Swimming is better than walking to lose weight and body fat because it increases your metabolic rate and burns more calories than walking. And we all know that losing body fat can be only be good for you.
Swimming is better than walking to lose weight because it:
- burns more calories in less time
- exercises more muscles in your body
- strengthens your core, back, and legs more
- increases your heart and respiration rates
- helps to speed up your metabolism
If you are not fit or have existing medical limitations to exercise, such as obesity, swimming is a great option to increase your daily amount of exercise. Swimming is less taxing than jogging and running but still provides more exercise benefits than walking.
Table of Contents
10 Best Fat Burning Exercises You Can Do in the Pool
Why Swimming is Better than Walking for Burning Fat
We all know that the harder you work out the more calories your body will burn away. However, the trick to burning body fat is to achieve a diet with a calorie deficit. That is, you burn more calories with exercise and movement than input calories into your body through food. This calorie deficit will cause your body to burn away excess body fat to fuel the extra exercise.
However, words are easy and actions are much more difficult. When you exercise more your body demands more food to make up the lost calories. If you don’t eat more food to make up the lost calories you will just become hungry and tired all the time. The secret to burning body fat is to create a calorie deficit without causing your body to become exhausted and hungry.
I first experienced this years ago when I joined a gym. I joined the gym not to lose weight but to build up some strength and physical endurance. However, I noticed that the weight lifting and cardio machines made my body want to consume more food. I did strengthen my body, build some muscle and improve my endurance but my body weight increased by 2 kilos. I actually reduced my body fat slightly but added more muscle bulk which increased my overall weight.
Swimming is better than walking for burning fat
Swimming is better than walking for burning fat because it is more intense than walking. It causes your body to burn more calories per minute than walking and almost as many calories as jogging. Swimming also exercises more muscle groups than walking. Walking is great for your feet, legs and hips but does little for the abdomen, chest and arms.
However, walking or jogging causes your body to heat up and sweat whereas swimming regulates your body temperature and keeps your body cool. This is much better for people who are exercise challenged and is a better form of exercise to burn more calories.
Swimming has other therapeutic qualities such as:
- Improving the condition of your skin
- Relaxing your joints and muscles
- Cooling your body on a hot day
- Improving blood circulation
- Alleviating the symptoms of arthritis
Please read our article on Best Pool Exercises for Weight Loss
How many times a week should I swim to lose weight?
Swim three days then have a rest day. This is similar to any other cardiovascular exercise at the gym. You don’t need to exercise every day to burn calories. But you do need to have a day when you rest your muscles so aim to swim 4 or 5 days a week.
Is swimming better than gym?
Overall, swimming is a great form of exercise because it works every muscle group in your body in a low impact way. The buoyancy of the water reduces most of the stress and strain of exercise on your body.
Working through the exercise equipment at a gym is too intense for many people. Running and jogging may cause many people to develop sore feet, legs and joints due to the constant impact between your body and the ground. Many people are simply not fit enough to attend a gym or run because they are over-weight or older. However, almost everyone can exercise in the buoyancy of water.
The Importance of Burning Fat
Medical studies all around the world indicate that excessive body fat is a leading cause of disability and premature death. Excess body fat exerts strain on all the internal organs. This leads to reduced bodily function, high blood pressure, stroke, or heart attack. Swimming is better than walking to lose weight and burn fat without adding unnecessary strain to your body.
Excess body fat can also cause other health issues including:
- Slow metabolic rate
- Fatty liver
- High insulin levels leading to diabetes
- Depression, anxiety
- Low self-esteem
- Cancers
- Osteoarthritis
- Difficulty sleeping
- Joint & muscle pain
How to Calculate Your Body Fat
The most common method to measure body fat is to use skinfold calipers. This provides the most accurate measurement of body fat. A pinch of skin is measured on various parts of the body such as the upper arms, upper legs, chest, abdomen, etc. The skinfold thicknesses are entered into a formula to work out the body fat percentage.
I remember the first time I joined a gym they measured my body fat with callipers. They also measured my height and weight to calculate my body mass index to compare with the body fat measurement.
The only more accurate way to measure body fat would be to have a MRI or CT scan at the hospital. Using a scanner is the only way to measure the amount of visceral fat between the internal organs.
Ways to Decrease Your Body Fat Percentage
Losing body fat is primarily eating a healthy diet and secondary is exercising daily. When you have an unhealthy diet exercising is a waste of time. You need to fix your diet first then add exercise into your daily routine. Consume a diet high in fibre, adequate protein and low in carbohydrates.
Follow these dietary tips:
- Try to avoid takeaway foods. They are high calories and fats.
- Don’t drink sugary soft drinks like coca cola. Coke zero is ok.
- Reduce the size of your portions.
- Don’t add sugar to coffee and tea. Over time gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add to drinks and eventually eliminate sugar all together.
- Eat your largest meal at breakfast or lunchtime and a smaller meal for dinner. This gives your body more time to digest the food before you sleep.
- Sleep for an extra hour each day.
- Keep some healthy snacks in the fridge to prevent you eating junk food.
- Record what you eat and drink in a journal.
Do Swimmers Live Longer?
New research shows that swimmers live longer than walkers and runners according to lead researcher, Steven Blair, a Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina.
Steven conducted a study involving more than 40,000 men aged 20 to 90 who were followed for 32 years.
The result: The swimmers were 50 percent less likely to die than walkers or runners.
“I was a little surprised that the swimmers had a statistically significant lower death rate than the runners, says Steven.” “Swimming is highly aerobic and doesn’t put strain on your lower joints, like running and walking, which is why it may be so beneficial.”
Conclusion
Please ensure you consult with your family medical practitioner before beginning any new fitness venture.
Fitness exercises are essential to good health. If you don’t continuously exercise your body your health will go backwards over time. Exercise keeps your body young, fit and healthy.
Walking is a great option for people to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing. However, when you want to burn fat to lose weight walking will not be enough exercise. Swimming is better than walking to lose weight and body fat. Swimming is a better exercise because it burns more calories than walking. And swimming doesn’t stress your body like jogging or running.
If you have any questions or comments fill out the comments section below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.