Comments on Swimator Blog: Tips for beginners of all ages (kids, adults) - (O...

@Pradip: 1)I am not sure how long can swimmer ho...

2012-02-09T23:26:36.398+02:00

@Pradip:

1)I am not sure how long can swimmer hold his breath without injury to brain, but there are people able to hold their breath for 10 minutes.

2)That is a difficult question and there is no answer to it. A person can float in horizontal/vertical position for a very very long time. If someone would feed you, you could float forever :) (assuming you keep taking breaths). Your body's buoyancy does not drastically change for you to sink. However, a novice swimmer/floater might be too rigid and not relaxed enough to be able to do this, so perhaps a few minutes.
if you struggle with floating, the following post can help you with learning how to float.

Thanks for advice .Let me know how long can swimme...

2012-02-09T13:10:55.711+02:00

Thanks for advice .Let me know how long can swimmer hold his breath without injury to brain or lungs?

2)How many minutes novice can float in horizontal as well as verticle position?

@Pradip: Hmm, doubt that is even physically possib...

2012-02-08T11:30:48.119+02:00

@Pradip: Hmm, doubt that is even physically possible. What would you take a breath of? If you take a breath under water, you will inhale water, not air, so you will start choking. If you do not take a breath above water, I am afraid you better know how to swim.

Thank you very much for your advice. You wrote, &q...

2012-02-08T11:27:46.109+02:00

Thank you very much for your advice. You wrote, "if you have enough time to take breath then you will surface",however my query is otherwise that is, in case of accidental fall or one is knocked down in water and one goes underwater when deep breath is not taken ,can one take deep breath underwater to surface or any other techinique?

@Pradip: no problem. To answer your question, if y...

2012-02-07T23:16:16.061+02:00

@Pradip: no problem. To answer your question, if you have enough time to take a deep breath before falling into the deep water, then it should work in the same way as I described with the balloon analogy. Your body should float back to the surface. However, note that you shouldn't thrash around, just stay calm and wait for your body to surface. After you surface, you could try this technique to stay afloat by taking a few breaths.

Thanks for your advice, but I want to know if one ...

2012-02-07T18:00:37.873+02:00

Thanks for your advice, but I want to know if one falls in deep water accidently where he canot stand up or touch his feet to bottom with head above water ,can he breath in, inflate chest to come on surface and call for help?

@Pradip: congratulations on getting out there and ...

2012-02-07T11:56:00.748+02:00

@Pradip: congratulations on getting out there and getting wet. Sounds like you need to stay in shallow water, so if something like this happens in the past, you can just stand up.

Breathing in is very important part of floating. Your lungs serve as balloon, so if you fill up the balloon (your lungs) with air, they will keep your body floating on the surface. Taking a nice long deep breath will bring more air into your lungs. Check out this post about "how to relax in the water" which goes through some sinking exercises.

I am 57 year old I am learning swimming yesterday ...

2012-02-03T17:03:58.037+02:00

I am 57 year old I am learning swimming yesterday I tried to float ,even though I had gadget for swimming tied?
to my back I went underwater and almost drowned, Suddenly I remembered instruction given to fellow swimmer , i.e to breathe in to come up.So I breathed in and came on surface. Is it right method ? or some other way ! Suppose water had been 15 meter deep would I have come up by breathing in or drowned

wonderful post.. jst keep on giving this sort of a...

2012-01-06T20:44:50.890+02:00

wonderful post..
jst keep on giving this sort of amazing tips for beginners.

@Theen: glad it helped. I am sure it will only get...

2012-01-03T01:18:41.051+02:00

@Theen: glad it helped. I am sure it will only get better if you prevail. Happy New Year!

Thank you so much for the suggestion !! For the pa...

2012-01-01T01:49:47.623+02:00

Thank you so much for the suggestion !! For the past two days I tried not to use the ear plugs and I am more comfortable now !! Also tried slowly going underwater and immerse the head completely. I am glad that slowly I am getting used to it. Thanks again for the encouragement and wish you a happy new year!!

@Theen: you are welcome. I am glad it is helping. ...

2011-12-29T17:10:12.458+02:00

@Theen: you are welcome. I am glad it is helping. In regards to the ear issue, I am not 100% positive what to recommend as behind every fear there is usually some story which helps to uncover why the person thinks they way they do. What I would recommend though would be not to use ear plugs if you don't have to, unless you really feel this is your last resort. It is much more natural to not use them.

Getting water in your ears is just a feeling you can get used to after a lot of practice. You can just practice getting your head under the water while standing or kneeling on the pool bottom and each time try to stay under water for longer. Perhaps try to listen to any sounds you may hear under the water and that could keep your mind occupied and not worrying about how your ears feel.

Thank you very much for the informative post. I am...

