How and where you can learn to swim well. How to learn to swim as an adult? Practical advice

26.11.201927.05.2017

Swimming is something that every person should master. When going to the sea or another open body of water in the summer, everyone wants to enjoy their vacation to the fullest, and this is almost impossible if a person does not know how to swim. Doctors say that swimming is not just a pleasant activity, but also useful, since in the process it develops the respiratory system, trains muscles, improves metabolism and blood circulation, and strengthens the body. nervous system. "How to quickly learn to swim?" - a question that is relevant for people of all age categories. It's never too late to start, but learning methods will vary. Let's take a closer look at where and how to learn to swim in different styles.

Where to learn to swim?

Most people are afraid to take their “first steps” in open water. Self-doubt, fear of depth, and extra glances at the person appear. All this negatively affects the result, which is why indoor pools are often chosen for such purposes. If you do choose open water, it is better that it be the sea. Salt water will keep you on the surface, there is no current, and the learning process will be faster and more efficient. However, you should be prepared for the fact that easy and carefree swimming in the sea is different from swimming in a river, which does not lift you up and also takes you somewhere.

Breathing training

How to quickly learn to swim? It is important to master the basics. Proper breathing is the basis. It is important to remember that you must inhale through your mouth and exhale air into the water through your mouth. The deeper the breath, the easier the body floats on the water, but lungs filled to capacity can hinder the swimmer. There are many exercises for breathing training. For example, even professional athletes Before the swim, they warm up by inhaling as much air as possible through their mouths, squatting with their heads in the water and exhaling all the air through their mouths.

Learning to float

To learn how to float on the water, you need to master the so-called “star”. To do this, you need to take in as much air as possible into your lungs, lower your face into the water, spread your arms and legs and lie there. At the same time, you cannot exhale air, because when you exhale, you will begin to sink under water. This exercise trains breathing and also eliminates fear of water. A person performing it for the first time realizes that full lungs are a kind of lifebuoy, which will help you stay on the water even without additional body movements.

Learning to work with your feet

Before you learn to swim on your own, you need to realize that your legs take the most active part in the process. They are responsible for the speed of movement. Swimmers' toes are always pointed out. The intensity of kicks should resemble a blow from a whip. Naturally, footwork will differ depending on your swimming style. To practice, you can hold on to the side of the pool or some object that will keep you on the surface, and work only with your legs underwater.

Basic swimming terms

The stroke is the main movement of the arms during swimming. The fingers must be clenched, and the swimmer must constantly monitor this. Beginners often forget about this, and that’s why it takes them so long to conquer the water. The row is done with the arm bent at about 45 degrees at the shoulder, the elbow held at a right angle.

A sweep is a movement that is made above the water when the hand sweeps forward after a stroke. It is done like this: the arm is carried above the head, being bent at the shoulder by 45 degrees, at the elbow - by 90.

The carry and stroke are done simultaneously different hands. As for breathing, it is more correct to breathe when performing a stroke. The head rises towards the hand that makes the carry. That is, if it rushes by right hand, inhale while turning the head to the right.

Swimming styles

How to quickly learn to swim in different styles? There are four styles, the features of which will be discussed further.

The first is the crawl, the fastest of all. This is a way of swimming on your chest. The arms make swinging strokes, the legs move and move apart. More in simple language, the hands will resemble the work of a mill, the legs will resemble the work of scissors.

The second is breaststroke. This style, on the contrary, is the slowest. At the same time, very little energy is spent on such swimming. The arms do not carry through the air, and this is the hallmark of breaststroke. The stroke is done simultaneously with both hands, which return to starting position carried underwater.

The third style is backstroke. Essentially, this is the same crawl, and the only difference is the direction of movement of the hands.

Butterfly is the fourth style and is considered the most difficult. Learning to swim like this is very difficult, but possible. Butterfly is considered one of the most quick ways movement in the water and at the same time the most beautiful. The stroke is done simultaneously with both hands, after which both hands are carried in the air. In this case, the arms should remain straight, and the palms should be turned back. This will make it easier to make a new stroke. Craftsmen advise starting to master this style only when you have already achieved perfection in the others. Popular subtypes of the above styles include doggy style and mermaid swimming. Surely they are familiar to everyone.

