Most people now know that swimming is an excellent source of exercise. Being in the water reduces the level of impact on the joints and muscles, thus protecting them from many injuries related to land sports. Also, while running focuses its attention on the lower body and weight lifting focuses on the upper body, swimming allows for a comprehensive, full-body workout. But did you know that swimming can also make you a better singer?
Being a quality singer requires more than just a beautiful voice and an accurate ear for tone. In order to execute those long, flowing phrases found in everything from pop music to opera, a healthy lung capacity is essential. Exercising in general will increase the amount of air entering the lungs, but swimming in particular can have a huge impact. The reason is that the air capacity decreases by about 75% during water exercise due to the pressure of the water on your body. This includes not only swimming, but also underwater aerobics, hydrotherapy, weight lifting and other water-based exercises. With regular workouts that last a reasonable amount of time (no, five minutes won’t cut it), compensating for the body’s lack of lung capacity underwater will in turn increase capacity on dry land.
Not only does increased lung capacity benefit singers, but so does swimming’s ability to strengthen core muscles. There is not much benefit to having a ton of air in your lungs if it comes out too quickly. Control of exhalation is critical to vocal-moving performance. It is the abdominal muscles that manage the flow of air being expelled at any given moment, so with a tuned core, breathing can be extended over a longer period of time.
Have you heard that singers make good divers? A singer will use much less of a tank of air than a non-singer because they are used to controlling their exhalation through their abdominal muscles—muscles that are strengthened through regular water aerobic routines, whether in the ocean, pool, or even swim spa.
The advantages of regular swimming exercises are endless. No wonder so many athletes have hydrotherapy pools in their gyms to work through their mass injuries. However, for athletes, it is the weightlessness of water that provides the benefits of a low-impact workout, but for the singer the opposite applies. It is the weight of the water that strengthens and expands the lungs’ ability to absorb air, and that same weight provides resistance in building a core that can hold the air inside. So whether you want to be a starting point guard in the NBA or the next Andrea Bocelli, put on that bathing suit and get in the water.