I’ve seen a lot of memes over the last two months lamenting what it will be like to put on regular pants once quarantine is over – and if that will even be possible! But quarantine doesn’t have to be an excuse to make unhealthy choices and gain weight. And obsessing over body image isn’t a healthy mental choice either. So, like the Chicken and the Egg, which came first?

Is it a positive body image mindset or living a healthy lifestyle? Why can’t we have both? People show significant improvement in social well-being and mental health when they live a healthy lifestyle. By facing your fears through a meditative exercise like swimming, you can learn to create a positive mindset that will help you truly want to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Healthy Lifestyle

What happens to our health physically, emotionally, and spiritually when we’re 50+ pounds overweight? The tricky part is that once our bodies are carrying extra weight, it becomes exponentially harder to lose it. We lose the ability to process calories correctly, and the weight comes off slower. Plus, according to research gathered by Harvard Health Publications, being moderately overweight more than doubles the risk of over FIFTY different health conditions, including depression.  

It’s frustrating that the ones who benefit most from our unhealthy lifestyles are the corporations pushing unhealthy products in the name of convenience and low-cost while our bodies slowly fail. Or maybe worse, dietary, nutritional, and workout fads that are confusing, expensive, and difficult to maintain, ending in failure and defeat. Crossfit is a prime example of a workout that, on the surface, looks exciting and promises great results with a challenging, competitive atmosphere. Unfortunately, the unpopular truth is that besides beginner athletes being more prone to injury in this atmosphere, the variable, intense, and constantly changing workouts prevent proper recovery and muscle strength gains. 

How can our lives improve by losing weight?

One with the Water Clients reported the most significant positive impacts in the following categories:

Quality of Life 55%

Social Well-Being 47%

Mental Health 47%

Physical Health 50%

Swimming Abilities 85%

Confidence/Self-Worth 61%

Leadership Skills 40%

Positive Body Image

So, where does a positive body image fit into all this? After all, what’s wrong with loving ourselves the way we are. And the answer is nothing; we encourage self-care and positive body image. The secret is using a growth mindset to increase our positive body image and reap the benefits of creating healthy lifestyle changes. According to the same Harvard publication (“Lose Weight and Keep it Off”), even a modest 5-10% weight loss can significantly reduce your health risks. 

Using a growth mindset, people can conquer their fear and kick their unhealthy habits, improve their mental health and physical health, and create an increased quality of life. We can love our bodies and want to care for them better. 

At One with the Water, we coach using the growth mindset and a proven meditative exercise (swimming) to create lasting, positive change for our clients. When our clients believe the effort is worth it and will produce results, the hard work follows.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices in Quarantine appeared first on One with the Water.

3 Heat-related Swimming Injuries

1. Heat exhaustion/heatstroke

Heatstroke is the most deadly and seems counter-intuitive when in the water. However, the danger occurs when the water temperature goes above the mid-eighties. Combined with high air temperatures, the symptoms of heat exhaustion can progress rapidly, resulting in heatstroke, a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate medical attention. If you are in the water (especially warmer water) and notice the following symptoms, you need to exit the water and get out of the sun immediately. (Source).

• Cool, pale skin
• Headache and nausea
• Weakness and exhaustion.
• Dizziness, faintness, and mental confusion
• Rapid, weak pulse.
• Fast and shallow breathing

2. Dehydration

Dehydration is often one of the key factors in heat exhaustion, and can easily occur in the water, even though the body is submerged. You can still sweat while working out in the water. Here are a few basic rules to follow when thinking about hydration:

• As a general rule, you should be drinking at least half your body weight in fluid ounces BEFORE accounting for training. According to Swimming World, you should add in at least 32/ounces per hour of training on top of that.
• Don’t just chug those 32 ounces all at once though. Ensure a steady intake throughout the workout by drinking about 8 oz every 15-20 minutes.
• If you are planning to work out at a moderate to high intensity for over an hour, consider adding electrolytes, in the form of light-colored sports drinks or coconut water prior to and during the workout.

Sunburn

Sunburn is another heat-related injury that can sneak up on you, even if you applied a liberal dose prior to swimming. Most sunscreen applications last about two hours before it begins to break down in the light. You should reapply every two to four hours or after swimming. A lot of people think the higher the SPF, the better. WRONG. Actually, after SPF 50, additional protection is negligible. The real issue is that most people apply sunscreen incorrectly, only using 25-50% of the recommended amount, reducing the actual protective abilities. New York City dermatologist Doris Day, MD told Reader’s Digest, “If you use SPF 50, you really get the protection of an SPF 20 based on how people actually apply it.” Focus on SPF 30-50 and make sure you apply it correctly and often. (See above).