How can children learn to swim?

They say that the sooner you start teaching a child to swim, the better: the easier and faster he will learn to float on the water, and the more beneficial it will be for his body. All this is true, but it is not always possible to teach a child to swim - easy task. Many parents don’t know where to start, whether they should take their baby to some swimming classes or whether they can handle it on their own.

The first thing parents do before going to the sea is to get a circle that stays with the child on the surface and protects him from any danger. However, very soon the baby will get tired of such a pastime. He tries to get out of the circle, turns over and is capricious, because he wants to swim on his own, like adults. Then you should pay attention to the armbands and start learning to swim with them.

The first thing that needs to be overcome is the child’s fear of immersion in water. There are many interesting children's exercises. For example, you can invite your child to inhale air and immerse his head up to eye level in the water, as a hippopotamus does, and exhale under water. Or the child can close his eyes, hold his breath, and lower his entire face into the water for a few seconds. It is important to do such exercises near the shore, together with your parents. It is also worth paying attention to exercises for developing swimming technique, which will train muscles and teach you how to move your arms and legs correctly.

Only when the child can dive headlong into the water without worry can the arm sleeves be removed. First you need to learn to swim short distances, from object to object or from person to person. At first the student will need to be pushed and met, later he will swim on his own when the movements become more confident. Then you can already think about how to learn to swim underwater. This is usually easy for children.

Conclusion

Thus, swimming is a clear and systematic process in which there is no place for chaotic movements and uncontrolled movement in the water. Only all the basics together (breathing, ability to stay on the water, correct body movements and the right moral attitude) are the key to successful movement in the water. If you learn to swim in different styles, you will be able to do it not only quickly and easily, but also in a variety of ways. This process will bring you only positive emotions. Since you now know how to quickly learn to swim, you can safely start practicing!

Even though modern women They are quite lenient about the fact that a man sometimes does not know how to swim - the ability to earn money is much more valued - in some situations, the lack of this skill causes a number of inconveniences for an adult. Therefore, even in mature age Some people think about how to learn to swim as an adult.

What prevents an adult from learning to swim?

In some cases, the fear of drowning prevents you from swimming on your own. After all, in fact, water holds the body. But as long as it is constrained by fear, it is difficult to learn to swim. First, you need to convince the body that it floats freely on the water surface.

This type of training can be done in the summer in open water. It is better to wear a swimming cap and swimming goggles:

go about chest deep;
hold your breath and plunge headlong, tucking your legs together and, to be sure, clasping both legs with your hands;
it is important to feel that the water really holds the body and it floats up;
after the air runs out, take the starting position.

How can an adult learn to swim in a pool?

The depth of the pool should be about two meters or more so that your feet do not reach the bottom. Swimming goggles are recommended.

Teaching an adult to swim independently is quite possible. But just in case, it is better to have a lifeguard nearby. Help from a friend who knows how to swim will do. It is better to take these safety precautions so as not to accidentally choke.

Inability to swim is not only a fear of drowning. But also psychological reasons, related to the fact that an adult guy, respected for certain merits, has to find himself in a situation in which he is completely incompetent. Overcoming this psychological barrier will allow both adults and children not to be afraid of depth. After all, to learn swimming, you need to start swimming.

How to perform your first solo swims

The first thing you need to learn to do when self-study- breathe correctly. You will need depth so that your feet do not reach the bottom. Hold the side with your hands, your body in an upright position.

Take a deep breath and, without letting go of the side, dive under the water, while exhaling air through your mouth.
As soon as your feet touch the bottom, push off.
When your head is on the surface, inhale.

It’s worth doing this exercise longer to really feel it.

While relaxing, it is useful to observe people who can swim. And after that try to copy their movements, moving along the side. The best way to imitate breaststroke is when the arms first move forward and then make round movements.

