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Swimming

0. Warm Up Exercises

Out of water

  • 5 forward arm rotation
  • 5 backward arm rotation
  • 3 Toe touch
  • Quad stretch

In the water

  • Jog in water (Bring knee up and think of moving over an obstacle) with leg and hand movements
  • Lateral movements
  • Small Jumps

1. Building Water Comfort

Bubbling / Breathing

  • Don't stress and be calm
  • Bubbling with mouth, nose or both to see which one is most comfortable
    • quick inhale from mouth, and exhale gently through nose
    • Controlled exhalation - Breath out, stop, breath out, stop
  • Bubbles under water, paddle up breathe and then bubbles under water and repeat

Float

  • Sculling - move forward, backward or turn
  • Standing up from front float - Practice standing using wall
    • tuck your knees to your chest, push arms down, place feet on the floor and lift head
  • Standing up from back float
    • tuck knees, scoop arms, place feet, lift head
  • Sink down
    • Blow bubbles
    • use arms to help
  • Sitting on the floor
    • with palms facing up, push the water up the surface
  • Jellyfish float
  • Mushroom float
  • Duck dive (hand stand)

Kicking

  • Ankles should be relaxed and floppy
  • Hear your kick while kicking
  • Use kickboard for stability and exercising
  • Use pullbuoy when you want to relax lower body and work on upper body

Freestyle arm action

  • Slight gap between fingers
  • Slightly cupped palms
  • Slow and continuous movements
  • 10 beats of kicks with 2-3 arm actions only
  • Ensure arms are opposite to one another throughout the kick
  • Puling should be long and continuous

Breathing to the side

  • Don't lift entire head out of the water
  • Turn your head gently

2. Front Floating and Gliding

  • Superhero
    • Look at the floor
    • Do not look forward
    • Do not bring arms out of water
  • Add Warrior
    • Start with superhero glide and bring arm to your pocket
  • Add Lean (Warrior Lean)
    • Rotate body, but face should be down

3. Back Floating and Gliding

  • Safety position
  • Arms in T position / Starfish position / Y position
  • Look up
  • Chicken Bird Soldier
  • Arms underwater
  • Tilt head and use one hand to rotate
  • No splashing
  • Don't do arms up and down

4. Rotating

  • Backfloat to superhero
  • Superhero to backfloat
  • Superhero to backfloat to superhero

5. Submerging in Deep Water

  • Sink downs
  • Monkey slide and hands
  • Piano hands
  • Release
  • Make sure arms are fully extended and tummy close to the wall
  • Try turning into circles using sculling arms
  • Try backfloats
  • Step-In
  • Step-in to backfloat
  • Life saving skill, low energy and long time - Doggy paddle try first with noddle then without noddle

6. Beginner Freestyle Progression

  • Dryland swimming

7. Beginner Backstroke Progression

  • Rotating

Myths

  • You don't get tan from chlorine it's from direct sunlight and reflection off the water

Learn To Swim | Guide for Beginners by Olympian Nisha Millet - YouTube

Splash Learn to Swim Series - YouTube

SWIM in 5 Minutes for Beginners - YouTube

Advanced

3 Swimming Workouts For Beginners! | Swim Freestyle Faster & Stronger - YouTube

What Will Happen If You Start Swimming 30 Minutes Every Day - YouTube

Swimming Vs Running: What Burns The Most Calories? - YouTube

Swimming Vs Cycling Vs Running: What Burns The Most Calories? - YouTube

5 Worst Breathing Mistakes Swimmers Make - YouTube

How To Swim Without Getting Tired | Essential Tips For Swimming - YouTube