I was a competitive swimmer since the age of 3. I am 33 and stayed in master programs for over 25 years.
Great question! No. One can join Master's classes right out of college. There could be classes that have a specific age range, but once college is finished, you are open with swimming in Master programs. Some swimmers opt to continue with swimming at very high levels and stay with their individual club teams. But many of us get bogged down with work and other obligations, but they want to continue to swim, and more so with individuals closer to their age and probably their skill level. So Master's classes are there to keep a certain level of swimming ability, and usually they start right out of college. Personally, I have never been able to be in a group. It was hard in high school and in college. While I have great swimming friends I hang out with to this day, I would rather opt to doing my own swimming sets alone. Even when I haven't swam in a while, I tend to push my tempo and endurance rather than speed and sprint. That is how I create a decent workout without possibly hurting myself. And it's time for me to think and reflect.
Swimming is one of the most enjoyable sports ever and a great way to get relaxed before starting your work day. And yes, I can swim!
I have done swimming since I was 8. Continued it till 22. Left a few years back due to work and hectic life routine. I am thinking of starting it again though.
You should! It's a great form of exercise and you do not need to work very hard to get a nice workout.
Yeah man! Don't initially set a workout or distance. Just set your brain to jump in the water. Your brain will go from that. That's what I did for the first couple of week while my brain was adjusting to workout regiment. It's much easier to keep a regiment if you just tell yourself to just jump in and swim what you can.