Let the movements turn out the way they turn out. The main thing is to feel a little confidence and get rid of stiffness at least a little. At first you will be a little scared and ashamed of your awkwardness. On the other hand, how can you teach swimming to an adult differently?

How to learn to swim a significant distance

In order to gain confidence during training, you need to practice exhaling more into the water at the edge. You need to learn this, even if it is tedious, but when water gets into your nose while trying to swim on your own or you accidentally “swallow”, severe panic will no longer occur. You need to dive as usual, relax and calmly exhale as you learned, then surface and inhale.

At first, the distance that you can swim on your own will be small - 2-4 meters. To increase it, you will need to combine the skill of lowering your head under water and at the same time moving your arms and legs correctly.

To do this, it is useful to do the following exercise while standing at the side:

inhale, straightening your arms in front of you;
put your head under water;
push off slightly with your feet;
move your arms to the sides, as if swimming breaststroke, with each hand tending to the corresponding side. Just like “real” swimmers do.

As you move your arms, raise your head above the surface and inhale. At this time, your legs bend slightly and your arms straighten in front of you. As soon as your lungs are filled with air, immerse your head again and push off with your legs, performing a stroke with your arms. This is how an adult learns to swim over short distances.

How to learn to swim across a pool on your own

It is important not to rush, because even if all movements are performed correctly, rushing will take your breath away and you will not be able to swim as far as you wanted. It is better to pay attention to the correct work of the legs and arms, since the skill of “diving” with your head and exhaling under water should be well developed by this time.

You need to gradually learn not to put your head under the water so that it remains above the surface as long as possible. As a result, very soon you will be able to swim independently and without stopping at the edge to the opposite side of the pool.

Modified: 08/11/2018

Many parents accustom their children to water from infancy, but it should be noted that not all coaches agree with this, especially when the purpose of swimming is sports and recreational activities. Experts consider the most optimal age to teach a child to swim the age of six years. Therefore, this time we will talk about how to quickly learn to swim for an adult, as well as a child aged six years and older.

Where is the best place to study?

Before you learn to swim, decide on your training location. The safest and most comfortable option would be swimming in a pool (it’s generally better for a child to study in a special children’s pool), where it is possible to control the gradual depth of immersion.

Should I use the services of a trainer? Of course, a person who cannot swim will need the help of an experienced mentor who will teach him everything that a beginner needs to know. If you don’t have the opportunity to attend personal lessons from an instructor, agree to swim in a pool in a group - this way you’ll be able to get help from a professional and not be left unattended.

There is no opportunity to go to the pool to see an instructor - find a calm, shallow body of water for training. You can learn to swim especially quickly in dense sea water, which better helps you stay on the surface. However, under no circumstances allow your child to study alone, and do not learn to swim alone - at first there must be an experienced person nearby who, if anything happens, can always come to the rescue.

Do you need auxiliary equipment?

There is no unambiguous view on the introduction of auxiliary items into swimming training: arm sleeves, vests, swimming rings, etc.

Some believe that such devices will help a beginner get used to the aquatic environment, others say that they develop incorrect swimming skills in a person.

The only auxiliary item that both parties agree on is a swimming board: it allows you to get used to a body position parallel to the surface of the water, as well as sliding with the help of your legs.

How to quickly learn to swim on your own

Let’s say right away: the popular stress training for swimming in the spirit of “throwing yourself into the water and waiting for it to swim” is completely absurd and dangerous. To swim well, you need to learn to stay on the water and master proper breathing, and an incompetent swimmer thrown into the depths, as a rule, begins to perform completely opposite actions: panic with horror, flounder randomly and only lose strength. Is it worth the risk?

If you decide to learn to swim on your own or teach your child, there are several basic steps ahead of you.

Learning to stay in the water

We perform exercises that help get rid of the fear of water, teach you to feel relaxed and show how water actually holds the human body.

"Star"

We lower ourselves onto the surface of the water with our backs and push off with our feet from the bottom to assume a horizontal position. Spread your limbs to the sides - your body should take the shape of a star. At the same time, the head is thrown back and lies on the water in the same way. The same exercise can be performed while lying on your stomach with your head down.

