Calorie and Energy Expenditure Information
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Swimming WorkoutSwimming is a Great Fitness ActivityIf you want to get fit, improve your health and lose weight, swimming is an excellent workout. A sustained swim provides a total body workout with good cardiovascular benefits, as swimming uses most of the large muscle groups (eg. lats, pecs, gluteus maximus and abs) and raises your heart rate in the process. This helps to burn a high number of calories, which makes swimming an excellent fitness option if you want to lose weight. Plus, because water supports body weight, swimming is a non weight-bearing activity and there is no stress on the joints or bones. So no matter how overweight you are, you can swim laps without the risk of injury. Indeed, many overweight people claim it offers significant physical relief because their body feels light and energized. Swimming is also a very valuable fitness workout for anyone in rehabilitation after sustaining a physical injury. How Many Calories Does Swimming Burn?A swim lasting about 30 minutes burns 250-350 calories. [This is based on a 150-pound woman. If you weigh more, youll burn extra calories; if you weigh less, youll burn fewer calories.] How Does Swimming Help Weight Loss?We expend a lot of energy while swimming. Water exercise is high in resistance as moving limbs through water is 12 times harder than out of water. This alone helps us to lose body fat. Also, this type of aqua-aerobic workout strengthens and builds muscle, which raises your resting metabolic rate (the speed you burn calories). So you continue to burn extra calories even after you leave the pool. How Often Should I Swim For Optimum Weight Loss?Beginner Medium Advanced How To Start Swimming?Although its important (for cardio benefits) to swim at a consistent pace for at least 15 minutes to get the heart pumping and burn body fat, you should build up to this training level gradually. Plan a realistic swimming schedule to help you increase the number of laps swum. And remember to warm up and cool down with a few stretches, before and after your water workout. Back to Advice About Exercise and Fitness Programs Calorie IntakeFor information about the calorie content of popular food and drinks, please visit: Calories in Food |