Alright, you don’t have a Speedo suit?  No problem!  Unless you’re a competitive swimmer, you don’t need a Speedo to swim in, or anything else for that matter. Swimming is a sport that requires very little in the way of accessories or preparation. Just find a body of water: a pool, a lake, a pond, an ocean or anything that’s a little bigger than your bathtub will do. Throw on a pair of whatever you like to swim in, rub on a little suntan lotion and you’re all set to enjoy a sport that gives you so much from so little.

Swimming is considered by many to be the best all-around form of physical activity. It’s ideal for everyone-- from athletic types to the physically challenged. And it doesn’t matter whether you swim laps, do aerobics at the shallow end, or just splash around doing the doggie paddle— it’s an exercise that benefits the body, as well as the mind, in so many different ways.

Just that simple, basic act of moving your arms while kicking with your feet, and taking deep breaths in between, uses almost all of the major muscle groups and requires a strenuous demand from your heart and lungs-- that makes it one of the best, effective cardiovascular activities you can do.
Swimming also develops muscle strength and endurance without putting a strain on the connective tissues that running, aerobics and some weight-training do. Swimmers work out with less danger of injuring muscles, tendons, bones and joints— and with the buoyancy factor of water’s natural “buffering ability” —all of this makes swimming the safest, most injury-free sport there is.

In addition, swimmers can look for these general benefits: lung capacity increases, the rate of metabolism increases, the blood carries more oxygen to the organs and body systems. Cholesterol levels decrease and blood pressure decreases. Because of the cooler water temperatures and the lessening effect of gravity, causing the body weight to be 1/10th less, you can expect the pulse rate in the rest stage to go down an average of 10 beats per minute, and a decrease of 10 to 30 beats after exercising. This alone can add years to your life.

For the elderly, swimming improves posture, agility, joint extension and flexibility. It’s a safe way to fill the need for a low-impact exercise. For those dieting because of a health problem or being overweight, swimming helps bodies naturally get rid of excess water and salt. As a form of physical therapy, it’s used to treat and prevent several physical ailments.  Swimming gently works and relaxes muscles that have atrophied, and it lubricates and restores movement to joints that have stiffened.

Probably one of the greatest non-physical advantages swimming provides is relief from the everyday stress and tensions of life. Not only does your body relax in the water, your mind does also, and the more time you spend in the water—the more relaxed you can expect to feel. This will allow you handle stresses in your environment, in ways you’ve never done before— calmly, clearly and confidently.