Learning to swim, a rite of passage for many children, can be a positive experience when instructors use patience and creativity. Through age-appropriate games, fledgling swimmers learn water safety skills and basic swim strokes that encourage a lifetime of fun and fitness.

Whether you are a new swimmer or the training partner of Olympian Michael Phelps, using a kickboard can enhance your workout. Along with swim fins, goggles and pull-buoys, swimmers can use kickboards as part of a complete cardiovascular workout.

Interval workouts use a combination of high-intensity activity followed by a low-intensity activity. This combination not only allows you to recover during the low-intensity period, but also enables greater overall conditioning.

US Masters Swimming defines long-distance swimming as any pool event of more than 1,650 yards, or an event of one hour or more. Because of the distance and duration demands of a long-distance swim event, adequate training is imperative to avoid injury, burnout, and fatigue.

The opening of swimming pools marks an annual rite of passage from spring to summer. As temperatures rise, children and adults flock to pools to cool off and take advantage of the nice weather. Swimming pool water, if not properly maintained, can lead to skin disorders and bacterial infections.

Teaching your child to swim and encouraging him to swim regularly can have significant benefits for both his health and safety. Especially on a hot day, swimming is a way to keep cool while encouraging a healthy level of physical and social activity.

Swimming is an all-body exercise. A physically demanding combination of cardio and power, it works your heart, and the muscles in your legs, arms, torso and hips. The constant resistance from the water forces your muscles to simultaneously contract and stretch, creating flexible and resilient muscle fibers.

Infant swimming lessons help your child get comfortable in the water. The lessons also provide a sensory activity and help the young participants practice their physical development skills.

Extra water in your lungs complicates breathing and must be removed. Water can be inhaled, as in near drowning, or it can enter by a medical lung-washing procedure called lavage.

Swimmer’s ear is the main reason to wear a swim cap. It is an infection of the ear canal, acute external otitis or otitis externa, and is characterized by itching, redness, discomfort or drainage in the ear canal. You may also experience pain, pus, a feeling of fullness or muffled hearing.

A body of water provides multiples avenues for exercise. Swimming, walking, aerobics and resistance training are all examples of water routines that build strength and burn calories while providing women with an effective workout.