Try a Sport: Swimming

With Lee & Charlie being former GB swimmers, it’s safe to say swimming is an important sport for the Neat Nutrition office. However, if your usual experience of swimming is a quick dip in the ocean on holiday, it might not be your idea of a really good workout. So we thought we'd share some of the amazing benefits you could gain from giving swimming a try… 

Improves Fitness

The pro's might make it look easy, but don’t be fooled – swimming is no easy workout and after a couple of laps your heart will certainly be pumping hard! Putting a regular 30-minute swim session into your workout schedule will improve your endurance capacity and get you fit in no time. 

Gives You a Mental Break

You might not realise it, but swimming is one of the only activities you can do where you can fully allow your mind to relax. Although running is popular with people trying to unwind, you can never properly switch off whilst you try to navigate your route and avoid passing cars. The pool, on the other hand, is the perfect place to get some alone time and work off your stresses without distraction. 

Improves Flexibility

It might not quite be the same as taking that hot yoga class you’ve been putting off for weeks, but swimming will be a lot more beneficial to improving your flexibility than your usual HIIT class. You need to keep your body straight in the pool and employ your full range of motion, which can help to lengthen your muscles and stretch you out.

Gain Strength

If you’re a seasoned gym-goer then you might scoff at the idea of swimming being good to for gaining strength. But the resistance of water is said to be up to 44 times greater than air, meaning your muscles will have to work a lot harder to move through it than they would on land. Maybe it’s time to rethink that expensive gym membership!

Low-Impact Exercise 

Suffered from injuries in the past? It’s likely you've been told that the best way to get back into exercise is through swimming. The buoyancy of the water means you’re bearing less weight, giving you better movement without straining your joints, bones or muscles.

Swimming improves your sleep 

Struggling to hit the hay and get a proper night’s sleep? It’s said that getting in an energetic session at the pool is a great way to tire yourself out and get your sleeping patterns back on track.