Abilene's Swimming Pool

Here's about Abilene's Swimming Pool.

Abilene’s Swimming Pool remained a popular topic for those who served on the city commission, who had been part of activities to open the pool.

Commissioner Brenda Finn Bowers, who attended a private showing of the facility as well as Monday’s opening day activities, expressed her appreciation for parks and recreation director Jane Foltz.

“The pool is fantastic and the kids
loved it,” Finn Bowers said during Tuesday’s meeting of the governing body.

Mayor Nesha Bailey-Mason said the pool is a community project in which voters endorsed and is paid for by people who purchase goods in Abilene.

“This is a community wide victory,” Bailey-Mason said.

Foltz reported that on opening day there were 782 paid admissions and more than 80 family passes were sold.

She said the concession stand was so busy that in the first day the pool staffers sold as many concessions in one day as they had previously sold in a week.

Afterward, staffers reported that there was no trash left in the pool area, which showed a positive sign by today’s youth.

Commissioner Lynn Peterson said it was important to also thank the McKee family, who built the pool.

“You see the quality of the workmanship,” Peterson said.

Bailey-Mason said the pool’s opening was also part of a special weekend with activities that were occuring with the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad’s unveiling of its steam engine and other events in Old Abilene Town and throughout the community.

Sunday liquor sales
receives input from
businessman
A downtown liquor store owner asked the city commission to consider allowing liquor stores to have packaged sales on Sundays and holidays.

Dan Meysenburg, owner of Meysenburg’s Liquor Store, 405 N. Buckeye, said the state law does allow a process for communities to charter out of the state law.

The businessman said he understands there is a waiting period because of the process.
City manager Allen Dinkel said there is a process to follow that would include the commission having city attorney Mark Guilfoyle draft a charter ordinance followed by a 60-day waiting period. After 60 days if there is no organized protest that is based on a number of qualified voters signing a petition, then the changes could go into effect. If there is a petition, the city commission then has to weigh how to proceed.

Meysenburg said this past holiday weekend was an indicator as local customers noted that they could travel to out of town stores in Chapman, Solomon and Junction City, to purchase liquor products such as wine and beer. He has to observe the state law, which required him to be closed on Sunday and Memorial Day. He said on July 4, which falls on a Saturday, he will have to be closed that day and Sunday, too.

He said his coolers are on seven days a week, 24 hours a day and he has employees who are willing to work the shifts.

Commissioners said they wanted an opportunity to discuss the issue further in a upcoming work session. Dinkel said liquor store owners would still set their own business hours, by opting out of the charter ordinance, the commission would be allowing those business owners that choice.

After the meeting, Dinkel said one reason he wanted to first schedule the item as a work session matter was so that information could be researched on the topic.
While there is a 60-day waiting provision, he needed to outline what might happen if there was petition presented to seek a vote.

Special benefit districts
The commission approved an ordinance establishing special benefit districts for property owners in Cedar Ridge, Dawson Estates Phase IV and Eastridge residential housing additions.

The commission had three separate public hearings. There were no comments from developers representatives Dawson Estates or Eastridge.

Kelly Dunn, Salina, one of the developers for Cedar Ridge, asked the commission to spread the payment periods for 20 years. The Dawson Estates and Eastridge will remain at 15 years.

Under the provisions property owners are given one opportunity to make a one time payment to pay their share in full at the beginning or have it spread over a defined period.

Airport improvements
The Abilene Municipal Airport will receive two upgrades at a total cost of $125,000 after approving the acceptance of two Kansas Department of Transportation grants, said city engineer John Gough.

As part of the process the airport will have improved lighting for it s taxiway. That project will cost $25,000 and include $18,750 in state funds and $6,250 in city funds.
The other project is an automated weather observation system that will cost $100,00. KDOT funds will be $75,000 and the $25,000 will be paid for by the city.

Bailey-Mason said both projects look to be good improvements.

Airport advisory board chairman Jim Price said both projects are important. The taxiway lighting will replace an aged system and the automated weather observation system will help incoming aircraft.

Talks about pool cleaner

Above abut pool cleaner.

First things first, realize that you’ve the choice to either procure the suitable pool cleaners for cleansing your swimming pool yourself or use expert pool cleaners that will come along with their paraphernalia to disinfect your pool. As varied as the varieties of pools and also swimming pool cleaners are, so are there varying costs for the different pool cleaners; do not expect to pay the precise same money for every swimming pool cleaner..

