A good aerobic exercise that improves your heart and lung health, lap swimming also helps tone your entire body as it works all your major muscle groups. Swimming is a highly technical sport, though, and swimming properly helps you perform multiple laps without becoming exhausted, no matter which stroke you choose.

Swimming is an ancient sport that has long promoted survival, health and recreation. It skyrocketed in popularity in the early 1900s thanks to the competitions held by the National Swimming Society of Great Britain. By then, four particular strokes were already well known to most of the competitors.

There were 3,533 fatal drownings in the years 2005 to 2009 -- a rate of around 10 per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children aged 1 to 4 have the highest risk, but your 5-year-old could still be injured in the water if he doesn't know how to swim.

Competitive swimming has existed since the 19th century and possibly for many centuries before that, according to the Federation Internationale de Natation, or FINA, the governing body for international competitive swimming.

Swimming is a good way to improve and maintain your fitness levels, but it requires good breathing techniques and efficient lung function. You might have difficulty breathing while swimming at different times during your life.

Swimming is an effective cardiovascular exercise that can help you lose weight. As with any exercise, swimming alone will not cause you to lose weight unless you combine regular lap swimming sessions with a healthy, calorically balanced diet.

A 2008 study at the University of South Carolina found that swimming cuts mortality rates by as much as 50 percent, even when compared to others who are physically active.

You might hate the way you look in a swimming suit, but swimming is a good way to improve unwanted cellulite. Cellulite is a common problem for women, and many expensive spa treatments promise to banish cellulite forever. The truth, though, is that “miracle” cures do not work well.

The number of calories you can potentially burn swimming 40 lengths of a 25-yard pool largely depends on your weight and speed. You can calculate the amount of calories burned based on the American Council on Exercise tables for calorie expenditure if you know your weight and the time it takes you to swim 1,000 yards.

Swimming benefits your health at any stage of your life. Intense workouts burn calories and improve cardiovascular fitness without the injuries often associated with high-impact exercise such as running. Swimming laps in a pool enables you to keep track of how far and how fast you swim.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also known as the CDC, cautions swimmers regarding germs in swimming pools. According to studies performed by the CDC, an alarming 1 in 12 pools, including community pools, contains parasites that may affect health.

Swimming, shampooing your hair and showering can all result in water inside the ear. Typically, water drains out of the ear canal unaided. Moisture trapped inside the ear can cause congestion and hearing difficulties. If ignored, water in the ear may result in pain and inflammation.