Whatever your skill level, there are always ways to improve your skills in the water. Whether your goal of swimming is for fun, exercise, or just out of necessity, learning how to swim better will help you maximize movement by leaning your body, strengthening muscles, and making use of swimming equipment. Knowing how to swim to the best of your ability is very important, for example, in case of an emergency and so that you avoid doing a "rock style" swim in front of your friends in the pool during the holiday season.
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Method 1 of 5: Becoming a Better Swimmer (Beginner)
Step 1. Ask a friend for help
Being in the water with friends can make you feel good. He can remind you what to do. He can hold you in certain positions while you get used to the water.
Step 2. Take a swimming course
Whether you are a child or an adult, there is always a swimming class for you. Having people around to teach you can ease any tension or fear you may be feeling. Having a weekly schedule at the pool will encourage you to feel responsible for the learning process.
Step 3. Get used to being in the water
Learning how your body moves and getting used to being in the water is very important. Our bodies are not conditioned for this, but once you get used to it, water can provide a comfortable and soothing feeling.
- Start at the shallow end of the pool and start by moving your hands and arms around you.
- Push the water with your hands to feel the resistance of the water. Cup hands and pull through the water (paddle). It is this pressure you feel that will help propel you through the water smoothly.
- Bend your legs and let the water reach your chin. Keep moving your hands and arms. Even when you're starting to learn to paddle, start each training session this way.
Step 4. Blow air bubbles
The most important (and scariest) part of swimming is learning to breathe. But once you learn how to exhale underwater, you get closer to your goal of swimming more efficiently and gracefully.
- Extend your arms forward and hold on to the edge of the pool at the shallow end.
- Dip your face into the water and exhale. When you're done, turn your head to the side and inhale.
- Put your face back in the water and exhale. Try to produce a long, steady stream of air bubbles.
- Repeat until you feel comfortable. Exhaling underwater while timing your inhale may seem daunting at first, but if you keep practicing, you'll soon be ready to learn some basic hand strokes.
Step 5. Learn how to float
Floating may sound easy, but it's actually hard to learn, let alone master. In an emergency, knowing how to float can save valuable labor and possibly save your life. Take time to practice body positions. Learn how to float on your back and stomach.
- Relax your body. You have to relax. When learning to float on your back, look up at the sky or the ceiling and take deep breaths. Fill air into your lungs with each breath you take. Hold your breath for a moment and let the sensation of weightlessness on the water soothe you.
- Extend your arms up if your feet sink. This movement will act as a counterweight, pushing your feet up.
- Ask a friend for help. Having a companion close to you with a soothing hand on your lower back can significantly relieve tension.
- Tighten your abdominal muscles. Engaging your abdominal muscles will help you keep the rest of your body afloat more easily.
- Float in a prone position. Let your arms limp and free. Lift your head or tilt it to the side when you need to inhale.
Step 6. Walk in the water
Walking in the water can help you catch your breath and keep your head above the water's surface without actually swimming. Practice this skill in the deep with a friend.
- Move your legs like an “egg beater”. Start by bending your knees while the distance between your legs is slightly wider than your hips. Then move both legs in opposite directions. Try to do kicks that are relaxed and calm.
- Cup your hands and move them in a circle to form a medium-sized infinity symbol (about a meter in total). If you want to lift your torso higher, do more powerful kicks with your legs and arms to propel yourself above the wave.
Step 7. Practice kicking
This is a great way to separate the pedals before you put them all together.
- Hold on to the edge of the pool. Dip your face into the water and stretch your body straight.
- Rotate the leg just a little. Start doing small kicks. Try to keep your kicks small and efficient, don't let them come to the surface. Both legs should bend, but only slightly. This is called a flick kick.
- Practice freestyle. This style is also known as freestyle. Remove one arm from the water so that it reaches forward. Bring it back into the water with your hands slightly cupped, then pull your arm through the water. As you pull the water down, your hand stroke will naturally end at your hips. Alternate with the other arm.
Step 8. Learn other styles
As your skills develop, pay attention to other people and imitate what they do. But most importantly, have fun in the water and let the resistance of the water make you a stronger and more graceful swimmer.
Method 2 of 5: Becoming a Better Swimmer (Intermediate)
Step 1. Swim all year round
Join a fitness center that provides lap pool facilities (at least 25 meters). Swimming all year round will increase your strength, endurance and stamina. Apart from that, you can also get in touch with people who are doing the same thing and they can provide support for your efforts.
Step 2. Join a swim club
If you don't have anyone to chat with at the pool, swimming can feel like a chore, done alone. Joining other swimmers can be profitable for you because you get training for free. Or at least, you'll make friends with people who share the dream of becoming a better swimmer. This will foster a sense of responsibility, something that will really help when you have to force yourself out of bed at five in the morning.
