Swimming can look intimidating if you've never learned how to swim, but it's possible for just about anyone to do it. Playing around in the water can be incredibly fun, and knowing how to swim can save your life if you find yourself stuck in water. All you have to do is get comfortable in the water, learn the basic strokes, and then move on to more advanced techniques when you're ready.
Part 1 of 4: Getting Comfortable in the Water
1Let go of your fear. A lot of people put off learning how to swim because they're afraid of drowning. While drownings do occur, most of them could have been prevented by simple safety measures. Follow these guidelines whenever you're swimming, and the odds of drowning will decrease dramatically:
- Never swim alone. Always go swimming with one other person who is a strong swimmer, if not several other people.
- Don't start out swimming in moving water. If you're learning to swim in an ocean or river, you'll need to be more aware of the motion of the water. If you must learn to swim this way, try to make sure you're with someone who knows what he or she is doing, and be sure to read the step about getting out of a riptide or a rushing river (below).
- Stay within a depth you can handle. When you're first learning how to swim, don't venture into water that's too deep for you to stand in. That way, if something goes amiss, you can simply stand up and breathe.
- Never swim during inclement weather conditions. Swimming in a light rain shower should be fine, but if you see or hear a storm approaching, get out of the water immediately. This rule is to be followed regardless of how well you can swim.
- Don't swim in water that's too cold. Moving your limbs to paddle can become suddenly difficult if you're in frigid water.
2Get used to floating. When you're in the water, hold on to the side of the pool or a dock, and let your legs float out behind you - they should lift easily if you let them. Practice doing this on your stomach and on your back, until you're use to letting half of your body float.
- Try floating on your back or your stomach as soon as you're ready. Stay in a shallow depth so that you can simply stand up if it's not working out. It might feel weird to have water around your ears while your nose and mouth are in the air, but you'll get used to it. For extra stability, put out your arms at a right angle so that your body is in a "T" shape.
3Don't panic. Always remember that you have a fallback if you're in an unmanageable depth or you simply can't move your limbs - floating on your back. Don't flail around or start breathing quickly if you can't swim; simply lie back as flat as you can, and let the water carry you while you regain your composure.
4Practice exhaling underwater. While you're still in a shallow depth, take a deep breath and put your face underwater. Slowly exhale out your nose until you're out of breath, then come back up.
- If you're uncomfortable exhaling through your nose, you can hold it closed or wear a nose plug and exhale through your mouth.
5Wear goggles (optional). Wearing goggles can help you feel more comfortable opening your eyes underwater, and might allow you to see more clearly. Find a pair with spongy circles around the eyes and dip them in the water, so that they'll stick to your skin. Tighten the strap around the back of your head so that the goggles fit snugly.
Part 2 of 4: Beginning Strokes and Treading Water
1Practice kicking your legs. Whether you're floating on your back or still holding on to the side of the pool, you can practice kicking. (To see how far each kick can propel you, practice it using a kickboard. This allows you to focus on your kicking technique without worrying about keeping your head above water.)
- Try a flutter kick. Point your toes out like a ballerina, keep your legs mostly straight, and alternate legs as you make small kicks. You should feel the most flexion in your ankles.
- Try a whip kick. Keep your legs held tightly together from your hips to your knees, and from your knees to your ankles. Bend your knees so that your shins come up to about a 90-degree angle, then quickly bring your shins apart and move them in a circular motion, keeping your thighs together the whole time. (That is, trace half a circle with each leg, moving your right leg to the right and your left leg to the left.) Bring your shins back together at the bottom of the circle, and lift them up again to restart the kick.
- Try an eggbeater kick. This kick is commonly used to tread water, and stay in a vertical position with your head and shoulders above water. Start with your knees bent and your legs slightly wider than hip-width apart. Then "pedal" each leg as you would on a bike, only they'll go in opposite directions: while one leg pedals "forward," the other leg should pedal "backward." This one takes some practice to get used to, but it's handy for "resting" when your feet can't touch bottom.
2Learn how to do a crawl. Crawls are great strokes to learn as a beginner, and they'll move you pretty quickly. Here's how to do them:
- Try a backstroke first. Float flat on your back, and do a flutter kick with your legs. With your arms, do the "crawl" motion, lifting one arm straight into the air and keeping it straight as it re-enters the water next to your head. Once it's underwater, bend it to bring it back to a straight position next to your side, and repeat. Alternate arms as you swim, and try to keep your fingers together and your hands as flat as possible.
