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While sitting poolside at Puerto Rico’s El San Juan Resort recently, drenched in my own sweat from the 90-plus degree heat, it struck me that hopping into the pool might be a good idea before I suffered heat stroke.
Even though I was in the tropics and at an outdoor pool, it occurred to me that swimming is a year-round activity and its health benefits go far beyond being used as a cooling bath. In fact, using pool water as a training method may one day save your life. Shocking, I know—coming from a guy who sees a pool and usually automatically thinks cannonballs, libations at the poolside bar and shenanigans are the norm. But this is also the same guy whose brother thinks that swimming 2.4 miles in a single segment is normal, too.
But it’s true: swimming and water-based exercise can help people achieve the health benefits needed to live and sustain a healthy lifestyle. After all, swimming is the fourth most popular sports-related activity in the United States, and a phenomenal full-body aerobic activity. Two-and-a-half hours of aerobic activity per week can decrease the risk of chronic illness, leading to improved health for people with diabetes and heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Interestingly, swimmers also slice their risk of death in half, compared to those who are inactive.
The CDC goes on to state that for people with arthritis, water-based exercise improves the use of affected joints without worsening symptoms. It also improves mental health in both men and women by decreasing anxiety in people with fibromyalgia, and exercise therapy in warm water can decrease depression and improve mood.
Additionally, water-based exercise can hold benefits for pregnant women — it’s been shown to assist in the mother’s health and that of her unborn child.
In my family, we have a real life testament to the powers of this type of exercise. Several years ago, my mother, Lorraine, a flight attendant for a domestic airline, was involved in a career-ending accident while in flight. While returning to JFK airport from the Bahamas, the plane did a freefall, slamming my mother against the ceiling, then ricocheting her off a seat’s armrest. She was left with broken ribs, permanent nerve and muscle damage in her back and chronic pain.
When she and my father had enough of the cold New York winters and moved to North Fort Myers, Fla. in 2005, she began experimenting with warm water-based exercise classes. They didn’t heal her, but they sure did make a helluva difference. The pain was suddenly manageable. Her mental state, used to dealing with such a dramatic injury, improved, and the cane that she solely relied on could now be considered a when-needed tool.
Next time you’re on vacation, or even near home, go for a swim or signup for an aerobics swimming class. The knowledge is there. The health benefits are there. And the facilities are there too, no matter the season.
Brian T. Dessart, a former Herald Sports Preview Editor and Director of Marketing, now writes for Sports Illustrated, covering performance, fitness and action sports.