Swimming is one of the most popular activities around the globe — and with good reasons. There are many benefits of swimming for our muscular and cardiovascular system. Swimming can burn as many calories as running, but it doesn’t put pressure on your bones and joints. Many people do swimming for recreation and also benefit from the health and social benefits that come along with it.
Let’s get you started by having a look at some common benefits of swimming — then, we’re going to pick some popular smartwatches for you that are ideal for use while swimming. So, stay with us and read on.
How does swimming benefit you?
Before we present you with the list of popular smartwatches for swimming, let’s get you informed about some benefits of swimming.
1. Works out several muscles of your body:
One of the major benefits of swimming is that it doesn’t work out a single group of muscles of your body — it works out a number of them — from head to toe!
Runners use their leg’s muscles to run, and that’s where they gain most of their build-up. Swimming, on the other hand, utilizes a large number of muscles to push the water. When your legs kick, your arms pull. When your back reaches and rotates, your stomach tightens up to stabilize the core and to provide power to the legs. This combined workout effect makes swimming one of the best aerobic exercises for a full-body workout.
2. Also works on your internal systems:
Alongside providing a full-body workout, swimming also strengthens your cardiovascular system, heart, and lungs. Some researchers have found that swimming may even reduce your risk of death. When compared to inactive people, swimming can reduce as much as 50% of the risk of death in people who’re regular swimmers. Some other researches support the fact that swimming can help in controlling blood pressure and blood sugar.
3. Suitable for people with injuries, arthritis, and other conditions:
Are you someone having a medical condition like an injury, arthritis, or disability? There’s a high chance that your doctor has advised you not to do any high-impact exercises or activities. Well, even though swimming has the advantages of a high-impact exercise, it doesn’t put any pressure on your body. That means swimming is safer for people having medical conditions like these.
4. Your body achieves flexibility:
As swimming requires you to pull and stretch your way through the liquid pressure, it helps your body in achieving higher flexibility. It doesn’t mean you should stop doing flexibility exercises if you’re an athlete or someone else who requires an insane level of flexibility, they are essential for professional-level flexibility — but swimming is enough for all your regular flexibility needs.
5. Reduces stress and depression:
Activities like running and swimming release happy hormones that help you in lowering stress and depression levels. Alongside that, swimming grants a sense
of relaxation, just like yoga. That’s because you constantly stretch your body while swimming. Combine the stretching with the rhythmic breathing, you’re going to feel the relaxation levels you have been seeking.
What are the best smartwatch options for swimming?
As now you’re familiar with the benefits of swimming, you might be in the market to look for the best smartwatch for swimming that can track your swimming activity accurately, and is also certified waterproof. Well, we got you covered!
Here is our list of the best smartwatches for swimming.
1. Apple Watch Series 5:
As Apple goes on to update its Apple Watch series every year, it adds more and more helpful functionality for fitness tracking. The latest offering from Apple, Apple Watch 5, combined with new watchOS 6, provides a superb swimming experience. It has all the necessary features ranging from automatic split detection to stroke detection. If you’re seeking a greater amount of activity details, you can also lean towards other workout apps available in the store. Apple Watch 5 also feasts on the water ejection feature — that can automatically remove water from the speaker.
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2. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2:
On the Android side of the things, Samsung got you covered with its latest and greatest — Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. The Galaxy Watch is water-sealed and has an atmospheric rating of 5 ATM. Within the swim tracking screen, you can customize the information as per your liking. You can edit information, like your goals, the pool length (25m is the default), data displayed as you swim, and more. As you swim, touch sensitivity is reduced to eliminate the possibility of accidental touches. Just like the Apple Watch, you can clear up the speaker by the water eject feature.
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3. Fitbit Versa 2:
For all the Fitbit fans out there — Fitbit Versa 2 could be the best option for you. It’s feature-rich with fitness-focused features and presents the information intuitively and straightforwardly. Just like the Galaxy Watch, it has an atmospheric rating of 5 ATM, which makes you free of worries about any potential water damage possibilities.
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4. Garmin Swim 2:
Garmin is one of the most prominent sports watch brands out there — and never disappoints when it comes to exceptional quality sports gear. When it comes to swimming, Garmin Swim 2 could be your best bet. Garmin Swim 2, released in October 2019, provides an underwater wrist-based heart rate monitoring feature. It provides a GPS for all your open swimming needs. It’s water-resistant to up to 50 meters and provides all the basic metrics, i.e., strokes, pace, and distance.
5. Garmin Forerunner :
This option could be labeled as the most powerful multisport watch on the market. Having a waterproof rating of 5 ATM, and a battery life of up to 24 hours — this watch has it all. It could be the perfect choice for swim-bike-run athletes as it provides all the important training and performance features you’d ever need.
Verdict:
As you’ve got yourself familiar with the benefits of swimming — and you’re also aware of our top picks for the best smartwatch for swimming, it’s probably the time for you to go out there, get your hands on your preferred swimming watch, and start your swimming lessons right away!
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Thanks for the article, I love swimming although It has been a year and a half I haven’t been going. I’m planning to restart since my body is not in great shape now. I used to be much looser and I didn’t have so much tension, especially since I’m working a lot on my computer.
Although I’m an Apple fan, it looks like the Garmin swim 2 is the best option. What do you think about it?
Thanks for your help.
I wish you the best,
Andy
Hi Andrea. Thank you for commenting.
Swimming is excellent, and the amount of advantages is huge. If you like Apple products you won’t be disappointed with their watch. Garmin is also a great choice. It is a bit cheaper watch, and that is always a plus.
Hello and good day! I have the opportunity to check your article. And I find it informative, and concise. As a only-swimmer-during-summer-vacation myself, I find it very interesting when you added the benefits of swimming, not just as a sport. I remember saving my gf (my wife) in Pangasinan, Philippines when she was hit by a rip current. Fortunately it was a weak one and she really struggled that time and very frightened, we were able to escape the current quickly. Who knows, with your article, you can encourage people take up swimming, and maybe be able to save someone else’s lives.
Hello Sir. Thank you for commenting. I’m glad that you like the article. I hope that I will encourage more people to take up swimming. Or any other kind of daily activity.
Been using the Fitbit Charge 3 for about a year now and it’s been adequate for my needs. Don’t get the opportunity to swim much, but that would be a nice feature. What other advantages do the smart watch offer over the fitness band?
Hi Bob. Fitbit Charge is a great choice. When it comes to differences, smartwatches are built for communication while fitness trackers are built for data gathering. You can use your smartwatch to read emails, texts, some of them can even receive a call. They look similar to a regular watch but they are not mechanical. Fitness trackers have smaller screens and are slimly built compared to smartwatches.
You have a very nice layout on this page, along will a lot of useful information and a lot of choices! look forward to seeing more of your posts
Thank you Ben.
Great site with lots of information. I am learning a lot about smartwatches! I personally love swimming and have always been one of my hobbies but I have never used a smartwatch before so might tried it out! Keep up the good work 🙂