Swimming!

This is a super random post, but I've been sitting here looking up information about swimming for exercise. I love to workout (sometimes) but I am getting so sick of my same routine - treadmill, weights, spin class, treadmill, treadmill.. blah! I want something different and since our rec centre has a massive swimming pool I'm thinking that I'll give it a go! I'm just worried about how to start - will I get a good enough workout in, what strokes do I use, is there a certain routine I can get into, does swimming really count as a good workout?! So you see my dilemma. I think I'll have to do a bit more research about this and let you know what I find. I think this could be a good thing to add to my weekly workout schedule, there are just a lot of things to consider! Plus an extra bonus of this would be the less strain on my muscles (which are super weak and pull often). I think I'm gonna go for it - I just need to figure out where to begin! Let me know if you have some advice!

AliwS