- Try a front stroke (also known as a freestyle or American crawl). Floating on your stomach, do a flutter kick with your legs and use your arms to "crawl" forward. Bring one arm out of the water so that it's "reaching" forward, then bring it back down and use your cupped hand to "push" the water behind you. Alternate arms. To breathe, turn your head to one side under the arm that's currently crawling, lifting enough for you to take a breath. Take a breath under the same arm each time, so that you're breathing once every two strokes.
3Tread water. Treading water can help you catch your breath and keep your head up without actually swimming. Do the eggbeater kick listed above, and use your hands to keep your balance by "sculling" - keep your forearms flat on the surface of the water, and imagine they're butter knives spreading on a piece of toast. Move one arm in a clockwise circle, and the other arm in a counterclockwise circle.
4Use your arms to come up from the bottom. If you're below water and would like to come up, use your arms to propel yourself. Put them straight up above your head, and quickly bring them down to your sides. This should push you up a few feet. Repeat until you break the surface.
Part 3 of 4: Learning Advanced Techniques
1Try some more advanced strokes. Once you're more comfortable in the water, you can start learning new strokes that will move you more quickly or with less energy. Try these:
2Try diving. Dives can be a fun way to get into the water and start a stroke. Start with a basic dive, and move on to more complicated swan dive, back dive, and rolling dive.
- Always make sure the water is deep enough before you dive. At a bare minimum, the water should be 9 or 10 feet (2.7 or 3.0 m) deep; if you're a tall person, make it at least 11 or 12 feet (3.4 or 3.7 m).
Part 4 of 4: Being Prepared for Unlikely Situations
1Know how to get out of a riptide. If you're swimming in the ocean, you might get caught in a riptide. Knowing what to do can save your life, so try to memorize these steps before you get into the water.
- Do not panic. This is, by far, the most important step of all. By flailing and panicking, you could actually keep yourself under the water.
- Swim sideways. Do not try to swim directly to shore or directly out further into the ocean. Instead, try to swim in a line that's exactly parallel to the shoreline.
- Swim in a stroke that allows you to breathe. Swim with the strongest stroke you can do that also allows you plenty of room to breathe. This might be a sidestroke, front crawl, or breaststroke.
- Keep swimming until you're out of the riptide. You might have to swim quite far before you're safely out of the riptide, but keep going. You don't want to undo the good work you've done so far by heading for shore at the wrong time.
- If possible call out for help. If you can, motion to the lifeguard or yell "Help!" as soon as possible. However, don't do this if it means sacrificing a breath or if you have to stop swimming - it's better to keep yourself moving.
2Know how to get out of a river current. If you're caught in a river that's flowing too quickly or pushing you under, follow these steps to get out:
- Don't flail or panic. As with a riptide, panicking and flailing your limbs can push you deeper into the water. Try to take even breaths and remain calm.
- Aim to swim diagonally toward the shoreline. Swimming toward the shoreline at a 90-degree angle will force you to fight with the current too much, and might cause you to become exhausted quickly. Instead, plan to get to the shoreline at a diagonal angle that goes with the current.
- Don't try to swim upstream. You'll spend too much energy for not enough results. Only try to swim upstream if there's immediate danger downstream, such as sharp rocks or a waterfall.
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- Using goggles can be very useful.
- Relax your whole body, doing so helps to keep you afloat more!
- If possible, learn to swim under the supervision of a trained lifeguard. He or she has been taught to recognize signs that you need help, even if you're underwater or unable to call out.
- Always swim close to the edge so you can hold on if you need to.
- If you are nervous getting into the water, try putting your feet in first and slowly make your way in.
- Always tell your trainer if you are not comfortable.
- Remember you can always put your feet down if you begin to panic.
- If you have long hair, you might like to wear a swim cap to keep it out of your way. In addition, some public pools require swimmers with long hair to wear them, so it can't hurt to have one on hand.
- Use a kick board, life jacket or arm floats to help stay afloat if you feel nervous about moving around the water.
- For safety reasons it's better if you haven't eaten for (at least) an hour before you go swimming.
- Most public pools offer swimming lessons for all ages.
- Stretch before swimming as this cab help you be more flexible while swimming. Go in the shallow end first.
- Be extremely cautious about swimming in moving water, such as the ocean or a lake. Eddies or riptides can suddenly pull you under.
- Don't rush things! Learning to swim is a slow process. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Things You'll Need
- Someone else to swim with
- Goggles (optional)
- Nose plug (optional)
- Kickboard (optional)
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