You don’t need to be an elite athlete to appreciate the benefits of a great swimming pool session. Swimming is not only an enjoyable form of exercise, but an efficient one as well because it increases your heart rate while the water provides support for your body, putting less pressure on it than, say, running or lifting weights.

Not only that, but some studies have shown that swimming can make children smarter and decrease the severity of conditions such as asthma. Do you need any more reasons to get them in the pool sooner rather than later? We didn’t think so.

As a low-impact activity, swimming is the perfect training aid to build endurance, muscle tone and all-round fitness levels and it’s accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities.

Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the water, or looking to perfect your speed skills, Olympic star Adam Peaty has some great advice for Muscle & Fitness readers.

The record-breaking breaststroke star of team Great Britain won Gold at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, and is now back in hard training for Tokyo 2021. If you haven’t already, check out our interview with him about his general training philosophy and how he’s dealing with quarantine in the U.K.

We can’t promise that you’ll ever smash 100 meters in less than 57 seconds, but the following tips will make you a better and stronger swimmer.

2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Adam Peaty posing in an indoor pool

Q&A: Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Adam Peaty

'M&F' sits down with the world’s fastest breaststroke star.

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