The Fit List
The corner of the TechRadar site that swaps processors for press-ups, The Fit List is our regular series of fitness listicles. We explore how to use technology to improve your health, all in handy bite-size pieces of advice. You can read the whole series here.
Staying active becomes even more important as we get older, but not every form of exercise is kind to your joints. That’s where swimming really comes into its own. Whether you’re easing back into fitness or looking for a routine you can stick with long-term, swimming offers one of the most joint-friendly, full-body workouts you can do after the age of 50.
And if you want to bring some smart features to the pool or the open water, swimming-ready gadgetscan enhance your sessions – from the best swimming headphones for in-water motivation, to the best swimming watches for tracking laps, heart rate and distance.
Because the water supports most of your body weight, it takes pressure off your joints while your muscles and heart still get a great workout. It’s a rare combination: low impact, but high reward. Regular swimming boosts strength, mobility and cardiovascular health – all key factors in healthy aging and staying independent for longer.
Here are three reasons swimming is one of the smartest fitness moves you can make after 50.
1. Swimming is friendly on the joints
Unlike other popular forms of cardiovascular exercise such as running, swimming puts very little stress on our joints, which is why so many people in their 50s and beyond benefit from taking it up. When you’re in the water, buoyancy supports most of your body weight, which means less pressure on your knees, hips, and spine compared to when you’re working out on land. One study found that regular swimming can help with osteoarthritis in the knees, for example.
That reduced load doesn’t mean you’re taking it easy, though. Your muscles still have to work against the natural resistance of the water, helping you build strength while keeping your joints comfortable. For many people over 50, that balance – gentle on the body, but still physically challenging – makes swimming one of the most sustainable ways to stay active.
2. Swimming builds full-body strength
When we swim, we engage major muscle groups with every stroke – back, core, arms, chest, legs – while the water provides constant resistance. You’re pulling and pushing your own body weight through the water, developing your muscles in the same way as you would lifting a weight. That makes it a highly effective way to build and maintain strength, which becomes especially important after 50 as muscle mass naturally declines.
Because the resistance is smooth and controlled, swimming strengthens your muscles without the strain that can come with weight training. Different strokes also emphasize different areas: freestyle challenges the back and core, breaststroke works the legs and upper-body muscle groups such as lats and biceps, while backstroke helps open up tight shoulders.
A recent study even found that aquatic resistance training improved muscular strength in adults in their mid-60s – a strong sign that moving in water can have powerful results. Stronger muscles and better grip strength means a slower rate of muscular atrophy, slowing down a key sign of ageing and preventing falls.
3. Swimming boosts cardiovascular health
Swimming might be gentle on the joints, but it’s still a powerhouse cardio workout.
Because water creates natural resistance, your heart has to work harder to keep you moving, which is a great boost for our circulation, endurance and overall aerobic capacity. That’s why regular swimming is often recommended for people managing hypertension or high cholesterol.
What makes swimming especially useful after the age of 50 is its ability to raise your heart rate safely. You get the benefits of a solid cardio session – improved VO₂ max, stronger heart function and better metabolic health – which can slow another key aspect of ageing: worse heart health. One study found aerobic exercise can reduce the decline in cardiovascular performance associated with ‘physiologic aging’. Like swimming’s effect on your visible muscles, it’s beneficial for your heart and circulatory system too.
Kit to help you get started
You don’t need much to start swimming – just a comfortable swimsuit, a good pair of goggles, and a swim hat if you have longer hair. That said, waterproof headphones (including most of our best bone conduction headphones list) are a great way to get swimming for longer, and wearables are helpful for tracking your progress.
The best smartwatches and smart rings can log laps, distance and heart rate in the pool, while gear like the FORM Smart Swim 2 add real-time stats and guided workouts right inside your goggles.
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