Saturday, May 7, 2011

Swimming for Beginners- Day 1

Swimming is not rocket science, so they say. It is True. Folks who are fresh to water, be it a tadpoles like tots or an old hulk, if given a sincere initiative, it is easy. IT feels like gilding through water, like fish but without fins,… and here is a step-by-step guide on how to learn swimming and in five days. Yes in 5 days.


Swimming is 5 days will have 5 base foundation learning:


Day 1: Floating


Day 2: Kicking. (on water and on Ground) b) Repeat Day 1 Floating.


Day 3: Kicking, Forearm Strokes and Basics of breathing. (on water and on Ground). Repeat Day 1 Floating.


Day 4: Combination: Floating and kicking to go forward. (b) Repeat Day 3 Forearm/Breathing Basics.


Day 5: Combination: Floating, Kicking and Forearm stroke - Swimming. C)Repeat Breathing basics, inside water for perfection.


Note: The steps are instructions that were tutored to me, by my coach at SDAT and this should largely serve as a guideline for readers. It is highly recommended that a trained swimmer or a coach is beside the learners and the learning is within a pool of 4.5- 5 feet water.


Day 1: Learn to Float


1. Walk and get acquainted: Walk to and fro on the 4.-5 – 5 feet pool. Walk slowly and feel the waters through you. Repeat 4 sets. This exercise gets the learner acquainted to the water and technically walking in hydro resistance, against the water pushing the thigh and leg muscle forward.


2. Walk with hands forward: This a progressive variation to (1). Let the foot be fully grounded on water, legs straight on the knee, bend of you hip – let your upper body be in water, breathe normally (do not hold your breath at this stage), with both arms forward and on the surface of water, walk to and fro to the entire pool. Repeat this for 4-6 sets, until you feel a little natural push to be in sync with the water. This exercise sets the base for floating and it quite critical for a learner. Make sure to bend on your hip right from the naval, this will let the learner feel the flow of water, when the arms are forward.


3. Hold your Breath:


(a) Outside water: Feet on the ground or in water, practice breath hold. Inhale through your mouth, hold your breath as long as you can and exhale through your nose. Repeat this to close, 15-20 sets, until you feel confident about the breath hold. Let the learner hold his breath as long as possible, for while swimming under water, it all about breathing techniques combined with arms and legs strokes.


b) Inside water:


Feet on the pool’s floor, bend on your hips and head inside the water, practice the breath hold. Inhale through your mouth, get the head inside the water, hold it as long as possible inside water.


Exhale through your nose inside water, if possible, otherwise, you may get the head out to exhale through your nose. Remember to Inhale through your mouth (as in Pic) and Exhale through your nose. Holding ones breath inside, makes the lung a vacuum that keep the trunk afloat.


4. Walk with hands forward and hold your breath: Combination of (2) and (3). Bend on your hips, Legs straight on water and arms fully forward on surface of water, walk back and forth with the breathe hold, first few sets breathe hold outside water and then Inside water. Inhale through your mouth, hold is as long and hard as possible and exhale it all out slowly and steady through nose. Repeat this for 5-10 sets. Walking with hands forward and holding the breadth INSIDE WATER, get the learner acquainted to floating, for the legs will robotically lift off from the ground and a instinct to go horizontal is likely. Repeat Walking with hands forward and hold your breath “INSIDE WATER” sets indefinitely until legs lifts itself up or there is a feeler to go horizontal kicks in. Learners should not resist hard trying to keep the legs on the pool’s floor. Let loose and feel the water,….



5. Floating in water: Bend forward on your hips, head straight forward - FULLY IMMERSED in water, hold your breath inside water. Repeat this until your are fully comfortable with the concept of breath hold with heads straight inside, immersed in the water pool. If done sincerely, the learner will feel a natural lift of legs, if not throw your legs up, or kick yourself forward from the walls of the pool, stay horizontal on the water, and now hold your breath as long and smooth as possible. One may also, get help from fellow mates, by holding the tip of their finger, trying to float straight and horizontal on the surface of water and your HEAD STRAIGHT AND IMMERSED in water.


Learner can be sure, that floating is NOT effective if the head is not fully immersed. Half immersion will not aid natural float. While floating, let your hand and legs be fully lose, any pressure or resistance from forward arm or afloat legs, may induce the learner to go sides while floating. So, if you feel a waters trying to get you on your sides or tossing you, be sure you are to let yourself more loose and relaxed, so to float, horizontally on your stomach.. Deadman’s float so it is called, is the base for swimming. Floating and Gliding forward on the pool, will be the result of efforts from day 1, when done sincerely. This should take about 2 continuous hours of real and hard time initiative, and be sure it’s worth it,….


6. Gliding: Kicking your legs from the wall of the pool to float forward, propels a smooth forward motion and this is gliding. Make sure the legs are together (should not spread out) with your toes pointing fully outside, like a swan, and hand forward and together as much as possible, Head straight and immersed to glide forward. Hold your breath until halting.


7. Float and Glide halting technique:


Break away from the natural float, to exhale out and breathe in again post a short halt, Bend your knees, so to have the legs land on the floor (as in Pic 1 that will result in Pic 2). This let the learner to land his foot on the floor. Halt, Exhale through your nose and then breathe naturally. Make sure all exhaling is through the nose and never to inhale while inside water or in the moment right out of water surface.








Fear is The enemy and Practice is perfection. Day 1 usually ends in muscle soreness and fatigue, due to the multiple repetitions and sets of exercise. But, as long as there is some physical sign of workout the learner is on the right track. If there is no pain, may be the learner has not put his sincere best, and may have to try harder until floating/Gliding gets natural. So happy swimming!

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