Kenneth Gardner - FITNESS CLUB

Swimming is an excellent form of exercise. It is almost the perfect exercise because it involves the use of almost all the major muscle groups. It is unfortunate that most of us cannot swim or do not swim well enough and regularly enough to enjoy the benefits of swimming.

Swimming is an excellent alternative to walking, jogging or running especially if you are challenged by excess weight or hip, knee, foot or back problems. Swimming is relatively risk free when compared to injuries we are likely to sustain when we walk, jog or run. The buoyancy of the water is supportive and relieves our legs and joints of the stress associated with landing on our feet.

Water temperature provides us with another advantage. Its contact with our body helps to increase our heat loss by conduction which results in a substantial use of energy to offset the calorie expenditure. The energy cost for swimming is about four times higher than that for running, especially because the air resistance we experience is relatively small when compared to the water resistance in swimming.

Learn to freestyle

The freestyle or front crawl is a useful swimming stroke especially for beginners to use to get the best results from a swimming session.

Phase 1

Following some water-confident activities — stand in the water at waist height, bend down in the water until your shoulders are under the water, take a deep breath then put your face in the water and blow bubbles in the water through your mouth and nose. Turn your head to one side, keeping one ear in the water and breathe in. Repeat blowing bubbles then turn your head to the side to breathe in.

Jamaica's Olympic swimmer, Alia Atkinson, stays in form by swimming. - File

Phase 2

Standing in the water at waist height, bend at the waist until your shoulders are under the water. Stretch both arms in front, fingers straight, take a deep breath then put your face in the water and push yourself forward in the water and glide across the surface of the water.

Phase 3

Repeat the gliding action and then add the movement of your legs. Alternate moving your entire legs, one and then the other, up and down. Keep your knees straight, the leg kick will make you go further.

Phase 4

As you practise the leg kick with both arms stretched out in front, pull down one arm at a time and push back on the water. Bend the elbow and bring your arm above the water surface then stretch it forward. Hand, wrist, and then elbow should enter the water in that order, as the other arm pulls down and push back.

Phase 5

Add the breathing action after you have developed the sequence of moving your arms. Establish a rhythm of blowing bubbles and of taking a breath. The rhythm will be determined by the speed of the stroke. The breathing should be short and quick while breathing out will be longer. Get used to the breathing routine by counting out the breathing action.

Breathe in on one and start blowing out on two, three, four, five, and six. Turn your head to the side on one and roll it to the middle position on two, three, and return to the side on four, five, six. Put your head back in the water and continue to turn your head to the side and breathe out when the corresponding arm is out of the water.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.