"Float"

The water level should reach the student's chest. You need to take a deep breath and hold your breath, squat down to the bottom and clasp your knees with your hands, pressing your head down. After some time, the body will float to the surface and hover directly below it. Hold on as long as possible until the air runs out.

"Strelochka"

The water level is the same as in the previous exercise. We stand at the bottom of the reservoir, as if we were lying with our chest on the surface of the water, hold our breath and push off from the bottom with our feet (or from the wall of the pool) in the upward and forward direction so that the body takes a position parallel to the bottom. The face is lowered into the water. When pushing, we straighten our arms and legs, stretch out along the entire length, but do not move our limbs, but simply slide until we begin to stop. Then we finally stand with our feet on the bottom and take a vertical position.

Learning to breathe correctly

The main problem of those who cannot quickly learn to swim is the inability to relax and breathe correctly. Try a breathing exercise that professional swimmers do - exhaling into the water. You should quickly and deeply inhale air through your mouth, and then lower your head into the water and exhale slowly through your mouth. This must be repeated several times in a row without holding your breath. If you are afraid to start an exercise while in a pond, try practicing first with a bowl of water.

When swimming, inhalations and exhalations are coordinated with the movements of the arms and legs. It is not recommended to inhale through the nose so that water entering the nasopharynx does not cause suffocation.

Learning the sequence of movements

And to learn how to use your legs, do the same “Arrow”, but when sliding, start swinging your legs one by one. Once you master this type of sliding, you can work with your hands. To learn to swim quickly, you need to practice all the movements in order: first just glide in the water, then use your legs, then use your arms to work and learn to properly coordinate all this with breathing.

The easiest way to quickly learn to swim for adults and children is to swim “doggy style”. Bend your arms in front of you, placing them shoulder-width apart, and take turns scooping the water towards you. At the same time, do not forget about your legs. Keep the rhythm and don't worry. To avoid keeping your head constantly tense above the water, lower your chin.

And after you have managed to quickly learn how to swim “doggy style”, you can not linger and move on to training more complex, but at the same time more beautiful swimming styles, such as crawl, breaststroke and butterfly. Swimming techniques for these styles are presented in the following video:

All kinds of doctors, nutritionists, trainers, as well as other people who support us always tell us that swimming is very useful. healthy image life.
This is true, because swimming is recognized as the most harmonious physical activity on the body, since it uses the maximum number of muscles, and it also has a beneficial effect on the functioning of almost all human organs and systems.

Despite the obvious advantages of this sport, many adults do not know how to learn to swim. Most often this is due to the fear of water, the fear of drowning, because everyone can learn to swim. Fear simply freezes all the muscles, which is why a person experiences discomfort, does not stay afloat, and as a result, he is simply pulled down.

To avoid this, you need to learn to achieve a state of relaxation and trust water. The best way to do this is to go to the pool for swimming lessons for beginners or read the basic rules below.

In order to learn to swim from scratch you need:

learn proper breathing when diving;
be able to float on water;
master the technique of sliding.

How to learn to swim

At the initial stage of learning to swim, an adult does not need to try to master a certain swimming style. If a person cannot relax in the water, he will not be able to swim at least technically, and most likely not at all.

Here are a few mandatory exercises, having mastered which you can move on to studying any style.

How to learn to breathe in water

First of all, it is very important to learn how to breathe correctly in water.. First, you need to immerse yourself in water up to the line of your mouth, inhale through your nose, and exhale through your lips, closing them with a tube. After this, take a breath and dive along the line of your nose. When exhaling through your mouth, you should monitor the uniformity of your breathing. When fully immersed, start exhaling from the mouth and end with the nose; the end of the exhalation should already be in the air.

To stop being afraid of water, there is very effective exercise"float".
The essence of the implementation:

dive up to your chest;
take a deep breath;
squat to the bottom;
clasp your legs with your hands;
lower your head.

After a few seconds the body will rise to the surface of the water. You need to remain in this position until the need to take a breath appears. Relax. Repeat the exercise until you feel free in the water.

