Swimming Exercise For Well-being

Swimming (??????) is the self-propulsion of a person through water, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Humans can hold their breath underwater and undertake rudimentary locomotive swimming within weeks of birth, as a survival response. Swimming is consistently among the top public recreational activities, and in some countries, swimming lessons are a compulsory part of the educational curriculum. Swimming exercise being a good exercise for all ages, Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System appeals to all our valuable readers to know in-depth for well-being.

Definition (???????)

Propel the body through water by using the limbs, or (in the case of a fish or other aquatic animal) by using fins, tail, or other bodily movements.

The science behind swimming (?????? ?? ???? ???????)

On average, the body has a relative density of 0.98 compared to water, which causes the body to float. However, buoyancy varies on the basis of body composition, lung inflation, and the salinity of the water. Higher levels of body fat and saltier water both lower the relative density of the body and increase its buoyancy.

Since the human body is only slightly less dense than water, water supports the weight of the body during swimming. The density and viscosity of water also create resistance for objects moving through the water. Swimming strokes use this resistance to create propulsion, but this same resistance also generates drag on the body.

Hydrodynamics is important to stroke technique for swimming faster, and swimmers who want to swim faster or exhaust less try to reduce the drag of the body’s motion through the water. To be more hydrodynamic, swimmers can either increase the power of their strokes or reduce water resistance, though power must increase by a factor of three to achieve the same effect as reducing resistance. Efficient swimming by reducing water resistance involves a horizontal water position, rolling the body to reduce the breadth of the body in the water, and extending the arms as far as possible to reduce wave resistance.

Just before plunging into the pool, swimmers may perform exercises such as squatting. Squatting helps in enhancing a swimmer’s start by warming up the thigh muscles.

Infant swimming (???? ??????)

Human babies demonstrate an innate swimming or diving reflex from newborn until the age of approximately 6 months. Other mammals also demonstrate this phenomenon. The diving response involves apnea, reflex bradycardia, and peripheral vasoconstriction; in other words, babies immersed in water spontaneously hold their breath, slow their heart rate, and reduce blood circulation to the extremities. Because infants are innately able to swim, classes for babies of about 6 months old are offered in many locations. This helps build muscle memory and makes strong swimmers from a young age.

Swimming Technique (?????? ?? ?????)

It is not necessary to use a defined stroke for propulsion through the water, and untrained swimmers may use a ‘doggy paddle’ of arm and leg movements, similar to the way four-legged animals swim.

Main strokes used in competition and recreation swimming include:

• Front crawl, also known as freestyle
• Breaststroke
• Backstroke
• Butterfly

Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using the breaststroke. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions.

A butterfly is considered the hardest stroke by many people, which also burns the most calories and can be the second-fastest stroke if practiced regularly.

Other strokes exist for specific purposes, such as training or rescue, and it is also possible to adapt strokes to avoid using parts of the body, either to isolate certain body parts, such as swimming with arms only or legs only to train them harder or for use by amputees or those affected by paralysis.

Swimming Purpose (?????? ?? ????????)

There are many reasons why people swim, from swimming as a recreational pursuit to swimming as a necessary part of a job or other activity.

Recreation (???????)

Many swimmers swim for recreation, with swimming consistently ranking as one of the physical activities people are most likely to take part in. The support of the water, and the reduction in impact, make swimming accessible for people who are unable to undertake activities such as running.

Health benefits (????????? ???)

Water-based exercise can help people with chronic diseases. For people with arthritis, it improves the use of affected joints without worsening symptoms. People with rheumatoid arthritis have more health improvements after participating in hydrotherapy than with other activities. Water-based exercise also improves the use of affected joints and decreases pain from osteoarthritis.

Water-based exercise improves mental health. Swimming can improve mood in both men and women. For people with fibromyalgia, it can decrease anxiety, and exercise therapy in warm water can decrease depression and improve mood. Water-based exercise can improve the health of mothers and their unborn children and has a positive effect on the mothers’ mental health. Parents of children with developmental disabilities find that recreational activities, such as swimming, improve family connections.

Water-based exercise can benefit older adults by improving the quality of life and decreasing disability. It also improves or maintains the bone health of post-menopausal women.

Disabled swimmers (??????? ?????)

As of 2013, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that swimming pools in the United States be accessible to disabled swimmers.

Elderly swimmers (??????? ?????)

Swimming is an ideal workout for the elderly, mainly because it presents little risk of injury and is also low impact. Exercise in the waterworks out all muscle groups, helping with conditions such as muscular dystrophy, which is common in seniors.

Sport (???)

Swimming as a sport predominantly involves participants competing to be the fastest over a given distance in a certain period of time. Competitors swim different distances at different levels of competition. For example, swimming has been an Olympic sport since 1896, and the current program includes events from 50 m to 1500 m in length, across all four main strokes and medley.

Safety (???????)

As a popular leisure activity done all over the world, one of the primary risks of swimming is drowning. Drowning may occur from a variety of factors, from swimming fatigue to simply inexperience in the water. From 2005 to 2014, an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings occurred in the United States, approximately 10 deaths a day.

The Waterfront lifeguard receives more rigorous training than a poolside lifeguard. Well-known aquatic training services include the National Lifesaving Society and the Canadian Red Cross, which specialize in training lifeguards in North America.

