There is a good bit of evidence that swimming is one of the best exercises -- it works out the whole body, it is low-impact, and it is cardio-vascular.  I have embraced it with joy in the last few years and regularly swim for exercise (lap pool) and fun (ocean, when the opportunity presents). After some trial and error, I have gravitated towards this pair of Speedo swimming shorts: they are called Speedo surfrunners and they run for about $20 on amazon.com.  Most long swim shorts are clingy and don't perform very well in the pool during lap swimming. Swimming tights or bikinis are...well...too tight for those of us whose bodies are not like Michael Phelp's.  These are not too long, they are not clingy, they are made of a special material that dries quickly and resists bacteria. They last long too...in fact I've used my last ones for about 3 years and they looked as good as new when I left them behind at my swim club by mistake.