Why swimming isn't popular in the Frozen North

Turns out that swimming and snow shoveling use very similar muscles. In theory, that means that digging my way out of a foot of snow on the holiday has made me a better swimmer. In reality, when I went to swim today, I was dragging two limp, heavy leaden things (otherwise known as my arms) through the water for a good half mile. It was unpleasant. This is probably why the universe made water freeze below 32 degrees. If it's cold enough to snow, you probably have to shovel, and if you have to shovel you won't be very good at swimming. Another mystery of the cosmos brought to you from the Frozen North.