Occupation (???????)

Swimming is also used in marine biology to observe plants and animals in their natural habitat. Other sciences use swimming; for example, Konrad Lorenz swam with geese as part of his studies of animal behavior.

Swimming is also a professional sport. Companies sponsor swimmers who have the skills to compete at the international level. Many swimmers compete competitively to represent their home countries in the Olympics. Professional swimmers may also earn a living as entertainers, performing in water ballets.

Locomotion (????)

There have been cases of political refugees swimming in the Baltic Sea and of people jumping in the water and swimming ashore from vessels not intended to reach the land where they planned to go.

Swimming Risks (?????? ?? ?????)

There are many risks associated with voluntary or involuntary human presence in water, which may result in death directly or through drowning asphyxiation. Swimming is both the goal of much voluntary presence and the prime means of regaining land in accidental situations.

Most recorded water deaths fall into these categories:

• Panic occurs when an inexperienced swimmer or a non-swimmer becomes mentally overwhelmed by the circumstances of their immersion, leading to sinking and drowning. Occasionally, panic kills through hyperventilation, even in shallow water.
• Exhaustion can make a person unable to sustain efforts to swim or tread water, often leading to death through drowning.
• Hypothermia, in which a person loses critical core temperature, can lead to unconsciousness or heart failure.
• Dehydration from prolonged exposure to hypertonic saltwater or, less frequently, saltwater aspiration syndrome where inhaled saltwater creates foam in the lungs that restricts breathing—can cause loss of physical control or kill directly without actual drowning.
• Blunt trauma in a fast-moving flood or river water can kill a swimmer outright, or lead to their drowning.

Swimming adverse effects (?????? ?? ???????? ??????)

Adverse effects of swimming can include:

• Exostosis, an abnormal bony overgrowth narrowing the ear canal due to frequent, long-term splashing or filling of cold water into the ear canal, also known as surfer’s ear
• Infection from water-borne bacteria, viruses, or parasites
• Chlorine inhalation (in swimming pools)
• Heart attacks while swimming
• Adverse encounters with aquatic life

Around any pool area, safety equipment is often important and is a zoning requirement for most residential pools in the United States. Supervision by personnel trained in rescue techniques is required at most competitive swimming meets and public pools.

Swimming Clothing and equipment (?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????)

Standard everyday clothing is usually impractical for swimming and is unsafe under some circumstances. Most cultures today expect swimmers to wear swimsuits.

Swimsuits for men (??????? ?? ??? ????????)

Men’s swimsuits commonly resemble shorts or briefs. Casual men’s swimsuits are rarely skintight, unlike competitive swimwear, like jammers or dive skins. In most cases, boys and men swim with their upper body exposed, except in countries where custom or law prohibits it in a public setting, or for practical reasons such as sun protection.

Swimsuits for Women (??????? ?? ??? ?????)

Modern women’s swimsuits are generally skintight, covering the pubic region and the breasts. Women’s swimwear may also cover the midriff as well. Women’s swimwear is often a fashion statement, and whether it is modest or not is a subject of debate by many groups, religious and secular.

Competitive swimwear is built so that the wearer can swim faster and more efficiently. Modern competitive swimwear is skintight and lightweight. There are many kinds of competitive swimwear for each gender. It is used in aquatic competitions, such as water polo, swim racing, diving, and rowing.

Thermal insulated clothing (????? ????? ?????)

Wetsuits provide both thermal insulation and flotation. Many swimmers lack buoyancy in the leg. The wetsuit reduces density and therefore improves buoyancy while swimming. It provides insulation by absorbing some of the surrounding water, which then heats up when in direct contact with the skin. The wetsuit is the usual choice for those who swim in cold water for long periods of time, as it reduces susceptibility to hypothermia.

Some people also choose to wear no clothing while swimming; this is known as skinny dipping. In some European countries, public pools have naturist sessions to allow cloths free swimming, and many countries have naturist beaches where one can swim naked.

It is legal to swim naked in the sea at all UK beaches, which was common for males to swim naked in a public setting up to the early 20th century. Today, skinny dipping can be a rebellious activity or merely a casual one.

Swimming Accessories (?????? ????? ?????)

• Earplugs can prevent water from getting in the ears.
• Nose clips can prevent water from getting in the nose.
• Goggles protect the eyes from chlorinated water and improve underwater visibility. Tinted goggles protect the eyes from sunlight that reflects from the bottom of the pool.
• Swim caps keep the body streamlined and protect the hair from chlorinated water, though they are not entirely watertight.
• Kickboards are used to keep the upper body afloat while exercising the lower body.
• Pull buoys are used to keep the lower body afloat while exercising the upper body.
• Swimfins are used to elongate the kick and improve technique and speed.
• Finger paddles have a similar effect to handle paddles however due to their smaller size create less resistance.
• Snorkels are used to help improve and maintain a good head position in the water. They may also be used by some during physical therapy.
• Pool noodles are used to keep the user afloat during the time in the water.
• Safety fencing and equipment are mandatory at public pools and a zoning requirement at most residential pools in the United States.
• Inflatable armbands are swimming aids designed to provide buoyancy for the swimmer which helps the wearer to float.

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming
• https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/health_benefits_water_exercise.html