The wellness edit: should you add swimming to your weekly training?

Amongst the trends of gym bunnies, runners, pilates princesses, and ‘hot girl walks’ that we saw in 2024, it’s easy to forget about the other options available to us. We all know other sports exist, many of us probably partook in them when we were younger in school or clubs at weekends. When we’re younger we see these as hobbies and it’s only as we reach our 20s that we might see the wellness benefits of these sports and consider how to incorporate them effectively into our daily lives.

Swimming is one of the few exercises to offer a full body workout with both legs and arms whilst also working the core and back muscles

In this week’s column let’s dive back into swimming, something that many of us may see as an activity we did when we were younger or best saved for the beaches and pools whilst on holiday. I will be exploring the pros, cons, and the best ways to incorporate swimming into training whether you have specific goals or simply enjoy working out.

Swimming is clearly a beneficial form of exercise, but did you know that it’s actually one of the best forms of exercise? Swimming is a low-impact activity meaning you can work hard and build a sweat without the worry of causing stress on your joints which may occur in running, weightlifting, and other forms of exercise. Furthermore, swimming is one of the few exercises to offer a full body workout with both legs and arms whilst also working the core and back muscles.

Swimming can not only help work the body, but it can also be a great recovery workout. If you spend a lot of time running or putting your body under other forms of stress, swimming can be a way to support the relaxation of muscles and reduce any soreness from previous training. Going for a minute 20 swim, even once a week, could be what you need to break up the week of workouts and let your body recover actively.

Aside from the physical benefits, swimming can be mentally great for us too. Swimming can be mentally great for us, offering time to take a break from university work, and a natural boost of energy. Taking time to swim solo in a pool can offer meditation with no talk or music, a complete break from everything else going on, and the lack of a phone for a set period a week is a benefit.

If a 2025 goal was to try something new or switch up your exercising, swimming could be the way to go

However, it’s important to appreciate that swimming may not be accessible for everybody. Although many gyms offer swimming memberships, not all gyms will even have pools available and often that may mean forking out extra to pay for pool access or pay as you go at local pools. If you are a gym member and don’t have a pool available, it may be worth researching local pools and their daily costs as often they may not be as expensive as they first appear.

Whether you love the thought of swimming, have tried it and hated it, or simply never considered implementing it into your training, take a moment to reflect. If a 2025 goal was to try something new or switch up your exercising, swimming could be the way to go.