2011-12-28T12:22:35.906+02:00

Thank you very much for the informative post. I am an adult learning to swim, and attended the first swimming session till now. I realize that I have difficulty in being comfortable in water mainly because I am very fearful when my ears go under water. Can sound strange, but that is it. I panic whenever my ears goes under water. I tried wearing ear plugs, still not comfortable, may be because it is not custom made (?). How can I overcome this problem? Thanks again...

to AdventureSwim: thanks much for your kind words ...

2011-11-12T21:39:46.022+02:00

to AdventureSwim: thanks much for your kind words and for sharing your insights. You are 100% correct, for most of us it is pertinent that we do seek professional help at some point of the learn to swim process. Ideally right at the beginning.

You make some good points in these posts! Anything...

2011-11-11T19:06:35.437+02:00

You make some good points in these posts! Anything that increases awareness of swimming safety and proper technique is good in our book. That being said, having a coach can help correct bad habits before they begin. Primal learning is what you will resort to in times of stress, and you want to make sure you've learned right!

Thankyou swimator..this blog is wonderful especial...

2011-10-13T15:23:34.930+03:00

Thankyou swimator..this blog is wonderful especially for beginners!!!.

to anonymous: congrats on getting yourself into th...

2011-10-12T10:20:16.284+03:00

to anonymous: congrats on getting yourself into the water. More power to you. You should work on being able to open your eyes in the water and feel comfortable doing so. Closing your eyes could keep you tense. So, get into the shallow end of the pool, duck under water, open your eyes and observe what people are doing below the water. It is fun :). You should probably invest into some swimming goggles, so you can see under water and to protect your eyes if the water you swim in is not clear.

I strtd studying swimming reacently...I close my e...

2011-10-11T16:28:22.283+03:00

I strtd studying swimming reacently...I close my eyes while swimming and i lose my confidence if i open my eyes...is there any problem?

to anonymous: congrats on learning to float. You w...

2011-10-07T10:56:22.783+03:00

to anonymous: congrats on learning to float. You wrote one important thing: "I strtd floating.... I know how to do well". If this is trully how you feel that you can float well, then you should not be scared to be in the water. Get rid off those floating devices and improve your floating skills on your own. Just stay in the shallower end of the pool or lake and you can always stand up. If you really need the emotional floater support, why not try the swim safety device. You can use it only when you need to, so you still get the right muscles stronger.

thanks swimator ...... now i m perfect floater not...

2011-10-07T01:59:54.449+03:00

thanks swimator ...... now i m perfect floater not swimmer :P

I joined swimming class last week ,4 classes are o...

2011-10-06T15:50:15.352+03:00

I joined swimming class last week ,4 classes are over..I strtd floating in water followed by leg stroke..I know how to do well,but at times i feel so scared that i use floaters to practice.I understood that once i start floating ,I feel like I am going to sink and stops.Please help me,I am feeling depressed.will I be able to study.

to akiee: thanks for sharing your experience. I am...

2011-10-05T14:08:43.494+03:00

to akiee: thanks for sharing your experience. I am glad my suggestions are helping. Your question is justified. What if you are in a deep area and you loose control? Let me just give you a quick pointers, but I'll work on putting something together for a new post.
1) if you are not comfortable in shallow area - DO NOT go to deep area :)
2) your fear should not be about drowning. if you are going to have a fear, you should fear not sticking to what you learned and panicing. As panic is the worst.
3) if you do happen to feel like you are going to sink and you are in the pool where the depth is 3-5m, then don't panic and just sink down to the bottom and push off to get a breath in.

Try reading this article about what to do when you feel like you are drowning

to Jealsa: thanks for sharing your fear. The compression of your chest is a common issue for many beginners. I'd say that the pressure on your chest is actually not as big as you think it is. What you feel as a huge pressure is escalated by your fear. In reality, it is not that big of a difference in pressure right at the surface of the water. To help with this, you should start in a shallower water and most importantly in a very warm water, so you are comfortable and eliminate any other discomforts. And slowly submerge up to your belly button first and see if you breathing is ok, then keep going by very slow increments to get deeper and deeper and always stop when you feel discomfort and hold the position until you are comfortable. You can also try to close your eyes and focus on something to relax you like laying on a sunny beach etc.

awesome ..... i always scared from water but when...

2011-10-05T00:03:46.213+03:00

awesome .....

i always scared from water but when i read it you kill my fear n now i join swimming club and i really floating in two days ........... wallah behtareen tip.

I wanna know that if i drawning down in the deep area what should i do.

thanks

I am 28 and learning to swim. I am afraid of deep ...

2011-10-04T21:30:58.335+03:00

I am 28 and learning to swim. I am afraid of deep water, but my primary discomfort is the compression I feel when my chest is submerged under water. It just feels more difficult to breathe and I often find myself standing on my toes (when in 3 feet or so) to get my chest out of water so breathing is easier. I am 5'1".

@anonymous: congrats on getting your feet wet:) an...

2011-09-23T07:23:25.413+03:00

@anonymous: congrats on getting your feet wet:) and taking the next step. Keep practicing, swimming does not come naturally to us, so it takes time. Perhaps this will help to get your hips up.