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What are the benefits of swimming?

Dec 09, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Li Feng
Introduction
Generally speaking, swimming is a full-body exercise that offers various benefits, including improving cardiovascular and pulmonary function, building muscle strength, protecting joint health, assisting in weight management, and relieving physical and mental stress. When swimming, it's important to perform proper warm-up exercises, avoid swimming on an empty stomach or immediately after a heavy meal, and adjust the duration and intensity of exercise according to one's physical condition to ensure safety.

Generally speaking, swimming is a full-body exercise that offers various benefits, including improving cardiovascular and pulmonary function, strengthening muscles, protecting joint health, aiding in weight management, and relieving physical and mental stress. A detailed analysis is as follows:

1. Enhance cardiovascular and pulmonary function: While swimming, the body continuously overcomes water resistance, requiring coordinated breathing and movement. This effectively strengthens myocardial contractility and increases lung ventilation. Long-term practice improves cardiopulmonary endurance, enhances blood circulation, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

2. Strengthen muscle power: Swimming engages the entire body. Movements such as arm strokes and leg kicks activate multiple muscle groups in the limbs, waist, abdomen, and back. The resistance of water acts similarly to weight training on land, helping build muscle strength and definition while minimizing the risk of injury.

3. Protect joint health: The buoyancy of water supports body weight, reducing pressure on joints. This makes swimming especially suitable for individuals with knee or ankle injuries, as well as older adults. Joint movement during swimming remains unrestricted, promoting synovial fluid circulation and alleviating joint stiffness.

4. Aid in weight control: Swimming burns a significant amount of calories—an hour of moderate-intensity swimming can burn several hundred kilocalories. It helps burn fat during exercise and boosts basal metabolic rate, contributing over time to maintaining a healthy weight or achieving weight loss goals.

5. Relieve physical and mental stress: The tranquil aquatic environment and the sensation of being enveloped by water help soothe the nervous system. During swimming, the body releases endorphins, which improve mood. Swimming allows individuals to disconnect from daily stresses, reduce anxiety and irritability, and achieve overall relaxation.

When swimming, it's important to warm up properly, avoid swimming on an empty stomach or immediately after a heavy meal, and adjust the duration and intensity according to individual physical conditions to ensure safety.

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