Step 3. Join a swimming team or attend a special swimming class such as a stroke clinic
Both offer excellent opportunities for all swimmers to receive technical assistance for each stroke in all styles of swimming. They can also be great places to meet fellow swimmers who will help support your goal of becoming a better swimmer.
Step 4. Learn your swimming style
There are four basic strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) and try to learn them all. While everyone will have a favorite style, mastering all of them will make swimming a challenging and interesting activity.
- When you apply all the swimming strokes, you use more muscle. Your body will get a better workout. You will see and feel faster results if you use all four styles.
- The risk of injury while swimming also decreases because you don't always overload the same muscles with the same movements. That way, the muscles will be more balanced.
- The skills you learn from one style are transferred to skills for a different style. For example, the underwater twisting motion you use when you kick the wall into a breaststroke can be converted into the underwater twisting motion you'll use when starting the backstroke.
Step 5. Learn the flip turn technique
Adding the rewind skill can eliminate the stop-and-start-again lag at the end of each round. You will become a better long-distance swimmer by applying this maneuver. You also save energy when you push yourself off the wall, while pushing yourself into a good position to start your stroke. It's also a great way to see where your opponent is.
- Working your core muscles as you learn this skill will help you perfect the technical aspects of the twist. This skill requires a full somersault, arching the torso, then straightening it quickly.
- Keep your chin down while doing a freestyle twist. Start the loop at about an arm's length from the wall. You will start doing somersaults or “flips”. Your chin should be pulled toward your chest. Your knees should also be pulled toward your chest. Step against the wall and twist your torso. Bring your hands together and streamline your body as you push yourself off the wall.
- As you perform a breaststroke, about a meter from the wall, roll forward with your outstretched arm extended. Turn your head so your body will naturally follow. Try to keep the hand in front of you outstretched and turn around. Push yourself off the wall.
Step 6. Find and register for swimming courses, classes, clinics and competitions in your area of residence
Search the internet to see what's on offer. Look for specifications that are above your proficiency level. Challenge yourself!
Step 7. Do swimming exercises and record your time
Exercise will help you focus on the clock and time of the swim. All of these exercises allow you to use what you've been practicing (like your hand stroke) and immediately apply it to your regular swimming habits.
- Do a “catch up” as you swim freestyle. The catch up exercise is a classic way to improve your freestyle stroke. The goal of the catch up is to smoothen and extend your stroke. One hand is always extended forward throughout the swimming session, and wait until the hand that is pedaling “catch up” (catch up) the other hand.
- For more interesting swimming exercises, ask other swimmers, or search the internet for information. There are lots of fun suggestions to keep your workout interesting.
- Challenge yourself by setting a goal in meters that you must complete each week. A goal of 2000 meters per workout (about 40 long runs) is a good start. Your goal is to become a better swimmer and nothing can improve your swimming skills more than swimming more.
Step 8. Learn how to calculate your time
Watching the clock will help you know how efficient you are when you are in the water. If you're doing the exercise in sets, make sure you keep track of the times (for example, four-minute and fifty-second interval training with ten-second breaks between subsequent sets).
Step 9. Swim as often as possible
As distance and speed increase, your technique will improve significantly. Set new goals when you leave old ones!
Step 10. Take part in local swimming meetings
Through the swimming community, there are many opportunities to compete in swimming pools, even if you are an adult. Competing is a way to boost your swimming skills by giving it a new focus that has been set.
Method 3 of 5: Becoming a Better Swimmer (Advanced)
Step 1. Find a trainer
Having someone who can monitor your swimming motion, breathing, and technique is a powerful way to gain a new perspective on how you approach your swimming style. A good coach standing on the pool deck and briefing a group of swimmers is the best way to improve overall swimming performance.
If you can't find a trainer, ask a partner whose swimming technique you admire to observe your practice
Step 2. Record your progress
As well as a coach, keeping track of your progress is a good way to get perspective on how you're moving across the water. You'll see bad habits you may not even be aware of, as well as strengths you can improve on.
Step 3. Find a balance between long and short strokes
Long strokes are good; You use good thrust, low resistance, and glide. Short strokes are also good, but you can waste energy if you use strokes that are too short and irregular.
- Calculate your movement speed. This is an important aspect to know because this information will allow you to make the necessary changes to your stroke so that you can improve your swimming style.
- Ask a friend or coach to calculate the time it takes you to do ten strokes using a stopwatch, not including diving or pushing off walls, just normal swimming movements. Count the number of strokes you make in ten seconds. This is your pedaling speed. Adjust the stroke if needed.
Step 4. Look for long-distance swimming in the area where you live
A long-distance swimming event is any swimming activity that covers a distance of more than 1508 meters. It can also be set by time, for example an hour or so and can be held in any pool or body of water.
