Swimming Strokes And Their Benefits

Swimming is a very popular recreational sport. It involves being in the water and paddling like a fish and feeling rejuvenated afterwards. Swimming is a great way to exercise and feel good. Kids love to spend their holidays in the swimming pool splashing around and especially if it is a hot day, the pool is the ultimate respite. Swimming is a lot of fun, be it at the beach, at the water park or in the pool can be a real treat on a warm and humid day.

There are various kinds of swimming styles or techniques:

Breast stroke

This is one of the toughest of all swimming techniques. You need to have exact timing for this stroke and glide through the water with the body going up and down. This stroke is not for beginners, a person who already knows how to swim can learn this stroke. Your breath, arms and legs have to be perfectly coordinated since you need to pull your arm, breathe and kick with you legs as you move forward. It is all about coordination. You need to pop your head out to breathe very time you stroke with your arms. As for your legs, you have to bring them to your chest and kick out side-backwards keeping it straight. Then push the water and move forward with the legs together. It is not easy and one has to learn the technique.

The butterfly stroke

This is also a difficult stroke and should not be tried by beginners. Here the legs move in dolphin kicks pushing the water down while the arms grapple and push the water from the front. The arms and the legs have to move together to glide ahead. The palms are faced outwards, pressed down. The knees have to be kept together while bending them slightly. As we straighten them and give a thrust, we push the feet downward. For every one arm stroke there are two kicks involved. You need to breathe at the end of the arm stroke. This technique is tough and very tiring too.

Backstroke

This style is easy and relaxing. Here, the arms are moved in a windmill technique, rotating and passing the face. The leg kick is like a flutter, in an alternating order. He knees have to be slightly bent while the feet and ankles are relaxed. Throughout this technique, the head is laid back while you face the ceiling. The head should always be out of the water. The arms and legs should be moved with equal strength and the body should roll from side to side. This stroke can be continued for a long time since it is less tiring and more relaxing.

Freestyle or the crawl

This is the easiest technique of all and the best one for beginners. For this technique you have to be on your belly and involve the flutter kick and the arm motion. The tough part is to coordinate the breathing since the head is under the water most of the time. Both arms need to be pulled with adequate strength and making an鈥榮' pattern underneath. The leg kick is the same like in backstroke. You have to breathe while the shoulder rises out of the water and exhale through the nose and mouth when the head returns back to the water. The head should not be lifted completely.

Swimming is good and works out the entire body. It works almost all the muscles I the body like the muscles on the arms, shoulders and back which include the triceps, biceps, deltoids, pectorals, lats and the oblique's. It also builds and helps the cardiovascular health and improves respiratory fitness. Your body becomes more flexible and the muscles get more toned throughout.

The risks with swimming are not too many, except that if you don't know how to swim you might drown or water might get into your lungs. Other risks involve the thermal shock when the water is too cold, hypothermia and water bacteria infection risks. You should use your common sense whether to swim or not in certain conditions. Most often swimming is safe and fun.

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