As in all sports, even with regard to swimming , to benefit from its practice it is important to be prepared from a physical point of view, especially if at the beginning of the summer you arrive after a long period of inactivity with lifeguard recertification near me.
Swimming is a particular sport because it can be practiced by everyone and you can start at any age. However, all this must not be misleading because if from a certain point of view the approach to swimming may seem simplistic and contact with water can make us feel a feeling of great well-being , on the other hand we must consider that precisely in water some perceptions of our body may be less evident and therefore can represent a real danger to our health.
Doctor Giacone, do you have to follow any particular directions before swimming?
«It is necessary to observe some general indications that provide first of all the need to keep our body in a good state of hydration by taking liquids, to consume light meals with fruit and vegetables and to immerse yourself in water between meals . Specifically, it would be advisable in subjects with heart problems to carry out checks before starting a swimming season to verify their suitability for sporting activities, including amateur ones with American lifeguard Association Va.
What advice can we give to those who want to swim without too many pretensions during the summer season?
«It is essential to observe some precautions , especially if you are not used to swimming and you start from one day to the next. First of all it will be necessary to start with a warm -up phase : excesses must be avoided especially at the beginning of the training path. There are signs that we can perceive, but in reality they should never appear because they are already small symptoms that it has come to an excessive effort. We speak in particular of muscle pains, typical alarm bells for novice athletes: it is advisable to stop immediately to avoid subjecting our body to an additional strain on the muscle, which would worsen the situation and lengthen recovery times. The first sign of overexertion is muscle pain in the legs , which can often quickly turn into a cramp .
During the first strokes it is good to start gradually , keeping a certain rhythm for the entire duration of the swim and maintaining a heart rate that must be under the maximum, that is, not too high; on average, for a person without cardiovascular problems, even if not trained, the average beats per minute are about 120 . You can easily check them independently, even without the help of heart rate monitors: just put the middle and index finger on the jugule or wrist, count the pulses for 10 seconds and then multiply them by 6, in order to have the reference of the beats per minute (bpm). It is also important to check the recovery phase: if the bpm drops within a couple of minutes, everything is fine; if they do not go down or do it slowly it means that we have a poor ability to recover and it would be advisable to carry out some cardiological checks under stress ».
What are the benefits of cardiovascular swimming?
«Thanks to swimming we have substantial benefits from the metabolic point of view , because aerobic activity is able to correct cardiovascular risk factors and can lower cholesterol levels , help to better control glycemic values , reduce blood pressure ; by reducing all these cardiovascular risk factors, the risk of developing related heart and circulation diseases will be lower ».
What is aerobic activity?
" Aerobic activity is a low intensity and long duration activity that allows our body to use as energy substrates not only sugars but also and above all the storage fats which are therefore" burned "producing a greater amount of energy that allows us to carry out prolonged physical activity . This allows to improve cardiocirculatory, respiratory and metabolic function and also the mood. With constant training the heart rate generally decreases and the oxygenation of the tissues increases with a consequent greater ability to resist physical effort and less sense of fatigue ».
Are there any special risks to the body and heart associated with swimming?
"I don't feel like discouraging anyone from practicing what I define the first sport ever since it can be played from birth but certainly some precautions must be observed, especially if we try to swim in an unprotected environment such as the open sea where we are alone in confronting our physical abilities. The prudence both for the apparently healthy subject and for the cardiopath who is well controlled and stabilized is to train gradually , not to push yourself beyond your limits and stop before perceiving excessive muscle fatigue ".
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