Long-distance swimming is a great way to focus your skills on training to participate in fun events. Sign up with friends and make the event a weekend getaway
Method 4 of 5: Getting Equipment to Become a Better Swimmer
Step 1. Wear comfortable swimming goggles
Swimming goggles will protect your eyes from chlorine sting. Once you get used to it, you'll discover a new way of looking at the world.
- Buy swimming goggles that don't pinch your nose. Good swimming goggles should be comfortable, but not clamping.
- Press the glasses to your face. If they stick around your eyes, that's a good sign that they won't leak when you're in the water.
Step 2. Buy a swimming cap
The cap will protect your hair from chlorine damage and keep it from covering your face when you swim. Most importantly, a swim cap makes you more hydrodynamic in the water.
- Latex caps provide better protection against chlorine, but are difficult to put on and take off. Sprinkling a little talcum in the hat before you put it on while drying it can help. Do not use if you are allergic to latex.
- The most popular swimming caps are made of silicone, although they are a little more expensive. This type of hat is usually worn by people with medium to long hair. This hat protects hair well against water and is still flexible enough to put on and take off. However, this type of hat is easier to remove from the head.
- Lycra swim caps are more comfortable and more durable than silicone or latex caps. However, these hats are not waterproof, and tend to fall off the most when swimming.
- A neoprene swim cap is great for keeping your head warm in cold water. These hats are thicker, have stitches, and often give off a certain odor. However, this hat is perfect if you are swimming outdoors such as in rivers, lakes, or reservoirs.
Step 3. Buy a flipper (frog leg)
Using frog legs will improve body position and swimming technique. Most importantly, frog legs can be used to amplify kicks so you can better propel your body through the water. This boost will give you time to focus on your stroke technique.
- Using the frog's legs will give you the sensation of fast cutting through the water. Keep this sensation in mind and try to imitate it as you release your frog's leg.
- Kicking efficiently will stand out even more when using the frog's legs, especially if you have a cross kick. The frog's feet will force your feet to maintain the correct distance. In addition, frog legs will help increase ankle flexibility by streamlining the position of the legs.
Step 4. Buy the right swimwear
This is the number one indicator of your commitment to swimming. Gone are the bikinis and frills; all that remains is fit and efficiency. The best thing is to think about your goals. Will you be spending a lot of time at the pool every day or only a few times a week?
- Buy clothes made of polyester blend if you are going to be spending a lot of time in the water. If cared for properly, these swimsuits can last for years.
- Buy a lycra swimsuit if you're not going to swim every day. This type of clothing is soft, comfortable, and known for its high degree of flexibility. However, keep in mind that no ingredient is immune to chlorine so don't forget to pay attention to the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
Step 5. Buy a thigh float and a surfboard
Both are designed to isolate the arms and legs so you can further strengthen your technique. While this equipment isn't strictly necessary (you can achieve the same effect by bringing your hands together and focusing only on your leg kicks, or by bringing your legs together and focusing only on your stroke), both types of equipment are great for supporting your arms and legs. your limbs as you move through the water.
Thigh floats and surfboards will be helpful resources if you have an injury. You can continue to train and rest your injured body part at the same time
Method 5 of 5: Exercise Outside the Pool
Step 1. Focus on the muscular endurance needed to swim
Exercises for the upper body that involve the back, biceps, shoulders, and triceps that will build resistance with strength should be emphasized. However, high-rep resistance training is required for the legs. Combining maximum pull-up repetitions and resting with a kick kick can increase endurance.
Step 2. Use the weight room
Bent over rows and bicep curls and triceps, abs, and lower back isolation exercises are great exercises for your swimming muscles.
This exercise should be done with moderate weights and high repetitions (15 – 20 per set)
Step 3. Take advantage of the rubber band (rubber rope)
Tie a rope to a tree or doorknob. Let rubber's natural resistance train you in the same way water resistance does.
Make sure you tie the rope to something really stable. A sudden jolt from a broken object can cause injury
Step 4. Run, bike, dance, use an elliptical or stair machine
Engaging in cardiovascular activity will always help with your overall health, and staying physically active will help keep your body alert the next time you throw yourself in the water.
Tips
- The only reason you can hold your breath for about 10 seconds is because your brain is warning you of danger! But in reality you can hold your breath for more than a minute. When you're underwater don't think about holding your breath, think about something uplifting like a long vacation or family or anything else that will help.
- Get certified in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or BLS (basic life support). Having skills in emergency care is great for knowing just in case something goes wrong while in the water.
- Use a surfboard, life jacket, or life jacket if you're feeling daunted by your first experience in the water.
- Drink a lot. Have a water bottle near you. Swimming is a strenuous exercise so don't forget to drink water!
