Is it Too Late to Start Learning How to Swim?

Many think that learning how to swim is only for children. However, it is never too late for you to learn how to swim even if you are already an adult. Besides, it is better late than never, and you are missing out on plenty of amazing experiences that involve swimming.

Why It’s Never Too Late to Learn How to Swim

As an adult, there are probably two main reasons why you don’t know how to swim yet. The first reason is if you have a bad experience relating to bodies of water, and the second is that you just never took the plunge to learn how to do it. Regardless of your reason, it is never too late for you to learn how to swim.

Here are some reasons why you should still learn how to swim even if you are an adult already:

• A Life-Long Survival Skill

Swimming is an important life skill that will help save your life or others during dangerous situations involving water.

At one point in your life, you will be near a body of water or pool, and unfortunately, incidents that cause drowning can occur. This can happen to your family, friend, or worse, you. However, when you know how to swim, you will be able to save yourself or others and bring them to safety.

Furthermore, simply knowing how to swim will give you peace of mind when you are in the water. It will also help make your companion feel secure that in any given moment that danger presents itself, they don’t have to worry about you or that you have their back no matter what.

• Excellent Cardio Exercise

Cardio exercises can be quite taxing to the knees and joints of the body, especially when you are getting much older. It’s a good thing that swimming is excellent cardio that does not impact the knees, which makes it a great alternative.

Swimming is also generally relaxing and enjoyable, especially when you do it with friends, so it will barely feel like a workout. This way, you are helping your body maintain its appropriate weight while working out your other muscles.

• Fun and Exciting

The biggest reason why you should learn how to swim even if you are now an adult is that it is fun and exciting. Stop being the designated bag watcher and joining your friends and family in the water.

Benefits You Can Get From Learning How to Swim

Swimming has a long list of benefits, aside from being fun and enjoyable. Here are some of them:

• Full Body Workout

The biggest benefit that you can get from swimming is an excellent full-body workout option. It allows your heart rate to increase without putting too much stress on your body.

Since it does not stress out the body that much, swimming is also excellent for individuals who are suffering from conditions such as arthritis. Even those who suffered previous injuries can use swimming as a workout without worrying about overexerting or re-injuring their injury.

By doing a swimming workout, you can also achieve toner muscles, improved endurance, and more strength in general.

• Efficient Way to Get Rid of Excess Calories

If you are looking for a way to get rid of your excess calories, you should consider swimming. In fact, around 423 calories are burned by 160-pound individuals in just one hour of moderate pace swimming. This can even be double when the pace is more vigorous.

This is efficient because walking only burns 314 calories for a 1-hour walk with a pace of 3.5 mi/h. Although yoga is also an excellent activity, it does not burn as much as when you are swimming. You only burn around 383 calories in a single hour yoga session.

• Improve Sleep and Mood

A study participated by adults who have insomnia shows that swimming may help improve sleep. Participants also noted that they now have better sleeping patterns after engaging in swimming workouts.

Swimming can help improve your mood too. Researchers did a 12-week aquatic program, and the results showed that the participants who suffered from dementias had lesser mood swings.

• Stress Management

Since swimming is a physical activity, it helps stimulate the brain and encourage the production of neurochemicals. These neurochemicals are responsible for making your body feel good and lower stress levels.

Swimming also has a massaging sensation as the result of the movement of water. This helps encourage relaxation for the entire body.

• Improve Brain Functions

Swimming is really helpful in improving brain function. Since it is an aerobic exercise, it strengthens your heart muscle and over time, making it much larger. This will then result in improved blood flow to the brain, allowing your body to function better.

This is why many experts recommend this activity to people who have ADHD or those who just have a hard time concentrating.

Swimming Statistics Facts

Do you want facts about swimming? Well, here are some interesting swimming facts that you might want to know about:

• In the United States, over 15% of adults swim at least 6 times a year. Also, 1 in every 5 adults in the country does not know how to swim.
• In children aged 1-4, the leading cause of accidental deaths is drowning.
• 60% of drowning-related deaths happen in swimming pools.
• 88% of people who drown in boating accidents were not wearing life jackets.

Final Words

No age limit tells you it is too late to learn how to swim. In fact, you can learn how to swim even when you are already in your 50s or 60s.

Swimming also has plenty of benefits. These include a healthy heart and lungs, combat obesity, slow down signs of aging, and improve blood and oxygen flow to the brain.

If you are an adult and don’t know how to swim yet, join a swimming class, and start learning. You will be amazed at how fun and beneficial it truly is.

For more information on our private swim lessons, please see our adult and senior swim pages.

This article is brought to you by The Swimming Swan