8 easy steps to learn swimming freestyle fast

If you did not learn to swim when you were young, it won’t be easy. As you grow older you tend to be scared to let yourself free. My mother tried to learn to swim when she was above 45. Here I write about 11 steps to learn swimming for adults who are beginners in swimming.

Start at the shallow end of the pool, so that your feet comfortably touches the floor and you have nothing to fear. Usually the shallow end is about 3 feet deep. Also be near the end of the pool close to the wall.

Get Comfortable in the Water

You need to be comfortable in water. Try basic things after you get down into the swimming pool.

• Stand on the shallow side of the pool
• Try to walk in the water.
• Try to submerge your face in the water.
• Lift your leg from the bottom of the pool while holding onto the end of the pool.

Gradually build your confidence and become familiar with the water environment.

Breathing

Practice breathing while your face is submerged. Go down straight into the pool, exhale slowly through your mouth blowing out bubbles while your face is still underwater and inhale quickly when you turn your head to the side to breathe during the stroke.

Float

Once you are feeling comfortable with your head in water, try to float holding onto the wall. You cannot comfortably float with your head out of water. Hold onto the wall, with your hands straight and gently let your body float up. Put your head down till your body is almost on the surface parallel to the water.

• Blow out bubbles while your head is underwater.
• Hold on to the same position till you can hold on your breath.
• Practise this for sometime for few days.

Flutter kick

Work on your flutter kick, which is the kick used in freestyle. Hold the pool’s edge and kick as hard as you can keeping your head down. You can also practice kicking with a kickboard, focusing on keeping your legs straight and toes pointed downwards.

Try side breathing while holding onto the wall

Now you would breathe out bubbles while your head is under water holding onto the edge of the pool. Then move your head to the side to breathe in. Breathe through your mouth. Do it quickly and put your head again in water to blow bubbles underwater. You would do the entire thing while you are doing a flutter kick.

Try moving forward into the pool away from the wall

It is time to venture out into the water. Hold the kickboard, breathe occasionally and let your feet move in a flutter kick. You would start moving forward, enjoying yourself going forward.

If you are doing regularly for an hour or so, you should be quite comfortably in the water within a week.

Arm Drills

Now it is time to start your arm movement. Learn the arm movements of freestyle. Start with arm drills, such as the “catch-up” drill, where you bring one arm forward as the other arm finishes its stroke. This helps you develop a smooth and coordinated arm motion. You can try free to hold onto the kickboard while practising the arm drill.

The moment you start concentrating on your hand movement, your legs will stop moving. See that you continue your flutter kick while you are starting your arm strokes.

Combining Arms and Legs

Once you’re comfortable with the individual components, start combining your arm strokes with your leg kicks. Work on coordinating your breathing with your arm movements.

Practice in shallow water where you can stand if needed. This will give you confidence and a sense of security as you practice and refine your stroke.

Here are some of the things to keep in mind.

Practice Regularly: Like any skill, practice is essential. Aim to swim regularly, even if it’s just a few times a week. Consistent practice will help reinforce your muscle memory and improve your swimming abilities.

Be Patient and Persistent: Learning to swim as an adult can be challenging, but don’t get discouraged. Celebrate your progress, no matter how small, and keep pushing yourself to improve.

Record Yourself: Consider recording videos of yourself swimming. Watching the footage can provide valuable feedback on areas for improvement and progress. Pay attention to your body positioning in the water. Try to keep your body horizontal and as close to the water’s surface as possible to reduce drag

Swimming equipment like the kickboard and the swimming fins helps you to learn to swim. Wearing swim fins can provide additional propulsion and support as you work on your freestyle technique. Fins can help you focus on specific aspects of the stroke without worrying too much about speed.

Take swimming lessons

Enrol yourself in swimming classes. There are many swimming institutes that give swimming lessons to adults for all skill levels. Once such academy is Nisha Millet Swimming Academy. They have swimming classes for senior citizens.

Which is the hardest part to learn in swimming?

Learning how to breathe in water is challenging. Getting comfortable to put your head underwater, breathe out, then quickly turn sideways to breathe in is quite a task. You tend to lose your balance in the earlier days of learning to swim when you turn your head to breathe.

The next thing is the coordination of arms, kicks, and breathing. Usually one stops when you concentrate on the other.

Always remember to trust the water. The more you let yourself free, you will float and smoothly move forward. Trying to fight and get strained doesn’t work.

Remember, once you learn how to swim, you will not forget in your life.