There's a sport that trains the heart, strengthens the muscles and doesn't wreck the joints - all at once - and yet many people forget it after the age of 35. It's swimming, and experts say this is precisely the age when getting back in the pool pays off the most.

„Swimming is one of the most complete sports there is," says Iñigo Fernández, a swimming coordinator. In a single movement it combines cardio load, muscle strengthening and improved mobility - and all with no impact on the joints, which makes it suitable for people of all ages, especially those whose knees and back can no longer take running and the gym the way they used to.

The concrete benefits are clear: improved cardiovascular and lung capacity, greater endurance, better coordination because several muscle groups work at once, and increased flexibility through the wide range of movement of the different strokes. For a body going through the decade when metabolism slows down, that's no small thing.

But perhaps the most important part is mental. Fernández stresses that swimming „reduces stress and anxiety levels and creates a sense of general well-being." And the period between 30 and 40 is exactly the time when personal and professional obligations pile up the most - which means it's also the time when peace in the water is worth the most.

The recommendation is modest and doable: two to three sessions a week are enough to feel the results. You need neither an expensive club membership nor special equipment. Sometimes the best thing for a middle-aged body isn't a new diet or a pricey supplement, but something as ordinary as regularly getting back in the pool.