If you previously didn’t own a swimming pool and desire to discern the best form of swimming pool cleaner to make use of for your latest pool , it’s certainly most excellent to get the opinion of those who have owned and also used pools for lots of years; didn’t they confirm that “experience is the finest tutor”?

If you just can’t afford to acquire pool cleaners yet you wish to use them, find those persons that rent out their pool cleaners for a certain less expensive fee; of course it is surely constantly possible to find pool cleaner renters in your location.

I favor reading the testimonials from pool cleaners review online websites than the testimonials which are on the web pages of makers of pool cleaners for the reason that various such testimonials may perhaps have been made up but most of the testimonials on the reviews on automatic pool cleaners websites online are genuine.

It certainly is a fact that those folks who use pool cleaners, specially those persons that take care of the bacteria in the swimming pools, are certain to benefit from much better physical wholeness than those persons who don’t; this is as a result of the fact that countless bacteria in the pools can affect folks utilizing the swimming pool and make them ill.
Countless persons feel that despite the fact that robotic swimming pool cleaners can automatically sanitize the swimming pool, they need some form of supervision, but this isn’t true; they need no supervision and can robotically shut-off when they are done with the cleaning.

The exquisiteness with robotic pool cleaners is that they come pre-programmed; this connotes that you do not have to bother about programming them; in addition, robotic swimming pool cleaners are “plug and play” pool cleaners.
I don’t know about other folks, but why would I make use of hours to cleanse my pool myself when I can automate the procedure with a robotic swimming pool cleaner that does a better job of disinfecting the swimming pool ?

To round up this article, the finest pool cleaner you will get depends on you; if you certainly take the time to search you’ll find the best pool cleaner to use; do not be like those people who just settle for and utilize any form of baracuda pool cleaners without doing various searches.

Do a better swim

This about how to do better swim.

To stay interested in swimming and to help build endurance and speed, change your workouts. I do this by using Matt Luebbers' workouts on this site (which are great -thanks Matt!). Because there may be five different sets per workout, I like to keep the sheet with me poolside and refer to it after each set. I place the printed sheet in a zip-lock baggy to keep it dry. I take one out and put another in for the next workout.

Dont Forget Kicking

People say that arms are the fastest part. Wrong in truth legs can keep your speed up and make u a faster stronger swimming.

Swimming Tips

The best thing you can do each swim session is to work on form. If your form is correct you will swim better and be less likely to suffer an injury. The next most important thing is to mix it up. Dont do the same routine again and again. If you dont mix it up you will never see any advances in your swimming

—Guest Kristina Smith

This beginner kept a log

After a decade of not swimming, I hit the pool again this past July. Once again a novice! I found that keeping a log of each session, with date, which numbered swim (i.e., "86th swim"), distance, time, how it felt, what's next, even stuff like "shared a lane", was a big help in keeping me going to the pool and pulling all 200 lbs of me back and forth. I now swim 1,150 yards every other day, in about 35 minutes time.

Facts about swimming suits

This is about swimming suits.

A swimsuit, bathing suit or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn while participating in water sports and activities such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing. In New Zealand English and some areas of Australian English, swimsuits are usually called togs or bathers. This term is less common in other parts of the Commonwealth where it can also refer to clothes in general. Swimsuits can be skin-tight or loosely fitting and range from garments designed to preserve as much modesty as possible to garments designed to reveal as much of the body as possible without actual nudity. They are often lined with a fabric that prevents them from becoming transparent when wet.

Swimsuits are designed to cover intimate bodily areas of men and women, subjects that have changed during different eras.

Men's swimsuit styles are swimming trunks such as boardshorts, jammers, speedo-style briefs, thongs, g-strings or bikini.

Women's swimsuits are generally either one-pieces, bikinis or thongs. The most recent innovation is the burqini, a more modest garment designed for Muslim women; it covers the whole body and head (but not face) in a manner similar to a diver's wetsuit. These are an updated version of full-body swimwear, which has been available for centuries, but complies with Islam's traditional emphasis on modest dress. In Egypt, the term "Sharia swimsuit" is used to describe full-body swimwear.^[1]

Special swimsuits for competitive swimming, designed to reduce skin drag, can resemble unitards. For some kinds of swimming and diving, special bodysuits called diveskins are worn. These suits are made from spandex and provide little thermal protection, but they do protect the skin from stings and abrasion. Most competitive swimmers also wear special swimsuits including partial and full bodysuits, racerback styles, jammers and racing briefs to assist their glide through the water and gain speed advantages (see competitive swimwear).

