We have been amazed since opening in May 2023 how many adults we have seen that can't swim. It is a skill we assume everyone has learnt at some point in their childhood but there are so many people out there who: 1) Never had the opportunity or lived somewhere without a pool such as Laurencekirk 2) Main carer was scared of the water- children learn all about staying safe from our parents/carers, if they have a fear of the water their children will adopt that fear.
3) Have learnt to swim but had a water based incident which has led to them not going back in the water.
4) Have had lessons but never fully gained the skills or confidence to enjoy the water and go swimming.
Believe it or not I didn't have lessons as a child. My dad took us swimming every week and we learnt how to float and move a bit through the water by playing and mucking about. A lifeguard persuaded me to try and swim a width without stopping and after I managed that I joined the local swim club (InCAS in Inverkeithing). The coaches there taught me how to swim better but how I wish I had proper lessons with good technique this would have saved me a lot of shoulder issues and I would have been much, much faster!!!
My sister had the same weekly family trips to the pool but was pushed in the deep end aged around 8 and has been fearful of the water since. That small difference in our experiences with water led to me being a club swimmer as a child and teenager, working as a lifeguard and swim instructor through Uni, taking my son regularly to the pool in my 30's, trying and loving open water swimming in my 40's and setting up a swim business in my 50's. My sister on the other hand has had very little to do with the water apart from a short dip and float on holiday. You can come anytime for lessons big sis!!! Fear of being in water is normal for a land based mammal! The primal/survival part of the brain quite rightly is not happy if we're in water as we can't breathe. An untrained brain not used to being in water will then sabotage the body/brain to try and get the person out of this perceived dangerous environment. The brain is flooded with neurotransmitters to invoke fear and anxiety leading to raised heart rate, increased breathing rate and thoracic (chest) breathing. Basically your brain is getting your body for fight, flight or fight and it's a very uncomfortable feeling.
We recommend NLP/Hypnotherapy with Mandy at Nu-Yu Health and Mind before the first pool session which can greatly reduce fear and anxiety and result in quicker progress and less lessons needed.
Choosing an Instructor
Group lessons can be a fun social way to learn to swim and works well for adults who are comfortable being in the water. 1:1 lessons generally leads to quicker results and are better suited for adults with fear/anxiety of the water.
Choose an instructor who is obviously qualified and has experience of teaching adults. You can ask to view a class or session before you commit to paying for lessons.
A good instructor will:
1) Work on calming the nervous system first before even entering the water. Learning calm breathing techniques is essential to staying in 'rest and digest' state and well away from 'fight or flight'. Only then can the brain be in a state to focus and learn new skills 2) Allow the client to lead the pace of the lesson- it takes time for the body and brain to learn how it feels to be and move in the water. Learn to Swim (LTS) Adults have not had the opportunity as a child to learn about the water through hours of play. We encourage our LTS adults to walk, run, jump, bunny hop and move about in the water to feel how it affects the body movements and also supports the body.
=3) Teach how to float and stand up first- this is essential to have control of your body in the water. Many instructors just assume everyone is able to stand up in the water because it's so easy for them. Regaining your feet from floating on the front and back is a skill that takes time and practice to learn. I've seen the enormous difference in a person's confidence and utter relief once they know they can get their feet back on the ground if they 'float off'.
=3) Teach how to put the face in the water and submerge. This is equally as important as learning to float and stand up. The key is tricking the brain into thinking it's breathing underwater. This is such a simple thing to learn but often overlooked in swim lessons. There are obviously two part to breathing the in breath/inhale and the out breath/exhale. We obviously can't breathe in underwater but we can definitely learn to breathe out. Learning to slowly exhale out through the nose while underwater has many benefits- it keeps the nervous system calm, allows the brain/body to focus and learn, allows submersion for longer, reduces the time needed to inhale when swimming. Holding your breath underwater results in the brain solely focused in where and when the next breath is coming. We always look at what a person is doing breathe wise in the water and often find swimmers of all levels have never been taught how to breathe out. 4) Teach survival swimming first. What counts as being able to swim? Many people think it's moving the arms and legs to get through the water. I believe its the ability of a person to get from through the water in a controlled, calm way. This is a simple as floating on the back or front with a gentle leg movement. Once this is learnt then I'm confident a person can survive an accidental fall into deep water and get to safety. 5) Allow the adults to choose the stroke they want to learn.
What's the best stroke to learn? This is a difficult question to answer- many people that come to us expect they will be taught breaststroke. However breaststroke needs to be taught and learnt well with the head going into the water to ensure no neck or back issues. In my experience front crawl is actually easier to learn and results in a faster ,stronger, less tiring stroke which can be swum for much longer that breaststroke (have you seen the size of Adam Peaty- good breaststroke requires a lot of energy!!). Plus front crawl in my experience seems to be easier to learn for complete beginners.
5) Allow the adult to take their time and get in the pool regularly. This is a new skill- as adults we rarely get it our comfort zone and learn something completely new. When we do we are usually impatient, hard on ourselves and our progress and very critical when we 'get it wrong'. I ask all our LTS adults to treat themselves as they would a 5 year old child. Allow yourself to learn at your own pace, accept practice includes lots of attempts before a skill is accomplished, be your own cheerleader- just getting in a pool is a huge achievement!
That's why we offer weekly 30 min swim lessons to adults just as we teach children. It takes time for the body and brain to learn being and moving in the water which is such a different environment to gravity and grounded movement on land.
6) Are in the water the whole lesson. LTD Adults need and learn better with aninstructor right next to them in the water (just like you would be with your own children). A good instructor is there to support physically, emotionally and teach the skills required to enjoy the water and swim. We offer regular 30 min sessions to Water Confidence and Learn to Swim Adults click here for more information. Email or WhatsApp/text to arrange a chat or book a trial session. hello@blueskyswimstudio.co.uk
07779900368
We recommend NLP or Hypnotherapy before the first pool session for water phobics and water anxiety. This can significantly improve progress and reduce the numbers of swim lessons required. Contact Mandy @ Nu-Yu Health and Mind
Jacquie
Swim Mastery Coach and Instructor
@Blue Sky Swim Studio
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