Learning how to swim is taken for granted, as a swim instructor I teach many kids who are fearless about the water and willing to try anything. Should we let age matter when it comes to something we should have learned a while ago? These are the things that I think about every Monday when I teach a 40 year old how to swim.

The simple body motions such as kicking, and rotating our arms that most people think just as simply body motions aren’t so simple once their muscles are not strong enough to handle it. I try and teach the woman how to use her arms and legs at the same time, which is easy for me but so difficult for her. The muscles that young swimmers use everyday are not easy to exercise for older people. Once we get older our minds have stopped growing and changing so it’s harder to develop new skills.

To get these muscles to start working again it takes many long hours working hard in the pool practicing the arm and kicking motions up and down the pool until the muscles finally build up in the adult’s body.

Each day there’s a new skill to be learned, whether it’s treading in water, backstroke, breast stroke, or learning freestyle. Learning how to swim is tough for her but, it is also worth it because if she ever fell in deep water she would be able to save her own life.