Masters swimming: How to integrate swimming in your life (in your 30s and 40s)?

For quite some time, when I go to work in the morning, I keep bumping into my neighbour riding a bike, with a backpack on her back. No, she isn’t carrying bread or milk from a supermarket. With a smile and a ''good morning'', I learnt about her story.. My 70-year-old neighbour, a great-grandmother for the second time, goes swimming three times a week. I was quite nicely surprised. It became clear to me where she got that agility and energy from.

Just to make it clear, my neighbour is not a revelation, nor is she the only one of her age who has decided to integrate swimming in her life but is an example worth the attention.

A sister of my school friend, a mother of three, made a decision in her 50s to try the triathlon. She was not an active swimmer in the past, and she didn’t know any of the techniques. With her discipline, strong commitment, and regular swimming, she managed to reach her goal in six months, and finish the race in the masters category. She still swims as a hobby.

It’s never too late for swimming!

To be honest, I’m not in my 20s anymore, but I still get high adrenalin when I hear the whistle in the pool. I’m not as fit now as when I used to jump into the pool right after the training when I was 13. But still I do want to swim, sometimes to compete as well. How? Masters swimming is the right answer for me and for all of you who would like to do the same.

Why masters swimming:

It makes you a real athlete again... The feeling that you are in the race again, in your 40s, is amazing. Today, regardless of being a recreational or a professional swimmer, or doing any other sport in the past, you can still ''in your 50s'' do the same.

It gives you the sense of longevity: We must be aware of the fact that we are not teenagers anymore, and that every single injury will take much more time to heal. However, if you swim as an adult every recovery will be faster and easier to handle. Masters swimmers, for example, in their 50s often have the physiological functions as 30-year-old people. This makes swimming an ideal sport, and many define it as a longevity sport.

You can start from zero. The majority of masters swimmers will tell you that it’s not essential to be fit to become one of them. On the contrary, being one of them will help you get into desired shape in the right way. So, bee free to join them.

It’s fun. Masters swimmers have different physical abilities and are of different age, but they all have fun while swimming. The most interesting thing is when we make a relay race of youngsters and us older adults. Will a dad beat his son, or the son will beat his dad? Many people get surprised with the race results, and the adrenaline is on the highest level. A bit of competing is a good thing, the worst thing is to swim alone…

Everything is easier when done together. Swimming doesn’t have to be a ''lonely'' individual sport. Instead of going to the training alone, you can always do it together with your masters swimming colleagues. Swimming as a social sport is more fun than as an individual one.

The price? Yeah, now all of you will say that running is cheaper than swimming. Or... Who on earth ''at our age'' will pay that, when the costs of our children’s education are higher and higher, as well as their demands, the older they get, not to mention the retired people becoming masters swimmers! It’s hard. Well, you’re wrong! For masters swimming you won’t need the best trendy swimsuit or designed goggles. The things you already have are enough. And I’m sure that it’s less expensive than a pair of good running trainers.

First find the willingness and desire deep in yourself, and then get informed about which masters swimming clubs exist in your neighbourhood and joint their team.