Can anyone swim on here?

[Benny91]

As I’m 32 years old and cannot swim, (I only can swim 2 meters in the shallow end of a pool, with front crawl only) I can’t because when I was younger I suffered with severe eczema (due to the chlorine) and that made me not want to swim. However, I’m attending a swimming lesson for the first time since I was 11, so I’m obviously nervous! 😬

My MIL learned to drive and swim at 40. Both have changed her life! Good luck with your lessons! 🏊🏻‍♀️

I can, as I used to compete at national
level.
It definitely isn’t too late to learn. My local pool does beginner classes for adults. My friend’s DH did those lessons, and picked it up really quickly.

IMO it’s an essential skill. People say starting them really young is waste of money, but I have found that to be the total opposite. My 4 year old DD can swim 10m unaided, and if she fell in a pool, I am confident she could likely swim her way out (not that she is ever around water unsupervised, but were she to slip and fall in, it is a relief knowing she wouldn’t sink immediately). It is a safety skill above anything else.
On another note, it also makes swimming a very enjoyable experience for us all knowing we can all do it.

Good for you and good luck with your lessons!

I'll never break any swimming speed records but the best part of being able to swim, for me, is being able to just float / tread water out of my depth and still feel safe. Very relaxing.

I think some of the people who've replied on this thread could do with chilling out in the pool for a bit; just posting dickish replies for the fun of it 🙄

I was a really nervous swimmer as a child, so couldn't really swim at all into adulthood.

Late 20s I started to mess about in a pool again on holiday. A year or two later I can do lengths in breast stroke or backstroke. I'm not the fastest but I've got good (for an unfit novice) stamina and can easily swim 5km in a pool.

I love it, and i so highly recommend it. Nothing beats the lovely free feeling of floating along. It's also a relief that I'm not passing on my own anxieties to my children, like my parents did to me.

Nope! I can swim as well as a brick!

I'm 54, was determined my DC would learn as babies, they did. I'm still the brick!

I can’t really swim. When I had my first swimming lesson as a child, my skin broke out in hives and I got really wheezy. The GP suspected chlorine sensitivity so I didn’t go back in the pool again.

I go in the sea for a paddle and have been okay in some swimming pools abroad which are freshwater but even helping DS get changed after swimming would make my hands itch like crazy so I guess I still have the sensitivity to some extent.,

Yes I can, I had lessons as a young child. I was also born in a hot country so all of my baby pictures are of me in a pool.
I can also lay completely still on water and float for as long as I want without moving a muscle.
However, I can't sink. My family rib me mercilessly when I'm trying to sink but bobbing straight back up.

This is brilliant, OP! Well done on biting the bullet and doing this.
My Mum can't really swim. She tried to learn in her 20s, and could do a length breast stroke in those days, but lost her confidence. She tried really hard with my siblings and I, and took us regularly, trying to ensure her nervousness didn't rub off on us. My sister and I ended up swimming competitively until we went to Uni; my brother manages.

I'm now working hard with Mum, at 77, to see if she can get her confidence back. Just getting the breathing right is a massive part of it - she likes to hold her breath for as long as possible!!

Trying to make it fun is a massive part of it, and honestly, the sense of freedom you will feel when you can do it, and have the confidence. Best of luck with the lessons.

I also do that floating completely still thing! Very few people can, apparently. I once was floating in the pool like that, eyes closed, having a lovely time, and a lifeguard jumped in to 'save' me, because they thought I'd fallen asleep. 😂

Good luck!! I did adult swimming classes years ago and it was life changing and everyone was so friendly! ❤️

Jolly Jim who taught me used to say that backstroke was the easiest to learn, as your face is out of the water. The same is true of "life saving leg kick".

Well done! I can barely swim.
Never wanted to and absolutely hate swimming pools /beach.

Keep going. Swimming is wonderful. My mum learnt to swim in her 60s, after taking lessons at an outdoor lido.

I grew up in a hot country so I could swim very well from very young. I don't know how though as both my parents were very bad, Dad swam both vertically and with a really aggressive sidestroke 🤣

I have two children one is like me and could swim and dive very well from about 3. The other, hopeless, just awful no matter how much I taught him or paid others to teach him.

It's not for everyone but as you're interested and already swimming a little I suspect that you have an inner fish waiting to get out.

Don't be afraid to dip your head and face in the water. Good luck! It's a great sense of freedom, once you can swirl around and float.

Fair play for giving it a go. Late 30's and can't. Had about 4 hours of lessons and then covid shut everything. Now I've moved away and all the lessons here locally are during the working day when I'm obviously working.

Frustrates me as I had grommits as a kid so wasn't allowed to go. Missed the school lessons for the same reason. Then when I was old enough to finally start my parents couldn't afford lessons for me. I lived with a qualified lifeguard as a student I really should have taken up her offer to teach me when I had so much free time.

Why wouldn't you be able to avoid swimming if you live in the UK.

Good luck OP, it is an important skill to have and I hope you enjoy your lessons

Good for you, OP. My father learned when he was in his 60s. It’s never too late!

I taught my husband when he was in his late 30’s . Since then we have been scuba diving for 25 years. Go for it !!!

Go for it! Swimming is fab. Also you never stop learning, i swim a lot and still see technique from other swimmers that I try, stretching exercises in the water, ways of training, I am 50 and really love it.

Well done OP! I hope it goes really well. My mum learned in her 30s. It's brilliant you're doing it now.

Well done! My other half learned when we got together so that we could swim together. He could just about do a length then and has recently completed a 10k open water swim. It does take time and persistence but will definitely be worth it and it’s an amazing form of exercise.

Edited to add: My husband didn’t have formal lessons. I gave him a couple of lessons to start him off then he just used YouTube videos and swam most days. He still uses YouTube for tutorials on technique. Also, let us know how you get on!

I can swim but I am not a strong swimmer. I had lessons as a child but I can really only do breast stroke and very slowly. I do like swimming and wish I could do it more often. My husband grew up by the sea and is very good swimmer (compared to me). Living on a island swimming is important even if you are not near the coast. Good on you for learning.

Well done. You'll be swimming like a fish soon! Everyone should know how to swim, it's a life skill.