Learning swimming for beginnersis not an easy task if you are not aware about the basics of swimming and principle of floating. The main and strong hurdle which stops your way to learn swimming is your fear of drowning, then comes uncomfortable breathing and finally how to make your body float on water. If you cross these three hurdles then improving the style and strokes of swimming is easy and you will learn every day with experiments and enjoy your swimming.
In this article I am going to teach you how to get rid of fear factors about water, how to make your breathing comfortable and finally how to make your body float on water easily without any hard effort. The article may be lengthy but it is not boring if you are really feeling hard to learn swimming and I can bet, “by the end of this article, your 50% task will be already completed without even touching the water of swimming pool” and don’t forget to comment and check me if I am wrong.
Let’s come to the point and Discuss, “How to learn Swimming for Beginners?”
Difficulty 1: Fear of Drowning
Getting rid of Fear
Fear of drowning is the first and main hurdle which stops you to learn swimming. That is the reason why children learn swimming faster than adults because they are not so cautious, they do not have fear and they don’t think much about the harm as compared to adults. As you grow mature, you also start taking cautions and it grows your fear. So, below are some points will help you to get rid of fear straight way.
Principle of Floating
First you should know the scientific reason, what actually make things (like wood, floats, ships, tubes etc) to float on water? Let me explain in simple words. Take a body of any volume and take same volume of water, now if the weight of that body is more than the weight of same volume of water then the body will sink in water and if the weight of body is less than the weight of same volume of water then the body will float.
Simply means, anything that is heavier than water will sink and anything which is lighter than water will float on water. That’s why lighter things like football, wood even big ships float on water because ship has large hollow portion which increase its volume makes them lighter than the same volume of water.
Floating of Human Body in Water
That was the general thing, now comes to the human body. Human body is formed of 70% water and is almost neutral in water. Means weight of human body is almost same as the weight of same volume of water. There may be only 10% percent variations because of body types as some humans have more weight of their bones and those bodies might be heavier than who have less weight of bones.
The head is the part which prevents your body to float automatically on water because it is the heaviest part of body and if your body is fully submerged into the water including your head, you will not go further deep provided your lungs holds some air. But you cannot put you head remain in water as you have to breath. To hold the head out of water you just need a little effort to pull water downwards with your hands and legs.
It was just to get you out of fear
This long explanation was just to get out of fear and make you confident that water will not push you deep itself but it has friendly behavior with your body and with a negligible effort you can float on water and learn to swim. So you need not to fear from water, just keep your body relax in water and your body will float with little effort. After fear next hurdle is uncomfortable breathing which is explained below.
Difficulty 2: Uncomfortable Breathing
Drills to make breathing comfortable while swimming for beginners
The second difficulty faced by beginner while learn swimming is uncomfortable breathing and it made hard to continue learning swimming for beginners. But it is easy to overcome the problem of uncomfortable breathing in just a day with little practice. Just follow the two simple steps given below.
Drill to hold breath underwater for beginners
When you enter in the water first time, it is natural that your heartbeat increase and you feel your breath little heavy and you feel pressure on your lungs if you submerged your body in water body till neck. There is nothing to worry about; it is just because of coldness as you feel if you stand under the shower while bathing.
To practice holding breath under water, just enter the swimming pool at shallow end and by holding wall go the chest level deep water. Then take a long breath and dip your head into the water and hold yourself underwater with holding your breath for some time while holding the wall with your hands.
Yes, you will feel some pressure on your lungs and head for the first time but try to hold for 5-10 seconds. The pressure you are feeling is just because of your fear and you will be comfortable after repeating the same for 10 to 15 times.
Again, there is no need to fear, a normal human can hold breath underwater for up to 02 minutes and they are same like you. Just face the pressure for some time and repeat the procedure till you feel comfortable and believe me, after a 10-15 practice you will be comfortable and confident to hold breath underwater for more than 10 seconds.
Drill to Exhaling Breath under Water (Bubbling Under Water) for Beginners
You are already comfortable with holding breath under water, now you need to be comfortable with exhaling breath under water (bubbling under water) to learn swimming if you are beginner. This practice will help you further because it is the first basic of swimming. For continue swimming, you have to continue your breath as no one can hold it for a long time. Swimmers inhale breath outside and exhale breath inside water to continue breathing while swimming.
There are two benefits of exhaling breath under water: -
- You can continue breathing in a natural rhythm while swimming for a long time for adequate oxygen supply to your body.
- Exhaling breath inside will restrict water to enter in your mouth and nose (if water enter in nose, it is really irritated) as exhaling air will exert outward pressure on water.
To practice releasing breath under water: -
- Follow the same procedure as you practiced holding breath under water but this time do not hold breath but try to exhale breath under water. It may be difficult for you first time but try it and you will be comfortable after 10-15 repetitions.
- First try this practice in single steps, just take long breath outside and take a dip and hold your head under water and release your breath slowly inside and after exhaling full air from your lungs come outside. Also use swimming and open your eyes while you are releasing breath inside. It will make you feel better when you see the underwater world and watch your bubbles created by your exhaling breath going upside to the surface.
- When you are comfortable with single step, and then try it continuously for 2 to 5 minutes. Just hold the wall take long breath then take a dip and exhale breath inside and come out but as you come out, don’t wait and just take a next long breath with in a second and take a dip again.
- Follow this process until you do it continuously for 2-5 minutes. It feels hard for first 5-10 breaths but after that you will be comfortable when you catch the rhythm. Just don’t stop if you feel hard, you are not going to drown or die as you are holding wall and you have to face some hardship if you really want to learn swimming.