Use the following application recommendations provided by the American Dermatology Association:

• Apply enough sunscreen to cover all exposed skin. Most adults need about 1 ounce — or enough to fill a shot glass — to fully cover their body.
• Don’t forget to apply to the tops of your feet, your neck, your ears and the top of your head.
• Apply sunscreen to dry skin 15 minutes before going outdoors.
• Skin cancer also can form on the lips. To protect your lips, apply a lip balm or lipstick that contains sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.

Remember, the water cannot protect your body from heat-related swimming injuries. You must be a proactive participant in protecting yourself from the heat-related dangers of swimming. Now, hydrate, apply sunscreen and go swimming!

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Three Heat-Related Swimming Injuries and How to Avoid Them appeared first on One with the Water.

It just matters that you do start.

Insert motivational quote here. Seriously, a thousand memes are floating around about missing shots and starting journeys and making the first step. They are all pretty cheesy, and all one hundred percent true. At the beginning of last year, my (Molly) body felt terrible. For a multitude of reasons not crucial to this story, but it took me until May to start kicking some bad habits. Nothing was going to change until I did, and it didn’t matter if it was May or January.

Five simple ways to start.

If you are ready to make a change, here are five simple ways to start.

1. Make small resolutions. Choose something that can be achieved in only 30 days or less. People say that if you can do something for 30 days, it will become a habit. I picked two things to start, related to my diet. Accomplishing those first two goals has given me so much energy and motivation to keep going, and kick more bad habits.
2. Make the goals measurable and incremental. A lot of people say they want to lose weight. If you want it to stay off, then set the goal at 1 pound per week. That’s the healthy way to do it.
3. Track your wins. Celebrate your success, make a note of your failure, and adjust accordingly. Applying a growth mindset works here, just like everywhere else.
4. In that vein, don’t be discouraged by failure. Individuals with a growth mindset see mistakes as temporary setbacks, something to be overcome. Reflect on what you can learn and apply that learning when attacking your goals.
5. Surround yourself with support. Find an accountability partner, a coach, a mentor, a friend. Sometimes a little motivation from an outside source can go a long way in helping you to achieve your goals.

Remember, you are in control of you. No one else could have given me the desire or persistence to succeed in my health goals. I wanted it the most. No one else can do the work for you. (And for the record, I’m down 20 pounds with ten to go. Now YOU can keep me accountable too.)

The good news? I promise you; the work can be done. And you can do it.

Happy New Year. Now let’s get started.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Start Now This New Year appeared first on One with the Water.

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.” 

Children with dyslexia are often bright, creative individuals who are otherwise cognitively successful. How can sports and swimming, in particular, assist someone in managing dyslexia and flourishing at life? 

First of all, as we’ve discussed at length here, regular physical activity improves concentration, focus, and mood, as well as relieving stress. Swimming, in particular, also does the following:

• Improves flexibility within the joints and muscles.
• Strengthens the cardiovascular system.
• Strengthens the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body.
• Helps improve lung capacity, leading to higher oxygen intake, which allows for increased focus in the classroom.
• Additionally, swimming acts as a calming, meditative experience due to the rhythmic, repetitive motion in a quiet, sensory-friendly environment. This aspect of swimming is particularly crucial for students with dyslexia to offset the often stressful day to day work of managing dyslexia in the classroom.

Managing Dyslexia Through Sport

Beyond the health benefits, experts agree that playing sports can normalize a dyslexic child’s experience, allowing them to be peers on the playing field (or in the pool). Athletes learn the value of teamwork, increase self-esteem, establish an identity not rooted in failure and struggle, and learn valuable lessons like the positive results of hard work, plus organizational and planning skills that can be transferred back into the classroom. As one father described it, achieving results in the pool gave his son John the belief that real effort could produce results outside the pool as well. Not only that, the pool improved his overall fitness and was something he loved to do.

And according to this guide for teaching dyslexic students in sports, the strengths of students with dyslexia do lend themselves to excelling in the physical arena. Advantages that include (but are not limited to 

• Multi-sensory learning styles that are particularly suited to sporting activities; 
• Multi-dimensional thinking and perception
• An acute awareness of the environment 
• Originality and creativity in their approach to problem-solving 
• Determination to succeed 
• Endurance and ability to practice the same skill over and over again, even if there is little apparent progress

“Athletics puts them in a position in which they are equal to their peers—they help each other, they cooperate, they pull together, and they learn to accept both winning and losing with grace and maturity.”