Swimming without a bathing suit is a form of social nudity. Special nude beaches may be reserved for nude sunbathing and swimming. Swimming in the nude is also known by the slang term "skinny-dipping". As an alternative to a bathing suit, some people use their trousers, underpants or T-shirt as a make-shift swimsuit. At beaches, norms for this tend to be more relaxed than at swimming pools, which tend not to permit this because underwear is unlined, may become translucent, and may be perceived as unclean. For pre-pubescent girls leaving the chest uncovered is sometimes considered unacceptable.^{[citation needed]}

Swimsuits are also worn for the purpose of body display in beauty pageants. Magazines like Sports Illustrated's annual "swimsuit issue" feature models and sports personalities in swimsuits.

Swim in cold water

Swimming in a cold water.

The buzz among swimmers in the days before the 8th annual Lowcountry Splash Open Water Swim surrounded the relatively chilly water.

Chilly, that is, for the Lowcountry in late May.

The week's cloudy skies, cool nights and rain had dropped water temperatures several degrees. Waterways ranged from 68 degrees to 74 degrees, depending on where you measured.

At race time, race officials said the Charleston Harbor water temperature was 71.8 degrees.

As swimmers jumped off the floating docks at Hobcaw Yacht Club in the Wando River, some reacted with screams and shudders. One older man swam back and got out, shaking his head.

But that seemed to be the worst of it, and this year's Splash, a 2.4-mile swim from the yacht club under the Cooper River bridge and past the aircraft carrier Yorktown to Charleston Harbor Marina, actually set registration and finisher records at 482 and 466, respectively.

About one-quarter of the participants donned wetsuits. At post-race festivities, few complained of cold conditions.

Kristen Phillips, 28, of the Greenville Splash masters swim club, was among a contingent of 24 adult swimmers who were spending the weekend in Charleston because of the Splash and initially was apprehensive about the water.

"They were saying how cold it was and I never swam in cold water before. It was cold in the beginning, but it wasn't bad after we got started," said Phillips, who started swimming in March in preparation for a half Ironman-distance. "I'm really glad I did it because it was a lot of fun."

Because this year's race started during a slack tide, instead of when water was flowing out of the river and harbor, swim finish times were significantly slower than in past years.

While the top male tends to finish in 35 minutes, this year's winner, rising Wando High sophomore Jonathan Lierley, came in at 41 minutes, 43 seconds. He edged Peter Shelbourne by a split second in a thrilling sprint finish that made a case for open water swimming being a contact sport.

The top female swimmer was Gracie Herlong, who recently graduated from Bishop England and will swim for College of Charleston. She finished in 45:26 and was a bit surprised by her win.

"I followed a couple of girls, but I thought they were too far ahead for me to catch up to them," she said.

Lowcountry Splash founder and co-director Mark Rutledge said Saturday's event raised more than $20,000 in swimmer entry fees. Proceeds go to the Logan Rutledge Children's Foundation, a non-profit organization named in memory of his late infant son. The fund supports programs of MUSC's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and swimming programs for underprivileged children in Charleston.

The goods of swimming

What we get when we swim?

Swimming is a good exercise. Swimming involves the use of almost all the muscles required for movement, without the weight of your body pounding you with each move like when you are walking or running.

- Water resistance is greater than air resistance, so that the muscles have to work harder.

- Regular swimming will build your muscle strength, endurance, and cardio-vascular fitness. The longer you swim, the more your endurance and speed will improve.

- Without overworking the heart, swimming improves the body’s use of oxygen and increases lung function.

- Swimming stimulates circulation.

- Swimming promotes proper breathing.

- Swimming helps to combat the aging process.

- Swimming burns calories at about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight and improves one’s ability to control and maintain a healthy weight.

- Swimming is fantastic for toning the upper arms, shoulders and legs. The best strokes for whole body toning are the freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke.

Increased your energy and stamina by swimming

Swimming can increased your energy and stamina.

