smooth passing of water and rhythmical strokes can allow you to experience a great exercise session that also feels like a meditation. It’s for everyone, even whilst pregnant

Your bump is supported because of the water resistance, and whether you want an intense workout of a lighter session, you control the pace, intensity, and what you get out of every swimming visit. It reduces stress Exercise releases endorphins into

the body but water also has moodboosting benefits. Being submerged in water dulls the amount of sensory information that bombards your body, helping to bring on feelings of calm. No wonder we love soaking in the bathtub! It stops the ageing clock

Regular swimmers are biologically 20 years younger than their driver’s licenses say they are, according to research from Indiana University. Scientists say that, even up until your 70th birthday, swimming affects blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular performance, central nervous system health, cognitive functioning, muscle mass, and blood chemistry to be much more similar to that of your younger self. Who needs night cream? It’s a great calorie burner

Even a gentle swim can burn 200 calories in just 30 minutes – imagine how many calories you could burn putting in high effort.

It opens you up to awesome experiences

Want to be able to hop off the back of a boat? Go snorkelling in the Caribbean? Swim the channel? Mastering swimming will help you do all that. It’s a life skill and opens doors to a lot of fun stuff.

So as you can see, swimming is pretty much the perfect sport.