Swimming as an adult can feel intimidating, especially if you don’t consider yourself “natural” in the water. I wasn’t fast, coordinated, or confident when I restarted my journey. But with the right mindset, smart technique, and consistent practice, swimming became one of the most rewarding parts of my endurance training.
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I’ve always enjoyed being in the water, even though open water has never been my favorite. As a kid, I took lessons and learned the basics, but I never felt particularly coordinated. Breathing was awkward. Progress felt slow. For a long time, I assumed I just wasn’t built to be “good” at swimming. That changed about three years ago when I restarted my fitness journey.
Starting Over as an Adult Swimmer
When I decided to take swimming seriously, I signed up for adult group lessons at a YMCA Desert Foothills. The classes were small, sometimes just one instructor for two swimmers and occasionally extra staff jumped in to help. The environment was positive, technical, and encouraging. Those lessons did two things for me. They improved my form and they rebuilt my confidence.
If you’re an adult thinking about swimming, take lessons. Don’t try to “figure it out” alone. Even a few sessions can dramatically improve efficiency and comfort in the water. Learning doesn’t stop because you’re no longer a kid.
The Right Pool Is the One You’ll Actually Use
Over time, I’ve trained in several different pool environments. Some were Olympic-length 50 meter pools. Great for endurance and race preparedness. Sometimes intimidating when you’re swimming over 12 feet of water. Others were 25-yard or even 20-yard pools at commercial gyms. I have even tried some training in a shallow apartment pool that’s about 10 meters long.
Here’s what I’ve learned: The best pool is the one you can reliably access. Consistency beats perfection. A “perfect” pool that’s always booked or broken will not help you improve. A smaller pool you can use as needed will.
Swim Smarter, Not Harder
There are different swimming philosophies out there. Traditional training often emphasizes higher stroke rate and pushing intensity. Programs like Total Immersion focus on balance, efficiency, and getting more distance per stroke. Personally, I’ve gravitated toward the Total Immersion school of thought focusing on efficiency, smoothness and control. I am not a fast swimmer, it takes me about 3.5 minutes to swim 100 meters. Many recreational swimmers are much faster. That’s fine.
Swimming has taught me patience more than speed. The goal isn’t thrashing harder. It’s moving through the water with minimal wasted energy. One of the best compliments I’ve received is that I swim smoothly. That matters more to me than raw pace. Splashing is lost energy. Smooth is efficient.
Breathing: The Skill That Changes Everything
Breathing was my biggest hurdle. Once I realized I naturally prefer breathing to my left side, everything clicked. But I intentionally train bilateral breathing so I can breathe comfortably on either side.
In practice, I do sets of different lengths between breaths including two, three, four and five strokes making sure to alternate breathing on either side. In races, I usually return to breathing every two strokes on my stronger side. But training different patterns builds adaptability and confidence. If you’re struggling with swimming, it’s probably breathing. Slow it down. Exhale fully underwater. Stay relaxed. Most problems in the water come from tension.
Why Swimming Is One of the Best Forms of Exercise
Swimming stands out for several reasons:
-Full-body engagement
-Low joint impact
-Strong cardiovascular benefit
-Excellent active recovery
After long runs, I often swim to loosen up. The water supports your body, reduces strain, and promotes circulation. It’s also ideal if you’re dealing with minor injuries. You can maintain aerobic fitness without pounding your joints. And let’s be honest, being in the water just feels good. You’re working hard, but you don’t feel overheated. There’s a mental calm that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.
Hydration Still Matters
Just because you’re surrounded by water doesn’t mean you’re hydrated. You still sweat. For shorter swims under 1,000 yards, I usually skip bringing water. For longer sessions, I always bring a bottle to the pool deck. Dehydration sneaks up fast and affects performance more than you think.
Swim Gear: Use Tools Intentionally
Over time, I’ve used fins, pull buoys, paddles, snorkels, and swim caps. These can all be helpful tools when used intentionally, but it’s also easy for any of them to become crutches. Today, I mostly train without them. But they’re useful for drills and technique work. I may cover these toys in more depth in the future, for now I’ll focus on what I consider the essentials. I started swimming with a typical men’s board short type swim truck, even at my slow speed, I could feel them slowing me down when I would swim laps consistently. I switched to Baleaf Swim Jammers, they retain some modesty, but make me feel much better in the water. For goggles, I wanted to try The Magic 5 after seeing them on Shark Tank. I haven’t tried anything else recently, but I am really enjoying these, they are much more comfortable than the ones I remember being tight and feeling like they will suck your eyeballs out. I have a few different tints, clear blue for inside and smoke/mirrored for outside. While not directly related to swimming, I always like to bring a beach towel, something that’s big enough to comfortably wrap around yourself after swimming is great.
Understanding the Four Main Strokes
There are four competitive swim strokes: Freestyle, often called the front crawl; Breaststroke; Backstroke; Butterfly. Most endurance athletes focus on freestyle because it’s generally considered to be the most efficient. I use the other strokes primarily for drills or occasionally mix in an individual medley (all 4 strokes in a progression) to work different muscle groups.
Summary
Swimming isn’t easy, especially if you start as an adult. But it builds confidence, patience, and resilience in ways few other workouts can. You don’t need to be fast. You need to keep showing up.
Swimming has become one of my favorite workouts. Not because I dominate the clock. But because every session makes me a little better than I was before. Swimming as an adult beginner can feel uncomfortable at first. With the right coaching, smart breathing practice, and consistent access to a pool, it becomes one of the most effective and rewarding forms of endurance training. If you’re thinking about adding swimming to your routine, start simple, focus on smooth movement, and commit to showing up twice a week. Progress will follow.