Which Style Should Be Taught First?

Breastroke

It is commonly believed that breaststroke is the easiest style of swimming to learn first. For this reason, it is often the first that is taught at sessions, to give people water confidence and an ability to enjoy and survive in the water. Breaststroke allows beginners to keep their head above the water level, which makes people more willing to try this stroke; they feel more at ease with breathing and visibility is clearer.

When practising breaststroke, both arms and legs are synchronised, making it easier to coordinate. It is also a slower paced swim, than other popular strokes, such as front crawl, meaning it is easier for a beginner to keep going for longer. However, the speed of the stroke, could be considered to be a shortcoming of the stroke.

One downside of learning breaststroke first, is that sometimes people are inclined not to learn other strokes, and therefore miss out on other, more efficient swimming methods.

Freestyle

One of the most popular swim styles around, is freestyle. Freestyle is a difficult style to master, due to the required lateral breathing and the overarm stroke action. However, freestyle is extremely fast and efficient. Due to the fact that freestyle is a relatively challenging style to master, it is believed that other strokes will be easy to learn after this, because coordination and breathing has already been mastered.

Location

It seems that depending on where you live in the world affects which style you are likely to be taught first. Typically, Australia and North America are taught freestyle as their primary style. However, Japan, Asia and here in Europe, breastroke is the most commonly taught style to novices. There are pros and cons to each, as you can see, however, there is no argument that learning to swim is an important skill to master.

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How To Deal With Fear Of Water

Research suggests that the younger generation are more likely than any other to date, to develop a fear of water, because of their lack of experience and confidence with swimming. Being scared of water limits fun time on holidays: playing in the sea and the pool, and also puts you at a high risk of drowning. Before you can learn to swim, you need to deal with your fear, which can be difficult, but not impossible.

Start Slowly

Despite the expression, there is no need to throw yourself in at the deep end. Instead, start gradually, by dangling your feet into the water, and then begin to go deeper when you feel ready. You can then build up to splashing your face whilst you are standing in the water, and eventually put your face into the water and begin to blow bubbles.

Be kind to yourself and be proud of each small achievement. Any fear is hard to conquer, but by encouraging yourself and pushing yourself gently, you can overcome anything. Just remember to take things slowly, this isn’t a rush, and any progress is good.

 Next

 Once you have become more comfortable with being immersed, you can practice holding onto the side of the pool and gently kicking your legs. Keep your breath even and your movements gentle to keep your heart rate and stress levels low.

You’re Not Alone

We all have fears and insecurities. You are not the only person who struggles to swim. Adam Peaty, the Rio 2016 Olympic Gold Medal Winner, used to be afraid of the water. He faced his fears and overcame this phobia, and ended up being a champion in a sport he could quite easily have never attempted.

 

So take that first step and remember, anything is possible.

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What Equipment is Essential to Learn Swimming?

Learning to swim is one of the most important skills we can have. Not only is swimming fun and a good form of low-impact exercise, knowing how to swim can save a life one day. For some, swimming comes naturally, but for others, swimming instruction is needed. There are a wide range of swimming lessons to choose from and it is best to choose the one that your child is comfortable with. Before they can even get in the water, there are some essentials they will need to make their swimming lessons more effective and to make them a better swimmer.

Starting with the basics and moving towards the more advanced, here is our list of equipment needed to learn swimming:

Swimsuit: a swimsuit is an obvious requirement for learning swimming and it should be designed in such a way as to make swimming easier and not create too much drag.

Swim cap: some public pools require swimmers to wear a swim cap so this is a good piece of gear to have. A swim cap can also be used to keep long hair out of the swimmer’s face while in the water.

Swimming Goggles: a good pair of swimming goggles can make learning how to swim easier and a lot more fun. The new swimmer will be more relaxed about going under water.

Kick board: swimmers learning the basics of most beginning swimming strokes can benefit from a kick board as it will help keep their upper body afloat while enabling them to practice their kicking. This is especially useful for more timid swimmers who need to build up some confidence.

Swim fins: swim fins can make new swimmers more efficient in the water and help them to learn certain strokes much easier. Short swim fins are best as they put less strain on the child’s legs.

Pull Buoys: Pull buoys are figure-eight shaped flotation devices made of foam that the swimmer puts between their legs. It provides enough buoyancy so that swimmers don’t need to do leg work and it is especially useful to teach arm motions.

     If your child is a new swimmer and would like to take swim lessons in Surrey, contact the Surrey Dolphins Swim Academy today.

 

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Why Should You Wear A Swimming Cap?

Swimming caps are sometimes optional, sometimes compulsory, depending on where you swim. Some pools make swim caps a must to protect pool filters from becoming clogged with hair. But if you have the option of wearing or not wearing a swimming cap, why should we opt to wear one?

 What Is A Swimming Cap?

 A swimming cap is a tightly fitted cap to be worn in the water by competitive and recreational swimmers. They are often made from silicone, latex or lycra, and referred to as swimming or bathing caps.

 What Are The Benefits?

 There are several reasons why people choose to wear swim caps. Some people like to try to keep their hair dry, and protect their hair from the chlorine or from the sun. This helps to keep hair healthy, especially for those who swim regularly.

 A swim cap can also help to keep a swimmer’s head warm on longer swim sessions, meaning the wearer will tire less because they conserve more energy as their body remains at an optimum temperature during exercise.

Competitive swimmers keep their hair in a cap to prevent the drag which long hair can cause. This drag can slow them down, so keeping hair out the way can help to rid of those extra vital seconds.

 One of the more common reasons for swim caps to be worn by children is to protect the ears. This can help to prevent ear infection, and prevent water getting into the ears, especially if worn with ear plugs.

Ultimately, it is up to you whether you choose to wear a swimming cap or not, unless the facilities specify. However, there certainly seem to be more pros for wearing one than not. So try some for size and see which cap takes your fancy.

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