Want to learn to swim or improve your swimming skills? Read our swimming tips to help you learn how to be safe on the water. It’s really not difficult and the ability to swim is one of the most important skills for your safety in the water. If you know someone who can’t swim, send them this article!
Swimming is considered one of the healthiest sports, due to the fact that it helps relieve the stress on our joints and, above all, our spine. It is a great way to relax after a hard day. But how do you learn to swim?
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How to learn to swim?
To learn to swim, it’s best to get used to the water at first. Dip your head at a shallow depth at first, and then gradually move deeper into the pool. It is also a good idea to use a swimming board, which will make it easier to learn to swim on your own and make you feel safe.
There are many techniques, but the most important advice for learning to swim is to just dare to do it. The ability to swim is very important, and personally I can’t imagine not knowing how to swim. However, I want to emphasize that this is not about Olympic-level skills, but about the ability to behave in the water. Without panicking and without drowning.
Why can’t you swim?
The reasons for the lack of swimming skills in adults can be many. They are important, so they must be taken into account when learning. Often the fear of water has its roots in traumatic childhood experiences.
When someone falls into the water, starts drowning or sinks into the muddy bottom, they have negative associations with water, so it can take longer to get used to it and gain confidence. However, all fears can be overcome, but it requires appropriate action.
Some people can’t swim simply because they haven’t had the opportunity to learn. And when it did happen, they preferred not to try because they were ashamed that they had not yet mastered the skill.
It doesn’t matter what the reason is for not swimming. What matters is that you want to learn, and wanting means being able to.
Fear of water – psychological barrier
The truth is that as humans we should not be in the water, because it is not our environment. Whether we are talking about swimming or scuba diving we always have to go beyond our comfort zone to overcome an unfamiliar environment. It is perfectly understandable that you may have a fear of water, which is what keeps you from learning to swim.
However, avoiding the water and any contact with swimming, is not the solution. Swimming is a great way to strengthen all your muscles and become more confident, so you should definitely try to overcome your fear of swimming. Here we come to another important issue, namely – learning to swim with an instructor or on your own?
Learning to swim – alone or with a instructor?
You will notice the fastest results of learning to swim in classes with an instructor. Simply put, when learning any activity, it’s a good idea to take advice from someone more experienced. An instructor watching your every move will correct your mistakes on the fly. As a result, you will learn the correct technique and avoid developing bad habits.
In addition, you will learn breathing techniques and more quickly learn to coordinate your movements and your breathing. Learning to swim on your own requires much more self-denial and determination, but it is not impossible. However, if you decide to learn on your own, do it in a safe place and not too deep water. Going into an unfamiliar lake to start learning to swim is not a good idea. To put it delicately…
Advantages of swimming
We already know that learning to swim is a really good idea, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. There is always time to learn to swim. And why is it worth it? As I mentioned earlier, knowing how to behave in the water is crucial for your safety. But in addition, swimming has many advantages.
- swimming supports the respiratory system
- reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack
- it improves joint flexibility and increases mobility.
- accelerates recovery from exercise,
- stretches and relaxes muscles.
- swimming calms and relaxes thanks to regular breathing and the release of endorphins
Swimming lessons for kids
Learning to swim for children is a very good idea, because the ability to behave in water can be useful from an early age. For children, learning to swim through play comes much easier and is a great attraction for them. Every parent should place a very strong emphasis, from an early age, on whether a child can swim and can handle the water.
For swimming lessons for children, however, I suggest taking a professional and experienced instructor. Teaching children requires a different approach than teaching adults to swim, so in order not to discourage a child from the water, it is better to hire someone with experience.
Do I need to be able to swim to scuba dive?
At our PADI-authorized dive center, we often hear similar questions. Is the ability to swim necessary for a diving course? And, of course, I recommend learning to swim, because, as I stated earlier, it is one of the key skills that every person should have. However, you don’t have to have amazing swimming skills to do a diving course and get a scuba license. Scuba diving is not another stage of swimming and is done under completely different rules. You can read more about whether swimming is necessary for diving here: Do I Need to Know How To Swim to Scuba Dive?
How to learn to swim? Let’s recap
If you don’t know how to swim and are looking for answers on how to learn to swim, it’s best to talk to an instructor. Look for a pool in your area that runs classes and just talk about your concerns. There really is nothing to be ashamed of, no matter how old you are. Even if you can’t swim today, you can change that tomorrow. So there’s no need to look back, just keep moving forward. Learning to swim is important, but it’s also fun.
