I think this is an awesome goal!

I work at a pool that does adult swim lessons, and the speed at which people improve varies GREATLY. But I want you to know that you aren't alone. We have a lot of adults that are just learning to swim, the ones who do best are those that practice outside of class!

I played water polo and swam in high school, and can say that swimming is a great exercise.

Do you know how to swim, and just not in shape for it? Or do you not know how to swim at all? Once you get moving in the water and feeling good with your stroke, here is a work out program to build distance and endurance that we used back in high school for the J.V team.

http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html

If you feel that might be to tough, there is also the

http://ruthkazez.com/Zeroto1milePreamble/pre-zero.html

program which starts off with walking in the pool, then running, then laps. Make sure to find out the distance of the pool because these are based on meters so you know how many laps you'll need to do. Good luck and welcome to this amazing sport!

I've taught some adult swimmers and you don't need to worry about the strength -- if you're a walking functioning adult, you'll be able to swim. Lung capacity takes the longest to develop. A good way to start is the kickboards at the pool. That gets you in the horizontal position, moving forward and you don't have to worry about coordinating your breathing.

The YMCA offers adult swim classes for people who have never learned to swim.

In my former life, I must have been a mermaid because I've always been a swimmer. I take it for granted so thanks for making me realize I have a mom to thank for that!

I started taking swimming lessons two years ago. I go once a week, on Sundays. I've had foot problems & I get knee soreness, so I'm trying to work on my form for swimming, since I know that form of exercise could serve me well in the future years & outlast my legs. I did swim when I was an adolescent, but it had been a good 25 years since I was last in the water. The pool is a great equalizer. There are women older than me and twice my size who swim more adeptly & go for more laps than I do. Endurance on land is quite a different thing from endurance in the pool, as I've discovered. I thought I'd attained a good level of cardio fitness -- and my doctor thinks so, too, after doing EKGs on me -- but oh boy, nothing wipes me out like trying to do consecutive laps in the pool.

I've never taken the water aerobics class they offer, though it looks fun & challenging -- it's held two hours before my class meets & the location of class, miles away from where I live, makes it impractical to attend both. Good for you for getting in the pool & working it! I wish I had been more adventurous a few years ago & started water aerobics & worked my way up to swimming that way. A lot of the women in water aerobics stay in the pool for the Beginning Swim class afterward. We have a lot of adults learning to swim. Because I live near NYC, the classes are extremely diverse & many class members are immigrants to the U.S. I was surprised how many grew up in the Caribbean islands but had never learned to swim till they came to the U.S.

I've been debating taking swimming lessons at my gym (the local Y), but I've been feeling silly with it.

I mean, I know how to swim in the fact that I know how to move across the water and not drown. I live on the water in the summer with water skiing, knee-boarding, etc.

But I have no idea how to swim a lap or proper swim form. So I've been tossing around the idea that maybe I need swimming lessons for something different to do at the gym.

O wow, thanks for the links! I haven't been swimming ages, but having a neat schedule like that is encouraging to see (bit like c25k). Now where's my swimsuit?