Fitness: Swimming

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In keeping with my theme of alternatives to just going to the gym and jumping on the treadmill, I bring you swimming. My inspiration for trying this activity actually came from Scandal, Olivia Pope runs to relieve stress and as we know from my previous posts running just isn't for me. BUT! She also swims laps in a pool to relieve stress. So I thought, okay I took swimming lessons, this can't be so hard. And she makes it look so smooth and easy, so I gave it a shot. Well let me tell you after one lap and I do not mean a full lap to one end of the pool to the other; I mean just one length of the pool. I was out of breathe and so tired I thought either my lungs or my legs are going to give out. BUT and this is a huge one, I felt like I accomplished something. Honestly, even though it was so hard I just kept at it. I started with one length so to one end and then back to the beginning. The next time I increased to two lengths and so on and so forth until I was up to four lengths. The sense of accomplishment I had after four lengths and thinking about where I started with almost dying after half a length was incredible. I will definietly try and keep up with this activity it works out your whole body it's low impact, high intensity. 

Something to think about though is that while swimming is great because of it's low impact, that is also it's downfall. Swimming doesn't help build or maintain bone density because it's a non-weight bearing exercise. I would highly suggest adding swimming to your regular workout, which is out of the water and on land. Especially us ladies we need all the help we can get in the bone density area.

When I go to the gym I do at least 30 minutes of cardio on the Elliptical, followed by a short 15 reps circuit of crunches, squats and lunges (my gym buddy mixes shit up with some crazy exercises she finds on Pinterest and Facebook) She loves to torture me, what I call torture she calls fun! Then I head down to the pool and do some laps depending on how I'm feeling I will do two or three my maximum is four and then it's my favourite part, my reward for all of my hard work. HOT TUB and SAUNA! I love this part of the work out, mostly because I love being warm but also after a good work out it is so relaxing. 

If you hate working out like I do, find something to do at the end to reward yourself. For me it's the hot tub and sauna, but really it can be anything. Even if it's ice cream or something sinful just make sure it's in moderation so you don't undo all the work you just did.

Have you tried swimming? Any activities you think I should try out or add to my routine?