The benefits of swimming are no longer open to debate. Due to the absence of blows (compared to running for example) and the number of muscles involved, swimming is an excellent sport, both for maintaining regular and not very intense physical activity, and for regular athletes who want to gain training volume without falling into overtraining in their own discipline. Not to mention swimmers and triathletes, swimming, for example, continues to be an excellent training complement for long-distance runners, soccer players, rugby players, etc. Therefore, swimming is gaining more and more followers and this is easily understood. However, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the water but also its temperature.
The ideal temperature for swimming
When you just want to bathe without swimming, the body does not make any effort and will therefore cool down faster in the water (both in a construction pool and in a polyester pool). Therefore, it is advisable to bathe in relatively warm water, between 27 and 30 degrees so that heat loss is as low as possible. The relaxing effect will still be present, but energy losses and the feeling of cold will decrease considerably.
The ideal temperature for swimming
When you swim, you make an effort that warms up your body and your muscles. Therefore, the heat loss will be less compared to a simple bath. Thus, the ideal temperature for a swimming pool is between 25 and 28 degrees. In any case, swimming in a pool causes a large loss of calories linked to maintaining body temperature, regardless of the temperature of the pool water. Likewise, swimming, due to the pressure of the water, is accompanied by a loss of water from the body. Therefore, it is very important to rehydrate well during and after all swimming or pool swimming sessions (obviously favoring water over other sweet or carbonated drinks).
Ideal temperature for swimming: the effects on the body
For your body, the main risk of swimming is hypothermia. In fact, swimming in cold water (between 15 and 20 degrees, for example) will rapidly lower your body temperature (the body cools 25 times faster in water than in air). Another possible (but much less common) consequence of swimming in cold water is cardiac arrhythmias. However, these risks are relatively low compared to all the benefits of swimming.
Therefore, be sure to monitor the temperature of your pool at home and, if necessary, add a heat pump to heat the pool so you can swim there more often. Nice bath!
