Health Benefits of Swimming for Fitness – Men Over 50

I was swimming for fitness in my thirties before I started a lifelong goal to black-belt in martial arts. Three styles and twenty years later, with injuries from shoulders to ankles, I found myself in my doctor’s office getting “the talk” about not being in my twenties and maybe I should slow down long enough for my body to heal.

Ok, fine. But in the meantime, I needed something to replace the cardio benefits from kick-boxing without the wear-and-tear on my legs. With my mantra “Do I look like I’m ready to retire?” sounding in my head, I pulled Tyler aside to review my options, one of which was an immediate trip to the gym’s pool. He reminded me that swimming is one of the best exercises for middle-aged men, especially those who are limited on running but need to keep endurance at high levels.

Me: So why is swimming so beneficial?

Tyler: Swimming for fitness is one of the best whole-body exercises there is. It uses your entire core at once, from upper body to legs, even your abs. Muscle use in one hour of swimming is much more comprehensive than in one hour of weight training, which mostly isolates an individual muscle per exercise. With swimming, you’re pushing and pulling your way through the water to maintain buoyancy, and that uses all the major and minor muscle groups at once.

Me: Doesn’t that also mean less strain on your joints?

Tyler: Absolutely. Higher impact exercises like running and weight-lifting puts an enormous amount of strain on everything from ankles, knees, elbows, shoulders and even your neck. As your body ages, particularly if you have other sports related injuries, the ligaments, joints and tendons naturally deteriorate and strain more to support the effort. Swimming, especially for men over 50, takes the pressure off the joints and allows the muscle to do the work.  

Me: Great! What about the cardio benefits?

Tyler: Remember, if you’re not swimming, you’re sinking. Which means you must constantly stay moving and that translates into a higher heart rate as your body keeps your forward momentum. Studies with the American College of Sports Studies have shown a 187-pound man, swimming freestyle for one hour can expect to burn over 800 calories, over 500 with a lesser pace. It has also been found that energy expenditure is nearly four times higher when swimming a given distance as opposed to running the same distance. Simply put, your body works much harder to continue moving in water than it does on land.

Me: Does any particular stroke matter? I equate swimming non-stop freestyle to running on a treadmill. Boring!

Tyler: It depends on your goal. If you’re just looking to get the benefits and burn off calories, then no. Whatever you’re comfortable with. The key is to keep your heart rate up for cardio and calorie burning, not to mention the increase of blood flow to your muscles. But if you’re training for a specific purpose, then it may matter.

Me: Anything special needed to get started after all this time?

A: No, not really. It’s always practical and advisable to discuss changes to workouts or your exercise lifestyle with your doctor. Pools are recommended and if you swim outdoors, use plenty of sunscreen. If you’re in the ocean, river or pond, be aware of currents or unseen dangers. I’d recommend swimming with a partner in those circumstances.

So there you have it. If you can incorporate swimming for fitness into your exercise regimen, especially us guys over 50, do so! The benefits are great, and we can save on the damage to our bodies. You don’t need a lot to start, I’ve listed some equipment below I use if you need it. You can also check out other health & fitness blogs that lessen the strain of lifting here. Stay safe and healthy!