A study done years ago at the University of California showed that just 15 minutes of brisk walking has the same relaxation power as taking 5 mg of valium! That’s an immediate benefit. Regular exercise, of course, will help to de-stress your body by ridding it of harmful, stress-related chemicals through increased circulation. Your brain is particularly soothed by repetitive movements like walking, jogging or swimming. Increased energy and stamina from daily exercise will help you stand up to stress in your life, long term. It can also increase your brain power, giving you access to more creative ways to deal with life’s stresses. For maximum relaxation effect when walking or jogging, focus on the cadence of your feet, “left right, left right” to block any worrisome mental chatter.

Separate swimming space

Here's about separate swimming space.

The Charedi community, which requires separate swimming space due to religious restrictions, has petitioned the Town Hall to open the Clissold leisure centre pool on Sunday evenings for their private use.

Their petition with 377 names was presented to Hackney Council by Cllr Joseph Stauber, who said: “The children in the community cannot access water sports through their school, unlike mainstream schools, due to the requirement of religious and secular studies.

“So they would benefit most from Sunday evening sessions.”

Rabbi Herschel Gluck from Stoke Newington’s Walford Road Synagogue, pointed out that separate swimming is a requirement not just of the Charedi community, but often of women and also Muslim men.

EQUAL ACCESS

“Everyone pays council tax,” he said. “Therefore everyone irrespective of who they are should have equal access to public amenities.”

Pool time is available to Charedi children in Stamford Hill through the North London Jewish youth club which hires specific time slots during opening times. The club is allocated 23-and-a-half hours of separate pool time a week at Clissold and at Kings Hall leisure centres, programmed around religious requirements which prohibit activity on the Jewish Sabbath, Friday evenings and Saturdays.

But the club failed last August to get Clissold pool open on Sundays outside normal hours after its application for a grant from a Government youth programme aimed at preventing ‘social exclusion’ was turned down.

Swimming good for women

Swimming beneficial to women's health.

A growing body of medical research suggests that regular swimming is particularly beneficial to women's health, possibly even reducing the risks of breast cancer, osteoporosis, and miscarriage. Phillip Whitten, author of The Complete Book of Swimming, indicates that swimming helps pregnant women exercise further into their terms due to the near-weightless environment, making them better conditioned for both delivery and recovery. In the same study, conducted by the Melpomene Institute of Minneapolis (Minn.), researchers concluded that women who swim suffered 75% fewer miscarriages.

Swimming can strengthen our heart

Swimming is good for our heart.

Coronary disease is as much a threat to women as to men. Women may think of it as a man's disease but it is an equal opportunity killer and nearly 117,000 men and women die from it in the UK each year.

This means on average 320 people die from a heart attack each day - one person every 4½ minutes.

Swimming for at least 30 minutes four or five times a week will strengthen your heart and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Dynamic exercise that does not raise the heart rate - such as lifting weights - may make you look good but will not help the heart.

Swimming good for asthma

Swimming is good for people with asthma.

During lap swimming, breathing typically occurs every few strokes. Between strokes, the breath is held underwater. This lung exercise leads to increases in lung capacity over time. This can be very beneficial for older adults as lung capacity begins to diminish with age. Additionally, people with asthma can benefit from strengthening the lungs, since they also tend to have lower lung capacities. Over time, the improved lung function derived from swimming can help reduce the severity of asthma symptoms. However, indoor chlorinated pools can exascerbate asthma symptoms. Therefore, a well ventilated pool environment is recommended for asthma sufferers.

Swimming good for our cardiovascular

Swimming stimulates the circulation of cardiovascular

Swimming is a form of endurance training that easily elevates the heart rate and stimulates the circulation. While swimming, all muscle groups are worked simultaneously, providing a challenging total body workout. The heart rate must increase in order to deliver additional oxygen to the working muscles. As endurance is built up over time, workouts will become easier. Workout length or intensity can then be increased to promote further cardiovascular strengthening. Workout intensity can be enhanced by incorporating interval training into the swimming workout. This can be done by interspersing sprints within longer, moderately paced sets of laps.

Benefit of swimming lesson

Swimming lesson has many benefits.

Understanding that there is never too early an age for people to start their children of on swimming lessons is the first step for parents. The benefits of swimming lessons for toddlers are very well documented and cover areas of the physical and the psychological. This is why swimming lessons have been encourages by child psychologist as well as those in the health industry because of the patterns of behaviour that the activity creates from an early age.

