Lap Pool - Why You Should Get One

There are many reasons why purchasing lap pool is a great idea, with the main reason being that you can enjoy the many benefits of swimming from your own home whenever you would like to. For many people, swimming is the best exercise they can do, yet it can be extremely difficult to do if you don’t have easy access to a gym that has a pool.

Lets be honest, going to the gym is hard enough, and going to the pool to swim is even harder. However, if you have back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, or really any body ailment that requires physical therapy, then having a lap pool will help you tremendously. I personally have needed to swim more for the last three years, but never did because I did not have access to a pool. In addition, my yard is too small for a pool, let a lone a good sized pool that would allow me to swim laps in. My solution? Purchasing and installing a lap pool. Now, I can swim and enjoy the following benefits each and every day:

• Water makes movement harder, as it adds resistance to movement. When you swim, it is estimated that it takes twice as much strength to move in when compared to moving through air. In addition, when you swim you will encounter resistance no matter which way your arms or legs are moving, be it up, down, or sideways.
• The resistance encountered as you swim is not as strenuous on your ligaments and joints. Swimming is a low-impact exercise that still required you to exert significant amounts of energy and force to move. Running, on the other hand, is a very high-impact exercise that can create and cause problems to occur both in the short run and the long run. For me, running a marathon was actually the worse thing I could have done to my body, and the doctors and physical therapists that I have to go to now because of the injuries I sustained while running the marathon agree—every one I have talked to suggested strongly that I do not run any more but that I take up swimming instead.
• Swimming burns calories at a rate of 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. This happens in both a regular pool and a lap pool. Remember, you will not get the same amount of calorie burn with swimming as you would biking or running, but you will still get other great benefits, again with little or no negative impact on your body. This is why I am an advocate also biking (NOT RUNNING) in conjunction with swimming if you want to loose weight.
• Regular swimming will increase your muscle strength and endurance. No, swimming will not give you a body-builder body, it will give you what I like to call a swimmers body—in other words, swimming will give you a toned, healthy body.
• Swimming builds strength against disease and strengthens your heart. When you swim (be it in a lap pool or regular pool) you will be building your heart muscles, which help you pump blood through your body more effectively, increasing your blood circulation and overall health.
• Swimming in a lap pool can be used as a form of meditation. Many people find it very relaxing to swim. Letting your mind relax and wander, focusing only on the rhythmic beat of your stroke can be a very powerful and healthy way that people meditate. It will take time and training, but can be accomplished much more in swimming than other recreational activities since your body temperature does not rise as much in swimming as it does in other activities, since swimming by nature is a cool, relaxing activity that promotes proper breathing.

As you can see, the medical, physical, and mental benefits of swimming are outstanding—and having a lap pool will greatly help you take advantage of such benefits.  Also, if you cannot afford a lap pool, you may even be able to qualify for pool financing to help you with your purchase.