Monday, May 26, 2014

Good News!


Are you one of those people who want to be healthy and not just feel healthy?  That’s what I thought.  Me too!  If I gave you a prescription for a single activity that could help you get to your ideal body weight, while strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your cholesterol, reducing your risk for diabetes, and assisting you with balance, flexibility, and stamina all with little to no impact to your skeletal system, would you be interested? 

The good news is that I have that prescription.  There is a single aerobic activity that has the ability to do all those things and more.  While building your body into the healthy framework you desire and helping you feel and look younger.  It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it?  Well it’s not and guess what….it’s swimming.

Swimming offers something no other aerobic exercise does: the ability to work your muscular system, your cardiovascular system, your respiratory system, and more all without harsh impact to your skeletal system.  Gone are the days when you have to run through foot pain or bike while your knees throb.  When the human body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter.   When immersed the body bears less impact on the framework making the pool an ideal place to workout stiff muscles and sore joints while burning calories.

Have you ever seen a flabby fish or a weak looking competitive swimmer?  Me either.  Swimming provides a unique element to a workout that you don’t get while walking, jogging, or biking so you can look and feel fit.  Water is twelve times denser than air and provides resistance with every move you make.  Resistance exercise is the best way to build muscle strength and tone.

Swimming as well puts the body framework through a broad range of motion that helps joints and ligaments stay loose and flexible. Range of motion is imperative to a healthy lifestyle.   The body is made to move and your range of motion determines your ability to go and do the things you want.

If you are one of those people who wants to be healthy not just feel healthy.  If you want to get to your ideal body weight while strengthening and toning without unnecessary impact.  Swimming could very well be the answer.  For more information, for swim lessons, or to speak to a trainer call us at the Palm Desert Aquatic Center 760-565-7467.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Boredom-The Enemy to Good Health


Often I have swimmers ask me what they can do to take the boredom out of a swim workout or any workout for that matter.   Exercise boredom is not exclusive to swimming. Even the most eager and dedicated fitness enthusiast gets bored with exercise.  It is common to find a workout niche and stay in it until boredom sets in.  Many of us get comfortable in a particular workout routine and we become habitual with what it takes to accomplish the exercise and familiar with the way the workout makes us feel. 

Boredom however is the enemy to good health.  It leads to workout slumps filled with lack of inspiration, poor excuses that keep us away from the pool or out of gym, low motivation, and sometimes the desire to quit exercise practice all together.  Here’s a word of advice.  Don’t quit.  Instead, change it up.

For a challenging swim workout keep your heart rate at around 80% of your max for as much of your workout as possible.  To ensure you’re staying in the zone, stop every 15 laps or so and use the clock to count your pulse for six seconds; tack a zero onto the number to calculate your beats per minute (BPM).

Incorporate training tools into your swim workout.  Use hand paddles, fins, a pull buoy, or a kick board to make it more fun.  These tools assist in strength training and muscle toning, and correct positioning as well.

Alter the pace of the swim workout.  Add a sprint here and there.  Nothing burns calories better than swimming fast.  Try swimming four lengths easy, with a long stretch and a gentle pace and then two lengths fast with a vigorous kick and a powerful pull for instance.  Or divide your workout into two or three segments swimming one or two fast laps at the end of each.

Changing up a workout-routine is essential for not only our physical bodies, but also our mental state-of-mind. The more we challenge our bodies to try new things, the further we get away from the exercise rut of boredom and the better we feel.

For additional boredom reducing exercise tips call the Palm Desert Aquatic Center (760)565-7647 and talk to a trainer.