When we are discussing about the developmental stages of a child, one has to understand that at an age that forms the start of when they begin to perceive and learn things from both their primary caregivers as well as experiential, it is important that guidance and the proper things are administered into their ready and waiting minds. One of the early benefits of swimming when talking about toddlers is very psychological because it represents an entry into very familiar grounds, which is of course representative of the submerged womb that they were in for a period for a few months. Not only do they get introduced into a familiar setting, they are performing this activity with their loved ones, their parents and their siblings and this strengthens the bond of love that they have with them.

Swimming is a great way to bond with your toddler and to keep them happy and there is another psychological benefit to this. By introducing them to swimming from an early age, you will eliminate with much success any possibility they would have to develop a fear of the water which would be a social impediment to whatever their young lives would bring about. The phobia of water that starts from an early age usually happens when toddlers come into contact with water and associate bad feelings or even a traumatic event to water, and this power subliminal association gets imprinted within their mind all the way to adulthood. When this happens, it is quite difficult to get them away form this fear and enjoy the water. Of course, the obvious benefits of knowing how to swim will then make them more socially accepted and give them the change to enjoy the benefit of the water.

It has been noted that the meditative effects of water, when introduced at an early age, makes these children more relaxed and less prone to panic attacks. Also, we cannot deny the physical benefits of swimming, which is a great cardio vascular work out as well as one that develops the upper and lower body at amazing paces. Once this becomes a habit, then children will bring this with them to adult hood, which mean that they will exercise quite regularly and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. So, as you can see, the benefits of swimming are quite extensive and there is no argument against something as natural and something as beneficial as swimming. So do not wait much longer and if you do have a toddler, sign them up for swimming as fast as you can.

Rules for clean and mantain public swimming pools

Public swimming pools clean rule

Each country has different regulations in regards to operating cleaning, disinfecting and filtering public swimming pools. In Denmark for example the rules and regulations are extremely limited and the government shifts the responsibility to the swimming pool operators. In Germany the rules and regulations are written by the standards institute and each municipality adopts the rules it deems important. In France the regulations are dictated to all the provinces from the government, the rules are very detailed in regards to sanitary aspects, however, they are not technical.

In Spain the regulations are dictated by the local municipalities and the rules are very similar to the ones in France. In the United states and England professional swimming pools unions write very detailed recommendations and the local health departments adopt these recommendations and add their own supplements. In the former soviet Union the rules and regulations are country wide, very specific and include operating rules and instructions.

In recent years swimming pools operators around the world prefer to use ozone-generator (combined with chlorine) to disinfect the waters. Ozone in the water or in the air is dangerous to humans, therefore, disinfecting the water with ozone has to be done in a separate container and after the filtration and disinfection process is completed all the ozone has to be removed from the treated water before transferring them back to the swimming pool. Aquabot is the best robot to keep clean the swimming pool.

A latest innovation is the ozone generator, the generator disinfect the water without the need for separate container, and the benefit is when this generator is used, a very minimal chemicals are needed to disinfect the water, which saves money in the long term, and there is no eyes irritation due to the low chlorine.

Ryosuke Irie world record

World record held by Ryosuke Irie.

Ryosuke Irie hacked 1.08sec off the 200m backstroke world record held by Ryan Lochte (USA), Olympic champion, with a 1:52.86 win at the Duel in the Pool between Australia and Japan in Canberra today. Irie did not wear the arena X-Glide leggings, a suit not yet approved by FINA for use, as first reported, but a new product developed by arena Japan and Descente.

Lochte Vs Irie splits compared:

• Irie: 26.84, 55.46 (28.62), 1:24.42 (28.96), 1:52.86 (28.44)
• Lochte: 27.24, 55.77 (28.53), 1:25.06 (29.29), 1:53.94 (28.88)

So Irie can go out faster than Lochte but the bulk of that second gained on the American's standard came in the second-half of the race. Lochte, a 4:06 400 medley man may need to look at his fitness/endurance levels. Alternatively he could go shopping for the right suit for this season. Full body versions of the suit were worn by Alain Bernard (FRA) in the 100m freestyle and Yulia Efimova (RUS) in the 50m breaststroke in the past month, while the Jaked suit, another 100% non-permeable performance-enhancer, was responsible for other global standards this year.

