Being a teenager is pretty tough. Whether your teenage years are behind you and you’re caring for one or you’re personally going through your teenage years, you know that this can be a challenging time. Finding the right extracurricular activities can make a huge difference for teenagers. Swimming is a great option thanks to some of the amazing benefits it offers.
Improving Physical Health
Swimming is known for being an excellent form of exercise, among other things. Being physically active is especially important for teens. It helps them maintain a healthy weight, improve their strength, and increase their cardiovascular endurance. All of those things are necessary to living a healthy life. The benefits go beyond the physical, though. The way you feel physically impacts how you feel mentally. Therefore, the better your physical health, the easier it is to have good mental health. Plus, exercise releases endorphins which can also give you a mental boost.
Developing a Goal-Oriented Mindset
The very nature of striving to improve as a swimmer helps teens develop a goal-oriented mindset. There are so many different goals you can set as a swimmer. You can strive to improve your speed, your breath control, and your technique. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals and reaching them teaches teens how to set goals and work towards them. That’s a skill that will benefit them in school, in their career, and virtually every other aspect of their lives.
Increasing Confidence
Setting and reaching swim goals is empowering. Not only does swimming build confidence in a teen’s mental strength and ability to make plans happen, but it also teaches them about how their bodies work and how to improve them. That increases a teen’s confidence in themselves physically too. Both of those together will add up to increased confidence in and out of the water, something that will also be greatly beneficial throughout life.
Teens can also benefit from the social aspect of swimming. While much of swimming is a personal thing, being a part of a swim team means you’re part of an organization that works together and strives to improve both individually and as a team. The communication and teamwork skills teens can learn when participating as a swim team member will only benefit them later in life. Truly, swimming has many benefits to offer teens.
You’re never too old or inexperienced to learn to swim or improve your skills. Click here to learn about the different levels of swim classes offered at SwimJim to find the right class for you!