Besides being the best low impact, high resistance, full body workout around, the true measure of swimming is much more than your ability to move through the water efficiently.
Life skills learned from swimming:
First, swimming teaches you determination. Beyond hard work, an effort expended in the moment, getting back in the pool repeatedly to actually do the hard work displays a sense of long term dedication and an intrinsic desire to improve your skillset.
Second, swimming teaches concentration. There are a host of ways swimming benefits the brain, but a 2017 UK study (written by Ian Cumming and Karl New from the University of South Wales) found specifically that swim training has a both short and long term effect, increasing concentration for hours after the exercise, as well as stimulating the growth of new brain cells.
“During training, swimmers are always thinking about what they are doing and trying to improve their technique. This means they are using both their brain as well as their muscles and stimulating all areas of the body.” – Ian Cummings
Third, swimming promotes teamwork. Teamwork encourages socialization, cooperation, and accountability while elevating individual performance and creating outcomes impossible to achieve alone. It’s easy to recognize that heightened teamwork skills translate to success on the field. It’s important to realize that these same skills cross over into all areas of life. Fred Northup, Founder and President of Athletes for a Better World, espouses these same sentiments in his book, Winning More Than The Game.
“We are all on more than one team all the time: the family team, the work team, the neighborhood team, the school team, and even the national team because as citizens of this country we are all on the same team.”
Finally, swimming can be a powerful tool in learning to conquer fear. Using the growth mindset, swimmers learn coping mechanisms for fear, including the knowledge of your competency in the water, and the mastery of techniques that allow rest and recovery in a potentially dangerous situation.
One with the Water offers premium swim lessons built on the core needs of confidence and growth that form the foundation of our approach. We use the growth mindset mentioned above (pioneered by Dr. Carol Dweck, one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology), to ensure success in and out of the water. Sign up today to learn the life-saving skill(s) of swimming!
Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.