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To strengthen bones, we've always heard that weight-bearing and high-impact exercises (like running and lifting weights) are best. This leaves many people assuming that their low-impact workouts aren't doing much to improve bone strength. Swimming has long been touted as a low-impact exercise, one that’s easier on the body and good for individuals with joint pain, but doesn't help strengthen bones. However, a recent study from Israel’s Wingate Institute in Netanya indicates that women who frequently swim laps have greater leg bone mass than women who don’t swim at all. Action Sparked While weight-bearing exercises are the best way to strengthen your bones, swimming shouldn't be completely discounted, especially for obese exercisers who experience pain and difficulty moving. Try adding a few laps to your regular routine to relieve boredom, and to surprise your muscles…and bones! |
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Member Comments
LERBLADING/RU
NNING OUTSIDE, USING WORKOUT DVDS, AND JUMPING ROPE AT HOME. bUT CIRCUIT TRAINING OR WEIGHT TRAINING 2-3 TIMES A WEEK IS GOOD FOR THE BONES, AND YOU CAN PRETTY MUCH DO CARDIO DAILY OR ALMOST DAILY. Report
I alternate the swimming with other exercises. Fortunately, my community has a fitness center 1/2 mile from my house. So I can walk there and back, and I can use the exercise equipment and the pool. Report
I take swim lessons, both private and group, every other week. That makes it more of a challenge, because someone is actually looking at my progress. An hour of swimming flies by when the coach is teaching you new techniques and drills.
Swim workouts can be hard to find, especially if you can't swim 1600m yet! I like the ones I found on beginnertriathlet
e.com. The routines are 400m, so they take me (a slow swimmer) about 20min to complete. There are programs for beginners as well as more advanced swimmers.
You can also create your own workout using common swimming drills, like the catch, pull or kick drills.
Then there are the different strokes, besides freestyle, that can take a long time to master, and the drills for each of them. Right now I only focus on freestyle and backstroke, but if I ever get bored I could try breastroke or butterfly, as well as any of the non-competitive strokes.
Water aerobics is also an option, a lot of women at my gym take water fitness classes regularly and when there isn't a class they do the same type of routines in the water themselves. Report
The fact that swimmers have stronger bones than non-swimmers does not mean that swimming strengthens bones.
It could be that there is some other factor. For example swimmers may be fitter and are more active doing other things that do help with bone strength. Report