Learning to swim as an adult is not at easy as learning when you're a kid. Children have more flexibility and energy and sometimes are more willing to try out new activities than adults might be. Simple drills and exercises help simplify the swimming strokes, and the same ones that work for kids work for adults. Building confidence in the water is an essential first step in learning how to swim.
Floating/Gliding
According to Terry Laughlin, swim coach and author of "Swimming Made Easy," learning how to swim involves learning how to glide and stay on the surface of the water as long as possible, with as little exertion as possible. A good exercise for beginners takes place in chest-deep water. The swimmer pushes off from the pool wall and glides as far as possible on his stomach, facing the bottom of the pool. The success of the glide depends on the swimmer "streamlining," or stretching out the body, outstretched arms above the head with hands together, and legs straight and toes pointed. Visualizing an arrow helps some swimmers understand the idea of a streamline. Gaining the confidence to glide helps to build the basis of efficient swim techniques. After the front and back glide, the swimmer then starts out on the stomach and turns onto his side during the glide. This body roll mimics the movement of the body in freestyle.
Kicking and Pulling
Pulling with the arms is the next step to learning the basic freestyle stroke. Once swimmers learn the push-off glide and the turn to the side, they progress to pulling downward through the water. They pull down, then back past the hip. The arm pull facilitates the body roll in the direction of the pulling arm. This step gets easier after many repetitions.
Learning to kick efficiently is the next step in learning the stroke. Kicking flutter kick or freestyle kick with a board develops the feel in the water necessary for a good kick. The swimmer imagines the motion of kicking off a loose sneaker and reproduces it in the water. Kicking from the hip while flexing the leg slightly and arching and flicking the ankle against the water creates a strong and efficient kick.
Stroking and Breathing
Once kicking, gliding, body roll and underwater arm pull feel comfortable, the swimmer puts the elements together. The kick keeps the swimmer moving forward after the speed of the initial glide wears off. The underwater arm pull and the body rotation help the swimmer position herself to take a breath.To breathe in, the swimmer first must blow out the air into the water during the stroke and body roll. YMCA swim instructor Gina Thomas says in a CNNHealth article that learning to breathe is one of the most difficult tasks in learning to swim. Swimmers can learn the breathing pattern by standing in chest-deep water and practicing blowing out air, then inhaling as the head rotates from facedown to facing the side walls of the pool.
References
- "Swimming Made Easy"; Terry Laughlin; 2001
- "Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier"; Terry Laughlin, John Delves; 2004
- guardian.co.uk: Tricks of the Trade: How Do You Teach Someone to Swim?
- CNNHealth: Swim Classes Aren't Just for Kids
- "Mastering Swimming"; Jim Montgomery, Mo Chambers; 2009
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