April 1, 2026, 1:15 pm | Read time: 5 minutes

At 67, Meryl Streep Swam Daily for Her Health

The question of how to stay active as we age concerns more people today than ever before. An answer came in 2016 from Meryl Streep. Her remark at the time wasn’t a fitness confession or a training plan, more of a side note in an interview. A casual comment that says a lot about how exercise can work in older age: “I try to take care of my health. Sometimes I let myself go, but basically, I try to swim a mile every day.”¹ She liked the feeling of “arriving in her body,” as the Oscar winner described her motivation to get into the pool daily and swim many laps.

Why Swimming Is Particularly Suitable for Aging

Swimming is considered one of the few forms of exercise that simultaneously demands strength, endurance, and coordination without heavily stressing the body. This makes it one of the best forms of exercise for healthy aging: The buoyancy supports much of the body weight, relieving joints and the spine. Unlike running or many fitness programs, there is hardly any impact stress. The risk of injury is low. At the same time, swimming strengthens the muscles comprehensively—the resistance of the water continuously challenges the muscles—and thus helps counteract age-related muscle loss. Swimming trains the cardiovascular system, breathing, and coordination.

The Mile Realistically Assessed

Streep’s approximately 1,600 meters (a mile), which corresponds to 32 laps in a 50-meter pool, is indeed a distance that requires endurance. Swimming at a relaxed pace of about three minutes per 100 meters means being in the water for around 48 minutes—not counting breaks.

Since Streep apparently swam daily, the distance was wisely chosen: A workout that can be regularly managed is often more effective than any ambitious program that is abandoned after a few weeks.

A distance of 1.6 kilometers is also within the range that sports scientists consider a realistic benchmark for basic fitness in swimming and deem beneficial for endurance and cardiovascular health.

Also interesting: How Long and Far Men and Women Should Be Able to Swim

Meryl Streep Swam Laps, Also for the Mind

The actress apparently also used the pool as a place for reflection: “When I swim my […] laps,” the American actress said in a 2009 “Independent” interview, “I try to remember the movies I’ve been in, and I can’t… the past is like one big mess.”²

What Swimming Does to the Body and Why It’s So Good

Swimming is a full-body sport: Nearly all major muscle groups are engaged. So is the respiratory musculature, regardless of the swimming style.

The main muscle groups engaged in all swimming styles:

• the muscles of the shoulders and upper back,
• the large pectoral muscle,
• biceps and triceps,
• the abdominal muscles (including the obliques),
• the quadriceps,
• the hamstrings,
• the calf muscles, and
• the gluteal muscles.

Swimming isn’t about speed or perfection, as former professional swimmer and swim coach Toni Embacher explained to FITBOOK. What’s crucial isn’t speed but efficiency and rhythm: steady breathing, calm movements, a coordination of arms, legs, and torso. This is precisely what makes swimming feasible for many people in the long term—as a repeatable, calm movement that builds endurance, maintains muscles, and keeps the body flexible.

More on the topic

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This Style Combination is the Healthiest for Swimming, According to a Pro

The type and intensity of exertion naturally vary depending on the style. But which style is the healthiest? According to ex-pro Toni Embacher, it’s the combination of breaststroke and backstroke: Alternating between the two styles engages the body evenly, avoids unilateral strain, and maximizes the health benefits of swimming. His recommendation: “50 meters breaststroke, 50 meters backstroke, always alternating. That’s the healthiest way to swim.”

Breaststroke: Ideal for People Who Are Overweight or Diabetic

Embacher recommends breaststroke for people with obesity and overweight, as well as diabetics. Breaststroke trains endurance and is particularly suitable for those who are just starting out in sports and have not yet built much muscle. Peak loads are not expected in breaststroke—even though, as Meryl Streep’s example shows, you can cover quite a distance here. So it’s the best, gentle endurance training!

To counteract neck pain that can occur during breaststroke—due to the overextended neck, the neck muscles can be so strained that pain radiates into the back—there is a solution: “You solve this problem by dipping your head between your arms into the water when exhaling,” explains Embacher.

Meryl Streep: “As long as We Have Health, We Are Lucky”

Streep’s remark at the time seems like a pragmatic decision: a form of exercise that challenges without wearing out—and that can be integrated into everyday life over the years. “I am very aware of how important health is because it doesn’t last forever. As long as we have it, we are lucky. I try to remember that,” Streep said in the same interview back then.