Learning to swim as an adult can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Swimming is a great form of exercise and can help you stay fit and healthy, plus it’s fun! With the right attitude and some determination, anyone can learn how to swim.
If you want to learn how to swim, start by finding a swimming pool or beach with access for swimmers of all levels. Once you’ve found a place that feels comfortable, look into taking lessons with an experienced instructor who will work at your pace. They can provide one-on-one instruction tailored specifically for your individual needs. This will help you become more confident in the water and progress more quickly.
Some things you may be able to teach yourself, but eventually everyone will need an instructor to fine tune their skills. If you’re comfortable in the water, you may be able to teach yourself a lot and make quite a bit of progress before needing an instructor. If you are nervous or afraid when you’re in the water, securing an experienced instructor from the outset is best. They can guide you through the baby steps at the beginning and help you progress faster.
Some skills you may be able to teach yourself in SHALLOW water:
- Exhaling fully underwater. In order to swim, you need to be able to blow bubbles slowly for an extended period of time. Practice until you can blow bubbles through your nose continuously for at least 10 seconds.
- Floating face down. Take a deep breath and stretch your body out face down in the water. Remain still, but relaxed and you should float in the middle of the water: not on top of the water, but you shouldn’t sink all the way to the floor either. This is perfectly normal. When you are swimming and moving forward, you will float closer to the top of the water.
- Learning to kick properly. There are a few different kicking techniques, but flutter kicks are generally the easiest to learn. Buy yourself some flippers/fins for your feet and start practicing. Using fins is NOT cheating. It increases resistance in the water, making it harder to kick incorrectly and requiring more strength to kick. In return, the fins will help you go farther with each kick.
- Streamlining off the wall. Teach yourself to push off the wall and see how far you can go! Momentum is really important in swimming, because the faster you move forward, the better you float in the water. Proper streamline technique means extending your arms in front with your hands one on top of the other and your arms pressed tightly against your ears. Your arms should create a long, triangle with your head in-between. Put your face and body in the water and push off of the wall as hard as you can, exhaling and blowing bubbles throughout. When you feel your body slow down and stop moving forward, release your ams and stand up.
If you try a few of these skills in safe conditions in shallow water let us know how it goes! You can always email to ask for advice: [email protected] .
Disclaimer: the safest way to learn to swim is always with a professional present.
Here are some links to a few training videos we use to train our instructors:
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