Swimming - an Effective Way to Lose Fat

New Year usually starts with resolutions and goals: to save more money, to travel more, to spend more time with friends, and to lose weight. Weight loss is a serious and important goal, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get there. While gym is probably the first place you will think of, there are alternatives which will make the weight loss journey much easier. Swimming is an incredibly effective way to reach your goal, and when you start, you will fall in love with it.

Swimming is effective

Benefits of swimming are many: it’s good for your eyes, joints and back, and it burns calories while shaping your muscles. An easy swim is incredibly effective: if you opt for an easy swim for one hour, you can burn up to 500 calories, and if a vigorous effort does not sound too bad, you can lose nearly 700. Your core muscles, glutes, arms and shoulders work like crazy because water is around 800 times denser than air. This means that each movement, each push, pull, and kick will take more effort than you thought it would. You will blast calories and build some nice muscles while you swim.

How much should you swim?

An hour in the pool is perfect - you can adjust your trainings as you get stronger. The best way to start is with intervals: 30 seconds of swimming followed by 30 seconds of resting. Pretty soon you will get used to this, which means that you can gradually up your swimming intervals, and down you resting time. At first, 30 minutes will be enough, and you can build up until you get to 60 minutes and manage to swim 20 laps without stopping. For more advanced swimmers, sprinting three laps, followed by a lap of slow swim, and 30 seconds rest is the right pace.

Getting stronger

When you start, you will understand why all those swimmers are so lean and muscular. It will be more difficult than you might expect, but as the time goes by, you will notice that you can add more meters every day and that you are getting stronger. Swimming doggy style is not nearly as effective as other techniques, and if you are insecure about your technique, try swimming backstroke first and build your way up to freestyle. Try to remember how much did you swim each day, and just add more meters with each new practice. In a month, you will be surprised to discover that you have more energy, and that you’re stronger than you thought you were.

Gentle but effective

Swimming pool is the perfect place to work out for those who have weak joints and cannot run or cycle. Because water neutralizes gravity, you’ll feel practically weightless while you move around, and your joints won’t suffer. Not only will they not suffer, but they’ll get a nice little rest as well. The best thing about swimming: you can do your pool workout practically every day without risking an injury. Start slowly, no more than 30 minutes the first time you get in the pool, but try speeding up every time you come back. After several weeks, you will feel strong and confident enough to stay in the swimming pool longer.

Forget about sweating in a gym for hours, and forget about pain in your knees and joints from all the running – swimming is as good for your body as it is for your health. You can be serious about it and train as if you’re preparing for a race or a competition, or you can enjoy a casual swim from time to time. Whatever you choose to do, your body will be grateful you chose such a healthy exercise.

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6 Fun Ways to Enjoy Weight Loss

When it comes to losing weight, we all want an easy way out of exercise and diets. Unfortunately, there are no other alternatives for slimming down and getting to the body you always wanted. Hence, your desire to curl up in bed.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way, and you can lose weight simply by having fun. Essentially, the more fun you have during an exercise routine or a diet, the less it feels like a chore, and more like something you love doing. Once you go through the list, you will be surprised how much fun you can have and still expect to see a slender figure and a flat belly in no time.

1. Call Your Friends to Join Your Morning Workout

When you lack the motivation to stick to your morning exercise routine, call up your friends. After all, you wouldn’t back out, if you knew your friends are in, right? It will give you an added jolt to rush from under the covers, and meet up for a jog, or a workout at your local gym. There is rarely a more positive way to start your day, than enjoying a cup of java before work with your besties after an intense workout.

2. Walk Off Those Extra Pounds

All of us know there are surprising health benefits to walking, so why not move around more on foot? When you’re living an active life and enjoying yourself doing the things you love, it won’t feel like exercise. Extend the doggy walk; go exploring with your boo; take a pre-dinner stroll with your family; or go on a hiking adventure with friends during the weekends; just remember to do it on foot! Walking will lead to a healthier and happier day, and a slimmer waist, too!

3. Dance the Calories Away

The next time you fancy a wild night on the town, make it your business to persuade your friends to hit the dance floor. Whether it’s the beat of hip hop, disco and trance, or the smooth sounds of jazz and salsa, you can be sure there is something for everyone. The only downside to dancing the calories away – you’ll have to cut down on cocktails, to burn off more than you take in.

4. Something for the Sports Fans

Sports are pretty self-explanatory. Just call up your buds, and challenge them to a friendly evening game of basketball or soccer. You can visit your local court to shoot some hoops, or get some essential soccer training equipment and score some goals in your backyard. You can even visit the beach to do a bit of swimming or catch a match of tennis with your partner. The sky is the limit, but you can be sure there are no limitations to how much weight you will lose.

5. Cooking with Friends

You might consider it a chore, but cooking is fun. How, you may ask? Well, if include friends. Cooking with friends is much more fun and exciting than slaving away by yourself over a hot stove. Warning, though: you may start off a food fight in the kitchen, or even a weekly cook-off. Additionally, it gives you a chance to regulate what you eat by preparing tasty and healthy meals, helping both you and your loved stay fit. You might even make a date out of it, and win over that special someone’s heart with your culinary skills.

6. Get It On

This is by far everyone’s favorite, and for a couple of great reasons at that. Sex is fun and pleasure all rolled up into one, and you get to burn off extra snacks you have had during your day. According to a study at the University of Montreal, women tend to burn, on average, 69 calories during sex, while for men it comes to a whopping 100 calories. Additionally, it can have a positive weight loss effect, as you feel more confident about your body, not to mention, the longer you enjoy it, the more calories you will burn.

Conclusion

See how enjoyable losing weight can be? With an active body and a healthy mind, all you need to do is have fun. Ultimately, let these basic fun activities serve you as motivation, and inspire you to find fun ways to slim down enjoying something you love doing.

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