Rant and Tip for July 11, 2011

Happy Monday everybody, I hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine as usual was very busy. Both my children had tournaments for the sports they compete in. In addition I still help had to mow my lawn and help out some family members with projects they had going. I did get some quality time with my son swimming in the pool though and that was great. Swimming is a great low impact exercise. Personally I swim like a piece of slate. If I go fast enough across the top I can stay up but the moment I stop I sink like a rock. My kids think it is funny that I can lie down on the bottom of the pool and stay there. The nice thing about swimming is if done correctly, kicking properly and using your arm strokes you get a lot of muscle groups working and you can burn a lot of calories without impacting your joints. We all know a runner who will tell you their knees hurt, their shin hurt their ankles and hips hurt. However swimming is one of those exercises that can really help you get on track. The other benefit I will get swimming is that during the breaststroke I actually can get a good stretch in my shoulders and chest. So if you are looking for different types of cardio workouts that will not make your knees feel like they are falling apart, try swimming. If you are not a good swimmer like me, just get out there and get some lessons. Yes even at our age we can learn new tricks. Then it is just a matter of practice and while you are practicing you are burning away that unwanted fat. You ever notice when you first jump in the pool the water feels cold. Then after a few minutes of activity you think the water is warm and feel perfect. This is because you are working those muscles and heating up the body. I will be working my chest today and hopefully going for a new personal record. Last Monday I put up 315 let’s see if I can hit 320 today. Wish me luck.


Have a great workout!

Tip:
Practice inhalation and exhalation. Most people new to swimming will complain about not being able to breathe when they swim. They'll often hold their breath; this is what I tend to do. We need to slow down when we're practicing and concentrate on inhaling when our face is out of the water, and exhaling when it's in.