Remember: - Never use your nose for breathing while swimming. Both the process of breath out and breath in must be done by mouth only. Because it is not as difficult if accidentally water enter your mouth but it is very irritating when water enter your nose and also you will not have much time to take breath by nose when doing continuous swimming.
Difficulty 3: Floating on Water
Drill to learn floating on water for Beginners?
Now, you don’t have fear in your mind and you are also comfortable with holding breath and releasing breath under water. If you are comfortable with breathing then following the steps to learn floating on water is really easy. There are four factors which help you to float and swim, your body, your legs, your hands and your breath. Let me tell how: -
- Your body itself helps you to float, if there is air in your lungs, your upper body will not go down, means you legs may start dipping down but your chest or upper body will always be up.
- You legs will help you to keep your body horizontally parallel on water surface. As your upper body will automatically float and you just have to use your leg’s movement to keep your legs straight to your body and horizontally parallel to water surface. Legs also help you to push your body upward to float and forward to move ahead while swimming to drag your body ahead on water surface.
- Your hands will help you to pull water backward with your palms which further push your body forward. Remember to keep your figure closed while swimming, means there shouldn’t be any gap between your fingers.
- And you already know the importance of your breath while swimming.
Now, it is turn to learn how to use your legs and hands for floating and swimming
First you have to learn to use your legs to keep your body parallel horizontally on water surface (which is essential for swimming) and to move your body forward by kicking your legs. It will be difficult for you in the beginning but with some practice you will be comfortable with it.
Now there are final steps below to learn kicking your legs in water for swimming and then combine your kicking with your hand movement and breathing for continue swimming.
Position of body and legs while learning kicking in swimming for beginners
Position of legs, knees and toes while learning kicking in swimming for beginners
Kicking with Legs with the support of Wall by Holding Breath
Enter the swimming pool at shallow end till chest level and hold the wall. Take a long breath and keep your face in the water but your hair outside and push you legs upward to keep your body straight and parallel to the water surface and start kicking. Kick your legs up and down keeping your body straight and parallel to the surface by keeping your legs straight.
Keep Legs straight while kicking
There may be confusion about Kicking. Remember, when you kick your legs, keep your legs straight and parallel to the surface don’t bend your legs from knees. Push the water downward with upper flap of your foot (push water downward with your toes) while kicking. Use the power of your thighs to kick your legs and not the power of your knees. If you bend your knees, then the power will be used of knees which are of no use. And kick continuously with alternate legs (one after one).
Why keep face inside while kicking
And the idea to keep your face inside water is to keep your body straight and parallel. If you keep your head up then it will make a curve in your body from back and it will be difficult for you to keep legs up. As to keeping you head up and legs up your body has to bend from your hip.
It need some effort for kicking
It needs some effort to keep your legs straight by kicking so don’t be just lazy and put some effort. It might be difficult for beginners but if you practice then you will get some idea yourself how to kick. Don’t put your body weight on your hands while holding wall, holding the wall is just to support your hands otherwise there is no need. Just hold the hands on wall to keep you body straight and leave your body relaxed on water bed while kicking. First try to kick for 5-10 seconds by holding your breath as your head is already in water.
When you are able to kick for 5-10 seconds with holding breath then the part of difficulty is over, now it is very easy to learn swimming.
Kicking with exhaling breath underwater
After being able to kicking with holding breath, try to kicking with exhaling breath underwater. Keep kicking continue while holding wall and take breath by turning your head from neck to side to take your mouth out to inhale breath and again turn in down and exhale breath and practice this till you are able to do it for 2-5 minutes continuously. Again it may be difficult in beginning but you will be able to do with practice.
Leg kicking with the support of floating pad for the swimmers who are just beginners
Leg kicking with the support of Floating Pad
After being able to kick and breathe continuously by holding wall, try same process by leaving wall and using floating pads. In the same way just rest your hands on floating pad to keep them straight and start kicking. You will see your body is floating and moving forward.
Leg kicking without any support
After being comfortable with floating pad, try to do same kicking and breathing process by leaving floating pad and continue with just extending your hand forward on water surface without any support. Believe me, you will be floating and moving with any support. Keep your body straight and relaxed, and continue kicking your body will not go down. If you feel it is going down then also continue kicking till you are not able to hold breath further.
Kicking and breathing with the support of your hands
Now last thing to practice is, when you are kicking without any support with holding breath just try taking your mouth out to the side to take breath with the help of push of your hand. Keeping kicking continue, when you feel to take breath, just push water downwards with your hands to support your face to come out and breath. Again it will be difficult in beginning but when you master this, you will already be a swimmer. And then you can improve your techniques further and enjoy swimming.
Conclusion
Learning swimming for beginners is not as tough and swimming can be compare with cycling. If you remembered, when you tried to ride bicycle in early days, it must be difficult for you to maintain balance and you used to keep your body stiff on bicycle and try it hard to balance. But after some support and practice you find it really easy to balance and ride bicycle with little effort and further even able to ride bicycle without holding handle.
Learning swimming for beginners is same as learning bicycle. It is hard in beginning to keep your body relaxed and balanced on water but when you learn with some practice you will be able to swim easily with little effort. And one you learned, you will never forget swimming in your whole life.
So never afraid, water is not your enemy but it is your friend, if you are dedicated you can learn swimming in just 10 days by keeping my points in your mind. It take only one session of 1-2 hours to get out of fear and practice breathing and in next nine days you will be able to float and swim on water. Best luck for those who are just beginners to learn swimming.
I tried my best to explain every thing which help beginners to learn swimming fast but, if still you feel there is something to say about "How to Learn Swimming for Beginners?" please feel free to ask by comments.
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