Im not one to make these type of posts due to coming across as attention seeking but to hell with it, im speaking my truth and if you decide to read through it then thanks for your time!

Ever since i was a kid i loved playing in the pool and most times id just let myself sink to the bottom and stay there as long as i could, it was peaceful.

Well fast forward to my late teens and with partying and starting work at a young age i kinda had to grow up quicker than most.

I would go to work,come home smoke weed and rinse repeat. I did this for about 8 years before I decided to get into the gym and sort myself out(I was 23 at the time)

I found that running helped me curb my cravings for smoking cigarettes/weed but obviously i was out of shape, within a few months i got my cardio fitness in check though and basically swapped one addiction for something healthier.

In 2019 however i overexerted myself running too much and my legs were stiff as a board. This led me to getting checked out at the GP and they found my left knee was swollen, they assumed it was just fluid but sent me for an MRI.

They got back to me in just a week(no news is good news) they found a 4cm mass and needed to take a biopsy(it came back clean) but it was still at risk of growing so it had to be surgically removed. Now when i found out i went into a spiral and asked if i would still be able to run as at the time for me running was my outlet to calm me down and make sure I wasn’t straying onto other vices.

They claimed I would still be able to run once I recovered but after the surgery a few months after that covid hit and gyms were closed and we was in lockdown so i ended up picking up old habits again unfortunately and just like alot of us during that time i was depressed.

Fast forward to 2022 and things started to get back to normal I decided to pick up running again but quickly realized id never be able to run/sprint like i used to.

Within 15 minutes my knee started to feel funny, it wasn’t painful but it wasn’t a pleasant feeling either so I stopped after 15-20 minutes and i need atleast 30-60 minutes to get anything rewarding out of it in regards to endorphins.

So i ended up cycling instead which helped but it wasn’t as challenging and it was boring for me and thats when i decided to give swimming a go considering its less intense on the joints.

I was always an ok swimmer but only the basics, like the breaststroke and even doing that for 1-2 laps and i was gasping for air which told me that although i built up stamina cycling for a few months swimming was a whole other level in terms of endurance and cardiovascular health.

I stuck to it though and started off slow just doing breaststrokes for 5-10 laps and increased it slowly and within 6 months i was doing 60 laps in less than an hour, which isnt impressive for an advanced swimmer obviously but for someone who smoked a pack a day and hadnt swam for well over a decade it was a start.

Fast forward 1-2 years im now capable of swimming front crawl fairly quickly and now im swimming anywhere between 1KM-3KM a day and let me tell you, swimming is my drug.

Who needs a joint when you swim 100-150 laps, i come out the pool after my swimming sessions feeling energised but also relaxed and hungry 😂 apart from the physical benefits(alot of my gym buddies say im looking lean) it really has helped keep my cravings for smoking at bay and allowed me to quit them cold turkey and also not rely on weed to combat my social anxiety/depression. I just feel more confident in general and ive made a name for myself in my local gym pool because i just dont stop, i keep on going.

I cannot stress enough how much of a wonderful thing swimming is. I used to think running was the bomb but nothing tops swimming for mental and physical health, my lungs and cardiovascular health is top notch and only getting better with continued swimming. I hope to eventually up my distance aswell in the future but yeah just figured id post my thoughts about swimming and hoping if you’ve read this far, maybe you can relate to the journey from couch potato to wannabe micheal phelps.

Peace.