Competitive swimming pushes the limits of swimmers, leading to participants trying to beat their personal best times, win medals and break records. On top of pushing yourself to your physical limits, there are other benefits of competitive swimming that go overlooked.

Benefits of Competitive Swimming

 

9 Benefits of Competitive Swimming

  1. Low Impact: Swimming doesn’t put stress on the joints in the same way that land-based sports do. Water's buoyancy makes it a sport that offers a wealth of strength benefits and resistance without straining your joints in the process.
  2. Brain Health: Studies on children that started swimming at a young age found that swimmers were smarter and learned more skills than their non-swimming counterparts.
  3. Weight Management: Swimmers burn a lot of calories, and competitive swimmers burn even more calories than someone just swimming in the pool in their backyard. In fact, the average person burns 280 to 560 calories in the pool per hour. Competitive swimmers can expect to burn even more calories.
  4. Cardiovascular Health: Your lungs, heart and circulatory system all benefit from swimming. You’ll boost your stamina and endurance while improving your cardiovascular health in the process.
  5. Swimming is a Lifetime Sport: There are few sports that you can continue to do competitively as you age. Swimming's low impact benefits allow people of all ages to swim for sport.
  6. Socialization: Swimming can be a solo or team sport, and in both, there is the additional benefit of socialization. For non-adults, competitive swimming offers a means to get out of the house and compete with a group of like-minded kids.
  7. Confidence Boosting: When you push your limits as a competitive swimmer, you start gaining confidence and self-esteem. Since our competitive swimming options are for people 18 and under, they offer a lifetime of confidence boosting.
  8. Improve Sleep: A lot of people toss and turn at night because they have a million thoughts running through their heads. Swimming helps you expend energy so that you can relax and sleep well at night. The sport is also a good way to get rid of stress.
  9. Promotes an Active Lifestyle: People are growing increasingly sedentary with desk jobs, Netflix binges and relaxing at home. Swimmers are actively engaging in an active lifestyle that helps them break the cycle of living a sedentary lifestyle.

Competitive swimming is good for your health and well-being. When you’re pushing your limits, trying to get better and dedicated to your goals, these are traits that can help you become a success in life, too.

Swimmers often maintain a healthy lifestyle because they’ve learned what it means to be committed and dedicated to their goals. And along the way, they also build deep friendships and learn how to overcome obstacles in their lives.

Are you interested in learning more about our competitive swimming programs?

Click here to earn about the Countryside YMCA Torpedo Swim Team and our swim programs for kids 10 and under, 11 – 14 year olds and seniors 15 - 18.