Running Versus Swimming: Which Is A Better Form Of Exercise?

Choices - in life, most of us are spoilt for choices when it comes to most of the things. Be it with food, career options, vacations - you name it!

To be honest, without choices, our lives would be rather simple and straight-forward.

Although having choices is a positive thing in most cases, it can also make a person get into a lot of dilemma, when he/she cannot pick one single choice.

Now, we already know that exercise is one of the best practices that every human should adapt to, as it can keep us extremely healthy and help treat and prevent a whole range of diseases.

By exercising, we can remain fit and toned, thus improve our appearance and remain youthful for a longer period of time.

In fact, regular exercise can help maintain your weight and thus prevent lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, joint pain, indigestion, infertility and many more.

Exercising can also impart a good mental health, as it increases the serotonin levels in the brain, thus providing a nice relief from stress and depression.

So, as we can see exercising on a daily basis can be the key to good health.

Now, coming back to the choices, there are numerous, even when it comes to exercising!

Running, swimming, playing sports, karate, kick-boxing, different dance forms, working out at the gym, etc., are some of the most popular forms of exercise that people can practice on a daily basis.

So, with so many types of exercise, it could be hard to pick one! Of course, a person cannot try multiple forms of exercise all at once, so it is advisable to stick to one form of an exercise, at least for 6 months.

Now, if you are wondering what form of an exercise to choose from, when it comes to running and swimming, this article could help you make the right choice; read on.

Running Versus Swimming
Now, before anything else, it is best to clarify that both swimming and running are excellent exercise forms and they both have their own benefits.

What we are trying to look at here is to help you prioritise, based on your health needs, so that it can help you choose between running and swimming.

Now, both running and swimming can help a person lose weight, by increasing the body's metabolic rate.

In addition, both these physical activities can improve your immunity and keep diseases away.

These are some of the common health benefits of both running and swimming.

Let us now look at how the benefits of swimming and running differ from each other, to suit the health needs of different people.

Running
Running is a form of an exercise that requires little skills and it can come naturally to most people. It does not require any kind of a professional training.

Running mostly impacts the lower part of your body and aims at helping you develop your core strength and lean muscle mass on the lower half of your body.

30 minutes of running can burn up to 350 calories.

Swimming
Swimming is a form of an exercise that has to be learnt, preferably under guidance, until it is perfected. Along with strengthening your core, swimming provides exercise to both your upper and lower body parts.

Swimming can burn up to 400 calories in 30 minutes.

So, in conclusion, swimming can be considered slightly better than running, if you can learn it!