If you or your child struggle with dyslexia, consider our premium swim lessons as a path to success both in and out of the water. Register today! 

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Swimming and Dyslexia: Powerful Partners. appeared first on One with the Water.

First, understand that swimming is among the top endurance sports for calorie burning with the added benefit of it being non-impact (versus running) and full body (versus running and cycling), making it an excellent choice when weight, injury, and special physical needs are a factor.

As a quick review, the rate at which your body burns calories to use as energy is known as your metabolism, which varies from person to person. Metabolism rates are dependent on a number of things, including body composition and gender, but all calorie burning rates are directly impacted by weight and exertion levels. For swimming, it’s a simple equation: Calories burned are directly proportionate to duration and intensity. In laymen’s terms, you burn more when you swim longer, faster, and harder.

How many calories does swimming burn?

For reference the American College of Sports Medicine has created a chart with estimates based on time and weight, rather than total distance.
•    A 130-pound person swimming freestyle for one hour will burn 590 calories swimming fast, and 413 calories swimming slower.
•    A 155-pound person swimming freestyle for one hour will burn 704 calories swimming fast, and 493 calories swimming slower.
•    A 180-pound person swimming freestyle for one hour will burn 817 calories swimming fast, and 572 calories swimming slower.
•    A 205-pound person swimming freestyle for one hour will burn 931 calories swimming fast, and 651 calories swimming slower.

(Source: https://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm)

Consider time versus intensity.

When comparing strokes, as a general rule one hour of breaststroke at a moderate speed is equivalent to a slower freestyle, while a technically proficient, moderate intensity backstroke roughly equates to a fast freestyle workout. The heavy hitter though, is the butterfly, burning anywhere from 700 to 1100 calories in an hour (based on weight.) Try it if you dare though, as the butterfly is the most technically demanding stroke in the pool!

Finally, it’s important to remember that while we’ve established that fast freestyle will burn more than a slow one, and butterfly will burn like fire, discernment is still necessary when choosing your workout. If you can sustain a more extended workout doing a moderate speed breaststroke, you may burn more calories in the long run than doing a short sprint freestyle workout. If you swim a slow, inefficient butterfly, you want to choose a stroke you are more technically capable of swimming or consider adult swim lessons to improve your swimming technique and ultimately help you to become one with the water.

Register today for premium swim lessons.

Here at One with the Water, we offer premium swim lessons for all ages, whether you are a beginner,  want to improve your technique, or looking to train for competition events. Register today to start your journey towards confidence and success in the pool.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post How many calories does swimming burn? appeared first on One with the Water.

What I want to highlight here is how much inner peace can be found starting with the pool. Swimming lays the groundwork for a happier life. Aside from the physical benefits of swimming, our whole body is supported by the embrace of the water.

“I feel most at home in the water. I disappear. That’s where I belong.” – Michael Phelps

Inner Peace in the Pool

The aerobic nature of swimming, like other forms of aerobic exercise, increases the endorphins and other chemicals in our brain that decreases stress and anxiety levels. However, it’s not just the physiological response in our brain that adds to our sense of inner peace in the pool.

Dr. Nichols talks about the viscosity, and pressure unique to our experience of the water, and our ability to experience the water in multiple dimensions. We enter the quiet space of the water relatively weightless and primed to let the outside world drop away. Then we swim, engaging in whole body exercise that works the large, smooth muscle groups in the body in an alternating, rhythmic pattern. When accompanied by the deep, rhythmic breathing required in a regular stroking mechanism, we are often able to swim in a semi-meditative state.

“Being on, in, around, or near water can calm our overactive minds while it imbues our senses. It does this by tapping into ancient neural maps and their associated neurochemical reactions. It can help us access the state not coincidentally called by another watery word, “flow,” allowing us to access the default network/daydreaming parts of our brains while restoring our ability to focus and perform cognitive and creative tasks with greater ease.” – Dr. Nichols

Inner peace is an elusive idea, difficult to define, and fluid from person to person. However, the evidence is clear that there is a path to such peace through the pool.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Find Inner Peace in the Pool appeared first on One with the Water.

Worse, childhood obesity has far-reaching effects, lasting long into adulthood. Children classified as obese in childhood are five times more likely to be obese as adults than children who were not obese. These children are also at far more risk for certain diseases in adulthood, including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.

So what can you as a parent do to prevent or reverse childhood obesity?

Swimming is a powerful way to start.

1. The low impact, high resistance nature of this full body workout makes it ideal for children who struggle with obesity.
Plus, water buoyancy allows previously restricted individuals to move freely and helps build muscle in low muscle tone individuals.