There are those who will doubtless point to the fact that Irie wore "only" leggings. Ask any of those who have conducted lab tests on suits over the past 18 months if fast fabric leggings make a difference to speed and endurance and they say" yes, no question. Angle of buoyancy is altered in all of these suits. No question. That Irie is clearly a fine technician and talent simply highlights the tragedy of the situation: not a single person I know in the swimming world could tell me hand on heart what difference the suit made. All we know is that it made a difference.

Irie hacked more than a second off the mark. The last time that happened at global level in the 200m backstroke was back in 1976, when John Naber, a powerhouse of a man, became the first man to break 2mins and brought and end to the era of Roland Matthes. That goggles were worn for the first time at an Olympic Games doubtless had an impact on the clock and accounted for some of the peaks of progress that had not been seen until 2008 onwards and the introduction of non-permeable fabrics into the race pool. The pioneering element of the suits was not the fabric itself - such things have been around in the world for many a long year. But they had never been allowed in suits before (Diana was refused when it tried to introduce such a suit in 2007).

As for goggles Vs suits: little comparison. Goggles helped people to see and seeing is helpful at the turn and in other ways, so speed is improved. Suits contribute directly to speed, the efficiency of stroke, technique, angle of buoyancy and much more that used to set one swimmer apart from another without reference to a suit.

In the days of Krisztina Egerszegi and Alex Popov, to name just a few at the tip of generations of greats, when technique and a workload beyond the norm were clearly overriding factors, the swimming story was one of excellence, outstanding qualities, nurture and nature. The suit was not a part of the discussion. That would be impossible today for all but those who are determined to turn a blind eye to the fact that the sport we knew is dead and an impostor has taken its place.

Irie's effort made it 18 world records so far this year, 15 of them long-course, after the 26.89 blast of Felipe Silva in the 50m breaststroke at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio last Friday. We are still in the second week in May. There will be those saying 'ah, but you would expect that in world championship year'. No you would not.

That's 15 world l/c records so far this post-Olympic year with a world champs in the middle of the northern summer pending. Take the first five months of the post-Olympic world championship years 1994, 1998 (which includes the world championship result of January that year), 2001, 2005, and you have a total (that’s all four years) of 9 world records, all but two in 2001, when the world was catching up with a new trend seen for the first time in Olympic waters in Sydney: the drag-resistant full bodysuit.

Pregnant women can benefit from swimming

Here's about swimming while pregnant.

Pregnant women can also benefit from swimming. Swimming can help them strengthen their abdominal and shoulder muscles. Abdominal and shoulder muscles are areas that are often taxed by carrying a baby. Water exercise can also reduce the joint stiffness, high blood pressure, and discomfort associated with pregnancy.

Swimming adds no stress

Here's my thoughts about swimming

Swimming is safer than walking or jogging as it adds no stress to the knees, ankles, legs and back. During swimming, your body is in a situation of near weightlessness, which helps you to be more relaxed and strengthens the muscles of the whole body. As an aerobic exercise, swimming ensures the well being of your heart and lungs, enhances your immune system, and helps decrease problems associated with cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, allergies, diabetes, and more. Swimming can also strengthen the flexibility of your joints.

Swimming is suitable for people of nearly all ages and abilities. The buoyancy in the water helps minimize the risk of injuries that may often happen in other exercises. Many people who find weight bearing activities difficult, such as pregnant women and people with arthritis or back pain, discover that swimming is an excellent workout alternative. Swimming is also a good choice for the elderly, as the low impact nature of water exercise helps them avoid potential injury. And the earlier babies are introduced to the water, the better swimmers they will be. Water provides them with familiar circumstances, similar to their mother’s womb and helps them adjust to the world outside their mothers’ body quickly. It has been shown that babies can float underwater almost immediately after birth, and it seems that they really enjoy the activity. The most attractive thing about swimming is that it is a wonderful recreational activity for individuals and families alike, whether in a swimming pool, a river, or the sea. Aquatic exercise is the favorite pastime of many children. It helps them to develop the habit of incorporating regular exercise in their early lives. Teaching your child how to swim is one of the most enjoyable experiences a parent can have. Swimming develops confidence and a positive self-image in young people. Research indicates that early swimmers perform better on tests measuring social, academic, motor skills, and personality development.

