What good is swimming as exercise?
Obviously, it’s occurred to you that you are getting exercise, that’s why you need to take the breaks and can only do 20 lengths of the pool. You should push yourself to increase that workload. Try to swim without the breathers and try to increase the distance a bit each day. It’s hard to quantify exactly what your swimming is accomplishing, but it’s strengthening your muscles, adding flexibility, working your heart and lungs, and improving your circulation. At some point, you will even notice that you are losing weight. I started out at about that distance a year ago, now I am swimming 4800 meters 3 times a week and 2000 or so meters 3 times a week. I’ve lost 45 pounds. I’m 54, so unless you’re an old codger, you could probably do the same or better.