2. Physiologically, swimming also does the following:

• Improves flexibility within the joints and muscles.
• Strengthens the cardiovascular system.
• Strengthens the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body.

3. Finally, because the heart works harder when the body is submerged, swimmers benefit from decreased swelling, reduced blood pressure and improved joint position, in turn creating better body awareness and ease of movement.

Don’t be a statistic. Register now for our premium swim lessons (also available for adults) and create a pattern of healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post 3 Ways Swimming Fights Childhood Obesity appeared first on One with the Water.

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 Huggins

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.

The post Four Invaluable Life Skills Learned From Swimming appeared first on One with the Water.

Swimming has a profound impact on the physical, mental, and psychological make-up of a person.

Swim lessons for water safety.

The number one method of reducing drowning risk is access to quality swim lessons. While no method is foolproof, swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by a staggering 88%.

Therapeutic recreation benefits.

Swimming strengthens gross and fine motor skills for easier learning. Due to the specific bilateral motions used in swimming, the entire brain – all lobes and both hemispheres – are working in concert with each other. These movements help to develop the connecting tissue between the hemispheres and increase communication between the two halves of the brain — the results: better cognitive function and better learning ability. Additionally, a 2012 study discovered that children taught to swim at a young age hit developmental milestones consistently quicker than average. They displayed better coordination and increased fine motor skills like cutting paper, coloring in the lines, and other mathematically-related tasks. The applications are far-reaching, especially for children with special needs.

Health benefits of swimming.

The health benefits of swimming are well documented, but there are specific benefits for individuals with special needs. Water buoyancy allows previously restricted individuals to move freely and helps build muscle in low muscle tone individuals. Additionally, self-regulation, speech, oral motor control, strength, and coordination are just a few areas that can improve with therapy in the water. According to Disabled Sports USA, swimming not only offers flexibility within the joints and muscles but strengthens the cardiovascular system as well as the major muscle groups in the upper and lower body. Moreover, because the heart works harder when the body is submerged, patients benefit from decreased swelling, reduced blood pressure and improved joint position. This, in turn, improves the swimmers’ proprioception, or body awareness.

Social/psychological benefits of swimming.

Research shows that participation in swimming for individuals with disabilities afforded the participants heightened senses of self-concept, independence, ability and pride and an enhanced perceived quality of life. Athletes found that they were able to redefine their physical capabilities, strengthen social connections and improve acceptance among their peers.

Drowning prevention for members of our most vulnerable populations is a matter of life and death. Aside from an increased risk of drowning, children with permanent disabilities who lack consistent therapeutic interventions face increased isolation, increased care requirements, decreased mental health, increased fear and anxiety, and shortened life expectancy.

Your donations are critical to providing the lifesaving skill of swimming to children most at risk.

Molly Huggins

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.

The post Giving Tuesday: Why swimming matters. appeared first on One with the Water.

The benefits of napping.

First, let’s talk about the benefits of napping. The research is clear, and there is a lot of it.

• A quick midday nap can give you better reaction time, a higher emotional tolerance, increased alertness, and improved memory.
• A 2010 study done by UC Berkeley shows that napping can clear the brain’s short-term memory storage and make room for new information, boosting your cognitive performance post-nap.
• And finally, a new study published in 2018 shows that napping can sort through our subconscious clutter, improving our decision making processes post snooze.

The perfect length.

There is an art to the length of a nap so pay attention.

• A 10-20 minute nap leaves you feeling refreshed. (Also known as the famous power nap).
• A 45-60 minute nape means you wake up mid-sleep cycle, creating the dreaded nap hangover, and should be avoided at all costs.
• 90 minutes is ideal if you are lucky enough to have a schedule that allows you that luxury. An hour and a half carries you through one full sleep cycle from lightest to deepest back to lightest and should allow you to wake up feeling alert. Studies also show napping for this length of time can improve memory and creativity. Anything longer than an hour and a half to two hours creates the risk of disrupting your nighttime sleep patterns and throwing off your natural circadian rhythms.

The ideal nap time.

It turns out there is, in fact, a perfect napping window. A large body of research shows that 2-3 in the afternoon is prime nap time. This specific window is tied to your circadian rhythms, early enough that you don’t interfere with your evening sleep habits, and right in the middle of the post-lunch haze. And finally, keep your sleep environment the same as if you were going to bed, dark, quiet, and cool.

Happy napping, friends!

Molly Huggins

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.

The post To nap or not to nap? That is the question. appeared first on One with the Water.