The next step is to learn to lie on the water

The “asterisk” exercise will help you cope with this:

breathe in more air;
hold your breath;
try to lie on the surface of the water with your back.

It is very important not to lower your legs down for safety, but rather try to raise them. It is worth convincing yourself that this is a safe place, there is nothing to fear.
During your first attempts, you can stick to the side. Repeat until calm and confidence appears.

A more difficult option is to lie on your stomach down. The technique is similar. When both methods work out, it’s time to learn how to do rollovers from your back to your stomach in a horizontal position - lying with your back down, you need to quickly exhale, inhale, helping with smooth in a circular motion hands turn over with your stomach down, holding your breath. You can't skip all these steps.

Until you learn to trust the water and lie on the surface, there is no point in talking about swimming.

Sliding technique

The “sliding” exercise is mandatory and effective in the process of learning to swim.
The technique for doing it is simple:

you need to take a swimming board (it helps to hold on and not drown);
go into chest-deep water;
extend your arms forward;
energetically pushing off with your feet from the bottom or side of the pool;
touch the surface of the water with your chest;
slide forward

This exercise should be performed similarly on your back - the board should also be under your hands. When everything works out, it is recommended to complicate the exercise by performing it without a board, simply stretching your arms forward.

While sliding on your stomach, you exhale into the water, and only inhale after stopping. This allows you to relax your neck muscles and get a more streamlined body shape, which will be useful for further swimming training.

Are you thinking about buying a pool membership, but don't know what you need? Or are you just tired of swimming with a hatchet or doggy and want to master at least breaststroke? Anya Kononova supports these initiatives and tells where and how to swim in order to swim correctly and become cool.

Start with a medical certificate

Today, the situation with certificates is, to put it mildly, ambiguous. On the one hand, Rospotrebnadzor canceled this same certificate for adults back in 2003. The only exception is the occurrence of an unfavorable sanitary and epidemiological situation in your locality. However, most pools still continue to require documents on site, citing concerns for the health of visitors. What should I do?

We advise you not to be harmful and make a certificate for at least two reasons. Firstly, after an examination by doctors, it will become clear whether you can even visit the pool for health reasons. Secondly, it will become clear whether you are a carrier of an infection that is dangerous to other swimmers. The same foot fungus can easily be picked up in the shower or on the floor, although it already dies in chlorine in the water.

The certificate is valid for six months from the date of issue. The cheapest way to get it is at the clinic at your place of registration ( average price- 300-400 rubles), but they take quite a long time to process. It’s easier and faster to go to a private clinic or a medical office at the pool. The document will cost 800-1,500 rubles and will require 2-3 hours of time. True, everyone does not have a single price list, just as there is no consensus on which specialists should be examined. But what we definitely do not recommend doing is buying certificates over the Internet - well, you’re not like that, we know.

Choose your swimming equipment

What you can't do without in the pool:

Swimming goggles. They will significantly make the life of a novice swimmer easier and increase confidence in their abilities, because a clearly visible bottom and sides are a guarantee of peace of mind. The best glasses are those that fit your face well and have antifog protection. By the way, we advise you not to skimp on glasses, because chlorinated water greatly irritates your eyes.
Swimming trunks/swimsuit. Men have a choice of boxers, slips and special starting tight hydroshorts (although it is considered bad manners to train in such). When choosing swimming trunks, pay attention not only to the size, but also to the fabric - it should be hypoallergenic. And for women the choice has already been made - this is the same one-piece swimsuit with a wrestling cutout at the back. Although it is still worth trying on the entire model range of the store, choosing exactly “the one” that will not choke or rub in the armpits - the most problematic area of most swimsuits. By the way, the denser the fabric feels, the longer this equipment will last you.
Swimming cap. Of course, no “roses” - just streamlined. Although latex hats are cheap, they constantly tear your hair, and they themselves are not very durable. Fabric caps instantly get wet and provide noticeable resistance in the water. But ergonomic caps made of dense silicone are what you should give preference to if you come to the pool for results. To prevent such a headdress from flying off and distracting attention, it is best to wear it on damp hair. And it’s also useful to watch the video on Youtube “How to put on a hat correctly” once - this way you will minimize the risk of tearing it with your fingers, and it will be much more comfortable to sit on.
Soap, washcloth, towel, slippers. In some pools, before allowing you to train, they always check the availability of soap and washcloths, ensuring compliance with hygiene standards. Well, then be sure to use them in the shower. The towel should absorb moisture well and be of sufficient size, since there are often immodest drafts in pools. You can treat yourself and buy a microfiber sports towel - it instantly absorbs moisture, dries quickly and takes up little space. And the requirements for flip-flops are simple - they must be made of high-quality rubber with a non-slip surface.
Additional swimming equipment that may come in handy over time: short fins; special blades that increase the palm area; swimming boards and calabashkas, with which you can train the technique of your arms and legs.

