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We don’t need to travel into space to feel weightlessness: it’s enough to dare to jump into the water and swim a lap. The healthy and gentle sport is good for body and mind – provided the technique is right.
dr Harald Rehn has a passion: water. He learned to swim at the age of five when he played in the sea with his parents on a vacation in the Baltic Sea. Over time, the seahorse, bronze, silver, gold, the lifeguard badge, water polo, a sports science degree with a focus on swimming and the first diving badge followed.
Today he works as a consultant for swimming and lifeguard training at the German Life Saving Society (DLRG). “I was a real water rat as a kid. I romped around in the water until I came back to my parents with blue lips,” laughs the 62-year-old. The perceived weightlessness, the slow movements, the steady rhythm: around 7.5 million Germans share this fascination and go swimming several times a month.
Swimming is the perfect full body workout
“Swimming helps you switch off and forget everyday life. Plus, it’s a great full-body workout,” says Dr. Harold Rehn. The reason for this lies in the water itself. Because its density is around 800 times higher than that of air, swimming trains the resistance of the arms, legs, shoulders, hips, upper body and back, learn swimming with lifeguard recertification.
The sport not only strengthens the muscles, it also revs up the cardiovascular system. Because the water presses on the chest, so we have to inflate the lungs. The result: the heart muscle has to work harder, the blood circulation is stimulated – and endurance increases if we do laps regularly.
Breaststroke – how to do it right?
In a correct breaststroke, the head comes out of the water only to breathe. Bring your arms up to about shoulder height and breathe in when your head comes out of the water. Exhale into the water during the gliding phase. The body then lies flat in the water, the pelvis in line with the shoulders. The leg movement is reminiscent of a frog.
Disadvantage: You don’t progress quickly and the unnatural posture puts a lot of strain on the neck and back area.
Backstroke – the healthiest form of swimming
A quick-to-learn type of swimming that primarily relaxes your back. Arms are stretched out over water. They alternately dive hand-first into the water almost stretched out in front of their heads, are guided underwater along the body to their thighs and then taken out of the water stretched out. The legs beat their feet to the surface of the water and sink back down.
Disadvantage: Because there is no orientation in the water, backstroke swimming is hardly possible in well-frequented pools.
Freestyle swimming: The fast variant
The fastest variant, which is relatively easy to learn thanks to natural movements with the arms and legs, but breathing to the side often causes some problems at the beginning. On an inhale, turn your head to the side as your arm comes out of the water. Dip your arms into the water alternately on the right and left, far in front of your head and pull them back to the height of your thighs.
Disadvantage: Breathing needs practice because it has to be done flat to the side – otherwise you get air problems or get into an unstable swimming position.
Gentle on the joints and healthy
Muscle strengthening and endurance isn’t the only benefit, though. Swimming can also score in terms of calorie consumption. According to studies, a person weighing 80 kilograms consumes around 344 kilocalories per hour doing a slow breaststroke, and fast crawling can even melt 900 kilocalories .
The high calorie consumption is due to the movement and the energy that the body expends to compensate for the temperature difference with the water. Swimming for just one hour a week protects against metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity . And best of all: Thanks to the buoyancy of the water, we only weigh a seventh as much as on land. This gives us a feeling of weightlessness and relieves the tendons, ligaments and cartilage.
Swimming is suitable for almost everyone
“Swimming is a sport that is extremely easy on the joints and is suitable for almost everyone,” says Dr. Harald Rehn, who speaks from his own experience. Sports that put a lot of strain on the joints, such as jogging, are unfortunately no longer an option for him.
In contrast to swimming, which involves a low risk of injury. In this way, people with joint problems, overweight people, newcomers or returners can also take the leap into the deep end. Only people with high blood pressure or heart disease should first check with a doctor to see if they can go swimming.
The sports scientist does not initially consider the type of swimming we choose to be decisive. “It is important to start and swim regularly, the rest will take care of itself. “ If you listen to your body, you will quickly find the right type of swimming. And with appropriate guidance, you can quickly achieve visible success. How often, how long and how intensively we swim depends on our own feelings and fitness level. “The main thing is that the fun doesn’t fall by the wayside, then you keep at it,” says the DLRG consultant.
Immerse yourself in the water, switch off from everyday life. Swimming appeals to all the senses, says Dr. Harold Rehn. “In the water we are completely with ourselves. I still find that just as fascinating today as I did when I was a little boy.”
What is the best way for children to learn to swim?
Swimming lessons for children
The bathing season is just around the corner. According to a DLRG study, around 60 percent of ten-year-olds cannot swim safely. we have dr Harald Rehn asked how children best learn to swim.
Why can’t so many children swim safely?
There are various reasons for this. Today there are fewer water areas and swimming pools in the area, so the children have longer distances. There are also fewer swimming courses because there is a lack of qualified staff. And many children prefer to spend their time with electronic media, so that physical exercise takes a back seat.
When should children learn to swim?
The curricula of most federal states provide for swimming lessons in the third grade. But that’s quite late. In addition, teachers have to pay attention to significantly more children than are usually admitted to a swimming course. As a DLRG, we recommend completing a children’s swimming course from the age of five or six .
These courses usually last around 20 hours. The focus is on getting used to the water, enjoying movement and acquiring the basic skills for swimming. In the end, the children face the small test for the seahorse, which does not make them safe swimmers.
When do you think a child can swim safely?
With the free swimmer, i.e. the German swimming badge bronze . This means that the children can swim at least 200 meters for 15 minutes continuously, dive two meters deep to retrieve an object and complete a jump from a height of one meter. Of course, children with the bronze badge should also continue to be supervised.
