Swimming is a great way to give your skin a healthy glow. This increases blood flow to the body, helps nourish skin cells, and boosts metabolism. In simpler terms, swimming stimulates your metabolism by increasing the circulation of blood. As a result, toxin removal is facilitated.
Keep the body Hydrated
Before going to swimming pools, drink plenty of water. So that the skin is properly hydrated while swimming. A hydrated body can also help to purify the skin, replenishing lost moisture in the skin, and flushing out chlorine or other toxins from the body.
The act of swimming can be seen as a series of skincare steps. Just treading water circulates through and improves one's skin, as the water strips the oils and aids with acne. The hydration of sunscreen prior to swimming also helps prevent dryness beforehand.
Shower thoroughly BEFORE swimming. It might seem counter-intuitive, but getting your skin and hair properly wet before getting in the pool will lessen the amount of chlorine they absorb. Pat your skin dry with a soft towel, but leave it ever so slightly damp. Apply a barrier cream, salve or oil all over.
The reason is that chlorine acts as an antibacterial agent. These chemicals kill all the bad acne-causing bacteria on your skin while simultaneously drying out excessive oils. Besides, soaking up extra sunlight also helps to keep the skin clean and clear.
Chlorine bonds with copper, manganese, iron, and other hard metals in swimming pool water, which can tint your hair a shade of dull, ashy green—especially if you have lighter-colored hair. It's not-so-lovingly known as "Swimmers Hair."
Once chlorine gets into your cells, it strips away water, natural oils and sebum. This can cause your skin to dry out and crack, which can lead to wrinkles, small skin lesions and premature aging.
Swimmers generally have powerful lats (latissimus dorsi muscles) as they are the major powerhouse muscles used in all four of the swimming strokes. Combined with broad shoulders, strong lats create the V-shaped body many swimmers have.
Chlorine protects you from the harmful bacteria that can grow in swimming pools, but soaking in the stuff for too long takes its toll: The chemical strips your hair and skin of the natural oils in charge of keeping damage out and moisture in, leaving your skin dry, itchy, flaky, and sensitive, and your hair and nails ...
So, as chlorine can only do so much to clean the pool's invisible contents to keep us safer, it's also up to us to play our part in staying healthy by routinely showering both before and after a swim.
The water in a swimming pool contains chlorine salts which, together with the sunrays can cause excessive tanning of the skin. Chlorine in water can also make our skin dry, damaged, aged, acne-prone, irritable and in extreme cases, it can cause cancer.
In fact, chlorine can be harmful to your eyes, hair, nails, lungs, and yes, even your skin. Not only that, but depending on your age, existing skin condition, and several other factors including the balance of chemicals in the water, chlorine can be anything from irritating to extremely harmful to your skin.
Swimmers are notorious for having broad shoulders and a rounded posture. The muscles in the shoulder and upper back are hypertrophied from repetitive motion. This additional muscle mass contributes to excessive curvature in the spine and a weak core exposes the lower back to more strain.
Scientists believe that when we soak our bodies in water, our nervous systems tell our blood vessels to shrink. With less blood in them, the skin folds inwards like a deflated air mattress, creating the wrinkles. There are other medical conditions that can cause the same effect without water, but those are rare.
They weren't the result of a tattooing misadventure or a secret symbol known only to members of the swim team. Either of those would have made a great story. The circles came from cupping, a technique used by trainers who attach suction cups to pull blood to sore and injured areas to speed healing.
“Swimming is one of the best activities you can do to tone and slim your entire body,” she says. You use your arms and legs to stay afloat and your back muscles to propel you. Plus, if you're burnt out on other forms of cardio like walking or jogging, swimming can be a welcome change.
Swimmer's hair is hair that has become dry, damaged, and even discolored due to extended exposure to the ocean or the chemicals in most pools. While this condition can come about from extended time spent in the ocean, it is far more common to happen to those who spend large amounts of time in classic pools.
Here's why you should always shower, with soap, before and after recreational water activities. In swimming pools, hot-tubs, and water parks, chlorine is used to kill and oxidize harmful bacteria and germs such as E-coli. Chlorine is a highly effective disinfectant.
When applied to swimming, some athletes possess certain physical variations besides height that give them an advantage in the pool. For instance, swimmers with long wingspans have a definite advantage, as they are able to reach farther and pull more water with every stroke.
Increase in Muscle Mass
More muscle helps you avoid injuries and swim faster… both good things! If you're already pretty muscular, you may not gain too much new muscle, but your body will start to retain more water as your training ramps up, which results in a small weight gain.
Going swimming regularly may be a great way to stay fit, but it can seriously age your skin and hair. While chlorine kills off pool germs, it also strips the skin of sebum, its natural oil, leaving it dehydrated. Hair fares no better.
Immersing your body in water can cause your skin pores to open up, which unfortunately allows more absorption of chlorine. Once chlorine gets into your cells, it strips away water, natural oils and sebum. This can cause your skin to dry out and crack, which can lead to wrinkles, small skin lesions and premature aging.
Having a length advantage – longer arms, legs, and torso, gives them more surface area to propel themselves forward with.