UNC Chapel Hill has two pools that students and faculty can use for workouts: the Bowman Gray Indoor Pool and the Kessing Outdoor Pool.
The Bowman Gray Indoor pool is an Olympic-length pool that includes two 50-meter, six 25-meter, and six 25-yard lanes, all accessible through the Woollen locker rooms.
Kessing Outdoor Pool is open seasonally and is perfect for swimming laps in the open air.
Seasoned swimmers and beginners alike are welcome to wade their way over for a water workout. The UNC aquatics site has more information.
Swimming for fitness provides intense aerobic benefits akin to running — without the impact on your joints. Unlike a runner who only must resist the air, a swimmer must propel him or herself through the water, which is about 12 times as dense. Every kick, every stroke, and every movement becomes a resistance exercise, pushing the muscles to work.
People living with rheumatoid arthritis also experience greater health improvements with water workouts compared to other therapies.
“People report enjoying water-based exercise more than exercising on land,” the CDC says on their website. “Swimming can improve mood in both men and women.”
Working out in the water has been show to increase bone mass, as the body must adapt to working out in the water. This is especially relevant for people interested in preventing osteoporosis. Swimming also helps to maintain flexibility, as the swimmer must move their arms in wide arcs, twist the spine and neck with each move, and reach forward to lengthen the body.
For more information on the health benefits of swimming, dive into the CDC’s page here.
Filed under: Fitness
