How good is swimming for getting in shape?

Yes. Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do. It works nearly every muscle in your body and it’s zero-impact, so you’ll suffer far fewer injuries than you will from running.

have you seen how fit those Olympic swimmers look?

Ha yeah that’s where I got the idea.

I don’t if I’ll spend five hours in the pool though. :)

Swimming will get your heart rate up and will burn calories and is one of my favorite types of exercise because it puts no pressure on my joints so it’s a great form of getting in shape as well as getting daily exercise without the traditional “going to the gym” kind of workout. Good luck!

Swimming 250 metres is almost equivalent to running 1 kilometre. So it’s pretty much 4 times as effective right? someone check my math there

Swimming and water exercise is the second best form of exercise that has the lowest rate for injuries. Walking is still the leader in that aspect for low injury rates.

Many docotors recommend it to people who have sports injuries, car accidents, or any accident. Even if you have never had an accident.

The difference between running and swimming is that you are not putting a strain on your connective tissues as you do when you are running or doing weight training.

You can even incorporate a ball and/or other exercise equipment in the water to work out with.

It will strengthen your muscles without harming your recovery from illness or injury. Swimming is great physical therapy for people of all ages no matter what their current physical condition is.
Swimming can utilize almost all of their major muscle groups at the same time, so that they one can get a complete total body workout with minimal strain. The water works as a great form of resistance so that you can use it as strength training and even for aerobic exercises. It not only strengthens the muscles, but builds up endurance as well.

You can’t go wrong with swimming, it’s for everyone.

I got alot of this in from the net by googling, just google and you will find some great articles.

My personal experience: I personally did swimming after a car accident that left my left ankle basically broken in 3 places and the bones were were floating around in my foot. I have to screws there now. It did help me tremedously to learn to walk again with that foot. I don’t even limp now and can walk in heels!

I would choose swimming over running anyday. Make sure you get the chlorine off good and condition your hair thoroughly. Chlorine can reck havoc on your skin and hair.

I use it as cross training with walking, alternating the two.

im fat so swimming doesn’t really come up… oh it’s good for you though.

Any kind of exercise is good for you. Swimming strenghtens all your muscles.