Tips for beginners of all ages (kids, adults) - part 1

I have finally found some time to add another post, so here it is.

Swimming is a sport that is not natural to everyone. Walking, running, biking, all of these are quite easy to master, however, it takes some coordination and stamina to learn how to swim. Here are a few tips that will help you to conquer the world of water.

Before getting in the water, let's think about a few things. First, swimming is done in a horizontal position which is not natural for many people. Most beginner swimmers feel disoriented when laying on the water, they sometimes feel like they are falling down. However, it is not the case. Try to think of it more as laying down into a nice and soft bed. Second, let's stay with the bed analogy. When you lay down to sleep, your body is relaxed, all muscles are loosend up. This is very similar how you should feel when floating on the water. Believe it or not, but the relaxed you are the easier is to stay afloat. So listen to Frankie and RELAX. Third, do not use any equipment. True, it is easier to kick with a kickboard, however, most folks start getting dependent on the floating equipment and then it is hard to learn to swim the right way. Fourth, don't be afraid, water is your friend. Many have mastered swimming before you. :)...


Now let's get to the good stuff. You are probably asking, so what do I do in the pool? How do I start? Well, let's see:

1. If you are afraid of the water, you should start by standing up in the shallow end of the pool holding the wall and try to squat, so you get your chin close to the water. Breath easily. Once you are comfortable, try to go deeper under water while holding your breath. Now, don't just go up and down quickly, relax and use nice smooth motion to get up and down. If that is ok, try to stay with your head submerged for longer. If you have your goggles, open your eyes, look around you and explore the beauty of the water.

2. Now that we have mastered this, it is time for bubbles. Squat down holding the wall, so your mouth is submerged and start blowing bubbles through your mouth. You are still nice and relaxed and going up, taking a breath, and down, blowing bubbles for a few seconds. Try to increase the time you are under water blowing bubbles.

3. It is time you learn how to stand back up from horizontal swimming position. You are standing up, your arms are at your side, slowly lay on the water facing down while extending your arms above your head. So you end up laying on the water as a log stretchin your arms as far forward as possible with your palms down. Hold your breath (keep your mouth shut :)) and relax. Your body should be flat, the surface of the water should be hitting you in the middle of your hair on top of your head, so get that chin toward your chest. Whenever you are ready to stand up, palms of your hands are facing the bottom of the pool and start moving them slowly from the front above your head, down toward your hips keeping your arms straight. So, they will make nice half a circle. At the same time, slowly bring your knees to your chest. Basically, you will try to become a ball and use your hands/arms to rotate your head out of the water (backwards) and your feet down toward the bottom. Once in that position, just extand your feet and slowly stand up. Voila!

At this point, you should be fairly comfortable being in the water. If not, keep practicing, until you handle 1,2,3 with ease. Good luck and remember, water is not evil. Don't think too much about it, we all have instincts to survive. :)

Stay tuned for part 2 where I will discuss how to start your first motion in the H20.