Swimming is an ideal form of exercise for almost all people. Whether your goal is fun, relaxation or health, swimming will help you to achieve it. When Healthy Living returns, we will talk more about the health benefits of swimming.

Calories used when swimming

Above is about how many calories are used while swimming.

There are many factors that contribute to the number of calories you burn whilst swimming, these include.

• your weight
• distance swum
• time spent swimming
• stroke used to swim

To keep it simple here is an estimate and a formula that will help you work out how many calories you are likely to have used during your swim.

Leisure swim (not laps)

3.2 calories per stone per 5 minutes

Breaststroke (moderate intensity)

5.3 calories per stone per 5 minutes

Water aerobics (moderate intensity)

2.2 calories per stone per 5 minutes

for example if you weigh ten stone and swim leisurely for 30 minutes you are likely to have burned 192 calories.

Facts you need to know about swimming

Here's my thoughts about swimming.

Swimming is a healthy activity that can be enjoyed by people of any age and ability. It offers a variety of health benefits and you can swim on your own or as part of a group workout.
Group workouts, whether water aerobics or a swim fit session are good fun and very sociable. Exchanging stories, motivating each other and sharing in the hard work make swimming with others a rewarding experience.

What swimming does for you.

• tones almost every major muscle in your body and many minor ones as well
• burns calories
• regulates breathing
• stimulates circulation
• soothes the mind
• improves stamina
• improves cardiovascular (heart and lungs) fitness
• offers a non-impact environment, unlike running or weight training
• provides social interaction, either through clubs or meeting friends for a drink in the Garden Cafe.

Swimming good for health

What can we get if we swimimg?

Swimming is good exercise (that's obvious). Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body and the whole person! But what is it that makes swimming good, specifically? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Swimming is a healthy activity that can be continued for a lifetime - and the health benefits swimming offers for a lifetime are worth the effort it takes to get to the pool.

Why do you swim? For the health benefits to your heart and lungs? For the chance to be with some of your friends at the pool? Because, in your case, running everyday hurts? Because you like the feeling of floating and sliding through the water? Or is it something else?If you are looking for a break from the heat of the summer, then a dip in the water is exactly what you need; swimming is a way for you to cool off. It fills a wonderful recreational need for individuals and families, from beach and pool fun to water parks.

Maybe you are a runner, training on a regular basis, and want to find an activity that keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off of your body. Perhaps you have been doing some other form of land exercise, and now an injury prevents you from putting weight on a knee or ankle. Swimming can help you. Kicking workouts, water aerobics, pool running, or a regular swimming workout can all give you a great exercise session without the weight of your body pounding you with each move.

Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workouts. Before a land workout, you can use the pool for a warm-up session. Swimming with increasing effort to gradually increase your heart rate and stimulate your muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. After a land workout, swimming a few laps can help you cool-down, move blood through your muscles to help them recover, and help you relax as you glide through the water.

Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you 30 minutes to swim one mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 meters), then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour. However, many swimmers do not swim that quickly, and many cannot swim for that distance or duration.

Spending time in a group workout, whether water aerobics or a master's swim practice, is a great social outlet. Exchanging stories, challenging each other, and sharing in the hard work make swimming with others a rewarding experience.

There are other psychological benefit to swimming, if you allow it to occur. Relax and swim with a very low effort. Let your mind wander, focusing on nothing but the rhythm of your stroke. This form of meditation can help you gain a feeling of well-being, leaving your water session refreshed and ready to go on with the rest of your day. Many swimmers find an in-direct benefit form swimming. They develop life skills such as sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, goal-setting, and an increased sense of self-worth through their participation in the sport. Swimmers seem to do better in school, in general terms, than non-swimmers as a group.

One thing swimming is not good for is losing a lot of weight. While you do use a lot of calories swimming, once you get out of the pool much of that calorie burning stops. Doing land based exercise like running or cycling may use about the same amount of calorie per hour as swimming, but once you stop exercising the land-based workout usually leads to continued increase in calorie use for as long as 18 hours after the workout. Why? Because when you are in the pool you don't heat up as much as you do on land, and your body does not have to work to cool you down as much once the exercise session concludes. Swimming does exercise almost the entire body - heart, lungs, and muscles - with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness, just not a great way to drop excess pounds.