Choose your pool

There is no universal criterion for selecting a pool. For some, the main parameter will be the price, for others it is more important that the pool is located near home or work, and some are even ready to travel to the other end of the city for the sake of friendly trainers and clean locker rooms. Of course, the ideal option is when all this can be found at one point.

Another important factor when choosing a pool, this is your goal. Based on this, it will be easier to give preference to one or another type of pool:

If you are an absolute beginner, then choose a “short” twenty-five-meter pool for yourself, which provides swimming lessons for adults.
If you somehow know how to stay on the water and want to practice on your own, then when choosing, pay attention to how busy the pool is. The smaller the crowd on the track, the easier it will be for you to hone your swimming skill. Moreover, in most cases, “hot time” occurs at 18-20 hours on weekdays, and on weekends - during the daytime hours.
If your preparation allows you to take on something more serious, your choice is a fifty-meter sports pool, in which you can pump up your endurance and show yourself in all its glory.

candyboximages.com

Is it possible to learn to swim in open waters in Moscow?

In general, it is believed that it is more difficult to teach an adult to swim from scratch than a child, because by this time he has already formed certain muscle and mental stereotypes. Therefore the most effective way learn to swim - find a swimming training group specifically for adults, or arrange with a coach for private lessons.

In a pool, compared to open water, it is psychologically more comfortable to train - you are constantly under the supervision of a professional and can clearly see the bottom. Plus, if you work out with a trainer, then from the very beginning you will be given correct technique and breathing, and learning these basics from scratch is easier than relearning.

And if the desire to learn open water swimming persists, keep in mind that in 2015 Rospotrebnadzor named several reservoirs in Moscow suitable for swimming: Troparevo, Black Lake, White Lake, Serebryany Bor - 2, Serebryany Bor - 3”, “Big City Pond”, “Levoberezhny”, “Beach Club” and “Meshcherskoye”.

How to become a swimmer from scratch

The easiest way for beginners to learn to swim is crawl. Then comes breaststroke and backstroke. And the most difficult event is butterfly; it will be better if an experienced coach shows you its technique.

After gaining confidence in the water and mastering all the styles, you will need to choose a specialization in style and distance. By the way, styles can be chosen according to your figure. Freestyle and spin swimmers are the tallest and lanky ones; breaststroke swimmers do not need to be tall, but for butterfly you will need a good muscle mass and pumped up abs.

Remember that before training you need to warm up properly: stretch your joints, warm up and stretch your muscles. Otherwise, you can easily get injured, which will take you out of your training regime for a long time.

If you want to make tangible progress, you should visit the pool no less three times per week. Only in this case does the body get used to regular loads and better retains acquired skills.

Try to treat your classes like a project - set measurable short- and long-term goals that you can achieve. Examples: “make a six-meter exit,” “learn a breathing cycle of three or five strokes,” “swim 200 meters without stopping.” In this case, you will have enough chances to congratulate yourself on the intermediate results and not lose enthusiasm.

The best way to check the results of your swims is in competition mode. Find out if your pool hosts an open championship for adults. If not, look in the neighboring pools or just google - in the same “Olympic” they organize amateur starts “My “Olympic” record”. To participate in the competition, you will need to swim a distance of 50 meters in any style and give yourself an A+ for your efforts.