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INTRODUCTION
 
SINCE THE EARLY 1970s, as a by-product of the booming concern with self-improvement and personal growth and development, America has rediscovered physical fitness. One consequence has been that Americans—long dismissed as pampered and spoiled by more vigorous peoples—have become the leaders of a worldwide fitness revolution. In the process, there has been a marked improvement in our national health: for the first time in this century, death rates from heart disease and stroke have declined, while the incidence of lung cancer among men has leveled off and begun to decline.
 
Another result is that new industries related to health and physical fitness have been born, while existing industries have expanded and prospered:
 
• Health and “natural” foods have become Big Business.
• Sports apparel and equipment companies produce thousands of successful products to help us become more effective in our athletic endeavors—and look stylish while doing so.
• Multifaceted health and fitness clubs—with swimming pools, aerobics classes, Nautilus and Universal weight equipment, Nordic-Track, and racquetball courts—have mushroomed in communities around the country, as well as in thousands of corporations and resorts.
• Medical specialists in athletic injuries have set up shop in every city and town in the United States.
• Experts dispense training and fitness advice on radio spots and television shows, while celebrities produce best-selling exercise videocassettes.
• Dozens of sports and recreation expositions are held in major cities each year.
• Scores of new sports and fitness magazines have appeared and prospered while existing health and fitness magazines have undergone rapid increases in circulation.
 
Americans have become concerned with the quality of their lives. They are convinced that one way, perhaps the best way, to improve the quality of their lives is to get in shape. And, as almost all experts agree, there is no better way to get in shape—and stay in shape—than swimming. That is why I have written The Complete Book of Swimming.
 
WHY SWIMMING?
 
It’s not just the experts who recognize the value of swimming. It’s everyone! I don’t know how many times I’ve been at parties and, in the course of a conversation, revealed that I am a lifelong swimmer. The next thing I know, my interlocutor will be telling me, “You know, swimming is really the best all-around exercise there is … especially as you grow older.” And so it is.
 
This observation is borne out by the fact that virtually every poll on physical activities conducted in the last thirty years has shown that swimming is America’s most popular recreational/athletic activity.
 
Swimmers are less visible than joggers because they are not on public roads or in parks. They do their activity away from the public eye, in pools (and lakes and oceans). But make no mistake about it: they are out there, churning up the laps, in numbers estimated by the polls at between 30 and 120 million people! And their numbers are growing.
 
In large measure, the fitness boom has been faddish. First tennis was the “in” activity; then it was jogging; then racquetball and aerobics. All of these are worthy and healthful activities, but all have their downsides as well. Swimming has all their virtues and more. And it has no downside.
 
Virtually all experts now recognize that swimming is the best and most complete form of exercise there is. It provides the same aerobic benefits that running and other activities do. But, unlike running and other forms of exercise, it works all the muscles of the body; since it does not put the strain on connective tissues that running and jogging do, it rarely leads to injury; and it provides numerous psychological benefits as well—from increased self-esteem to an enriched love life. According to recent stories in such bellwethers as The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, swimming is destined to be the sport of the late 1990s and the twenty-first century.
 
WHOM THIS BOOK IS FOR
 
Part of the reason for swimming’s continuing appeal is demographic. While the sport is ideal for people of all ages, it is especially suited for an aging population. There is no doubt that Americans are steadily growing older. But we find it hard to picture ourselves as retiring to the rocking chair on the front porch. We plan on remaining vigorous and healthy well into old age.
 
The Complete Book of Swimming is written for those folks who want to become physically fit and stay physically fit for the rest of their lives; for folks who are seeking a way to enhance their lives. There are chapters on the different strokes that provide the “how-to” information people need to get started. Equally important are the chapters that answer such questions as Why should I swim? Why swimming and not some other sport? How can swimming improve my health? How can it enhance my life? How will I become a better person—more vital, competent, vigorous, sexy … alive by swimming?
 
Above all, this book is meant to be accessible and interesting to a large audience. There are other swimming books on the market, but these are concerned, almost entirely, with stroke technique and training programs. They preach to the converted, failing to ask the question Why should I swim? They don’t explore the benefits of swimming beyond immediate aerobic fitness. They don’t relate stories of people with whom the reader can identify, people whose lives were transformed by swimming. The Complete Book of Swimming was written to do all of that—and more. My goal in writing this book is nothing less than to introduce you to the world of swimming and to change your life.
 
If you are not a swimmer, it will show you how to become healthier and happier than you ever imagined you could be. It will do so no matter how out of shape or fat or old or ungraceful you are. Nor does it matter how many times you’ve tried other exercise regimens only to give up.
 
If you are already a swimmer, this book will help make you fitter, faster, more efficient, more knowledgeable, and better able to enjoy your sport’s special pleasures. It will keep you learning, no matter how long you’ve been swimming. It will teach you how to improve whether you’re twenty-five or seventy-five. And it will show you how to utilize the sport’s variety of strokes to stave off the boredom that is so often the downfall of people embarking on a physical fitness program. Follow my advice for working out and you need never be bored again.
 
HOW THE BOOK IS ORGANIZED
 
This book is divided into three sections. The first section, “Swim for Your Life,” contains five chapters that explain why swimming is universally recognized as the best all-around exercise there is and how swimming can enhance your health, reduce your risk of developing heart disease and a host of other illnesses and ailments, help you not only lose weight but remain fit and trim throughout your life, and, finally, actually help you live a fuller, more satisfying, and longer life.
 
The second section, “Getting in the Swim,” consists of another five chapters that will teach you the basics as well as many of the finer points of swimming efficiently, fluidly, and effortlessly.
 
The first chapter in this section explains simply and directly the fundamentals of swimming: the shared principles underlying all swimming strokes. The following chapters are devoted to the four major strokes: freestyle (or crawl stroke), backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
 
Each chapter is organized in this fashion:
• A brief history of the stroke
• Body position
• Arm pull
• Body roll (for freestyle and backstroke)
• Breathing
• The kick
• Putting it all together
• The turn
• The start
• Ten Tips
 
The final section, “Becoming Fit,” has four chapters: one on how swimming can improve your love life; a second that deals specifically with women and swimming and includes topics such as pregnancy, osteoporosis, and self-esteem; and a third that explains why swimming is, quite literally, the sport for a lifetime and includes information on the organizations that promote and sponsor swimming for people of all ages. The book’s final chapter talks about training: how to get into shape, different training methods, using swimming paraphernalia, and so on.
 
The book concludes with eight appendices that provide
• Sample training programs
• Information on where to order everything from swimsuits to prescription goggles and training fins
• An annotated list of magazines, books, and videos that will help you learn more about swimming and keep you up-to-date about developments in the sport
• Directions on how to calculate your body-fat percentage
• A test for determining your life expectancy
• A list of swimming records, from age-group swimming (age nine to ten and under through to ages seventeen and eighteen) through Masters (age twenty-five through one hundred plus)
• A list of addresses and phone numbers for additional information
• Dietary guidelines to help you eat more healthfully