What Are the Benefits of Swimming for Weight Loss?

If you’re specifically vying to lose weight, swimming might be the perfect exercise for you. Swimming is an aerobic workout offering an abundance plethora of benefits such as weight loss, increased energy and mental clarity, reduced stress, lower blood pressure, and more!

Check out these ten benefits of swimming for weight loss to discover how swimming can help you shed those extra pounds, and ultimately reach your health goals faster than ever.

Improves overall wellbeing through weight loss

For those working on weight loss, swimming is an excellent exercise, as it burns calories quickly. In just an hour, you can burn off approximately 800 calories – comparable to running at eight miles per hour or biking on flat terrain at 12 miles per hour – that’s not something many people can achieve.

Swimming also develops muscle tone throughout your entire body, strengthening muscles where you need them most:arms, legs, stomach, and backside.

Strengthens muscles

Swimming is an excellent all-around fitness activity, working more than just your arms, legs, and core—it also works every muscle group from head to toe! Whether practicing freestyle or backstroke, you are working nearly every muscle group in your body when you swim.

If losing weight is one of your main goals for 2022 (and beyond), strengthening each of those muscles is one thing that can help you achieve that goal.

Burns calories

Swimming is an amazing calorie-burning workout that can help you quickly burn off extra pounds, even when performed at a moderate intensity. A 155-pound person can burn over 300 calories during a 45-minute swim—that’s roughly equivalent to running or biking for about 30 minutes.

Improves health

While running on a treadmill or lifting weights helps you burn calories, it doesn’t give you as complete of a workout as an hour spent swimming laps. According to Harvard Medical School, exercise is essential to our health and well-being because physical activity reduces depression, lowers stress, relieves pain, burns calories, and reduces risk factors for heart disease. Swimming can do all of that—and more!

Keeps bones strong

Swimming is an excellent source of cardiovascular exercise, but it’s also great at strengthening bones. The buoyancy that water offers means that you don’t have to carry your weight around, so you can increase bone density by starting swimming today.

Swimming has been proven to reduce your risk of fractures as well as osteoporosis later on down the line.

Prevents illnesses

Swimming doesn’t just burn calories; it can prevent illness by strengthening your immune system. A healthy immune system means you’re less likely to get sick, but when you do get sick, you can fight it off more quickly and completely.

Studies have found that swimming regularly also strengthens your lymphatic system—the network of vessels in our bodies—that helps fight infections by filtering out toxins. Plus, staying healthy makes it easier to reach your ideal weight. So swim often and live healthier.

Helps you sleep better at night

It’s essential to get enough sleep, but it’s even more important when you are losing weight because sleep can aid fat burning. A recent study published in Obesity Research found that poor sleep quality causes us to gain more fat around our waistline.

Researchers found that those who didn’t get enough sleep had higher levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines — proteins that promote insulin resistance, which causes belly fat accumulation — compared with their well-rested counterparts.

Reduces Stress

Like most other exercises, swimming helps release endorphins into your blood, improving your overall mood. It also releases enzymes that help reduce stress and increase relaxation. All-inclusive: Like all aerobic activities, swimming improves circulation, strengthens the heart and lungs, and boosts energy levels.

All-inclusive: Swimming is one of the few sports that people of any age or physical ability level can engage in – from babies learning how to kick their feet at the shallow end of the pool, to older adults recovering from illness or injury – who might need more time in the water due to limited mobility.

Lowers blood pressure

Swimming helps keep blood pressure levels low, allowing blood flow throughout your body—including through arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to muscles.

As a bonus, research shows that water therapy can relieve pain associated with arthritis by 70 percent due to its cooling effects on joint swelling and inflammation.

Always consult a doctor before beginning any exercise regimen or treatment options to manage arthritis pain or the risk of heart attack, stroke, or sudden death related to undiagnosed heart disease.

The final word

A study showed that swimmers experienced a significant reduction in visceral fat over one year while participants who walked or ran did not experience any changes. In addition, aerobic exercise like swimming helps reduce fatigue as well as improve mood and cognitive function, according to Harvard Medical School.

And finally, all the water splashing about (which creates some great bubbles) means there's plenty of room for frolicking friends!