Swimming is a great form of exercise that doesn’t put stress on your joints and won’t mess up your back. However, there are a few things to take notice of, depending on which stroke you’re using, to make sure that you avoid creating any aches for yourself later.
The breaststroke is a nice, leisurely way to move through water. To make sure your neck muscles don’t tense up, however, you should submerge your head, instead of holding it above water the whole time, recommends the Action Healthy Back initiative based in Germany.
The crawl is the fastest swimming technique, which demands a lot from the shoulders. To make sure they’re not overloaded, turn not only your head, but your whole body, to the side when taking in air.
For the backstroke, which is considered the healthiest technique overall, it’s important that you don’t stretch the head too far back.
