Swimming advice

[user1465146157]

I'm trying to teach myself to swim as someone with a lifelong fear of deep water.

I've enrolled at a local pool and go alone once a week to literally paddle with my head above water in the shallow end - no idea how to go underneath.

I can't get to far without being exhausted which is odd as I'm a runner and have good stamina in other areas of exercise- other swimmers around me making it look so easy and elegant but i am quite awkward!

Trying my best though and really want to get better - I will invest in some proper adult lessons when I can but for now just want to get used to being in the water and not be scared.

I weirdly do enjoy it - does anyone have any tips on:

How to get over a fear like this
How to get from head above water to being under water without panicking
A technique to hold breath? I can't actually figure out how to get that right?
How to elegantly stop swimming and putting feet on the ground without grabbing the edge for support

Thanks!

Buy a large float and practice kicking with the float, front and back, try and focus on having a streamlined body position

hold onto the side and duck your head under and progress from this to fully submerging

don’t hold your breath, exhale slowly instead …. We tell kids to blow your bubbles!

The stamina - if someone was a strong swimmer and asked you why they got exhausted so quickly when they started running you would tell them to take it slow while they developed the muscle and techniques, because it's different. It's the same this way round. You won't be very efficient at the moment either because you don't know how.

Keep practicing, you'll get accustomed to it and hopefully the fear will pass. Do you have goggles? I find its more comfortable without water in the eyes.

Yes I understand where you’re coming from. Try to relax in the water this will help your breathing. I self taught myself front crawl when I was 50 after breast stroke for years. Using floats was really helpful especially a pull buoy, goggles, swim hat and nose clip made a huge difference too. Swim slowly too and regular practice. Chat to others in the pool. I’m so excited about swimming as I have not been able to swim since COVID as the council shut our local pool. However, we now have a brand new leisure centre and I’m loving the swimming. Stick with it 👍🏻

Do you know how to float on your back? I think finding your balance in water with feet up is a great skill. If you take a big breath in and hold it, you will be buoyant, try lifting your feet up and just bobbing about to build your confidence. The other thing to do is just splash water on your face to get used to the feel of it. Get some goggles and progress to sticking your face in. Basically, just have fun with it.

The hardest skill in swimming is timing breathing.
With running, you'll have good aerobic fitness and you'll be used to managing your breath to some extent which will help when that time comes.

Children's lessons do a lot of blowing bubbles in the early years/ stages. Mine often had a "game" of blowing a floating toy on the surface of the water; there was a two-coloured one that would flip with the right level of breath control. This is all preparation for breathing with a stroke.

You need to get comfortable getting your face wet, then placing your face in the water and breathing out. This can be done with feet on the ground.

Noodles are good for getting comfortable with floating as they hold the body in appropriate positions.
For breast stroke you lift your head up to breathe. For front crawl you turn your face sideways and breathe under your arm. For both you can blow out while your face is still in the water.

Have a look on youtube for videos.

If you go to a public pool, many have adult lessons, often with an instructor in the water as many adults struggle with water confidence to get started.
I learnt at adult lessons as an older teenager and a year later, could swim a mile.

Agree with PP that swimming all about managing the breathing. OP's questions are more basic than that, though, imho.

How to get over a fear like this
Just keep going, prove to yourself you can be in the water safely.

How to get from head above water to being under water without panicking
Swimming lesson will teach you the breathing (basically slowly blow out bubbles while head is under water) but there can be more to it than that, some people still try to breathe thru nose while blowing bubbles.

A technique to hold breath? I can't actually figure out how to get that right?
Blow bubbles, but basically swim teacher will see your level & explain what to do.

How to elegantly stop swimming and putting feet on the ground without grabbing the edge for support
sounds like you'd get there with more time in pool, I wouldn't focus on this.

This might sound odd, but can you float well? When someone learns to swim the vast majority of their energy is spent trying to keep at the surface of the water, rather than moving forwards - it that makes sense, once you can float easily you're in a much better space to work on your stroke skills.

And just to add, good for you! My friend took adult swimming lessons in her early 30s and then moved to a stroke skills class afterwards. ten years down the line she does regular triathlons, it's been so great to see.

There are specialist swimming instructors that teach adult non swimmers with a fear of the water so you could ask at your local pool for recommendations?

I’m in Ireland and have a friend who is extremely well qualified and experienced who does this and she’s teaches loads of adults to swim. We live on the coast so swimming is viewed as a necessity here.

She also taught my dyspraxic teenage son to swim and he’s a really good swimmer now. 😊

Swimming is absolutely knackering if you haven't got the technique right. Could you invest in a few 1 on 1 sessions to teach technique? My DP was a v fearful swimmer and found 1 on 1 sessions specifically for anxious swimmers v helpful.
For now you could just focus on being comfortable in the water, maybe practice floating and breath holding as well as releasing breath underwater.

What @unsync said, basically. Slow and steady. Just get used to putting your face in. Goggles help because you can keep your eyes open.

Two things - agree that if you can float it helps. Floating helps you « trust » that the water will hold you up. Let go of the side, lean back, and crucially, let your head sink back so the water is over your ears and keep your hips up so your bum isn’t making your body a V shape. Pop your toes up so you can see them on the surface. « Lean back » into the water, and you should float. Breathe gently in and out. You will need to move your arms and legs just a bit to keep afloat but you’ll soon get the hang of it. (The RNLI have « float to live » videos, they are meant for open water situations, but the physics is the same). Do this in the shallow end and you can put your feet down again whenever you want. If you can crack this, I think it’s really important because your mind now knows that if you stop swimming you won’t sink, you can float.

Secondly - as others have said, breathing is key. I find a lot in common with meditation and yoga. Try a meditation app where you just breathe in and out, with a longer out breath. Get used to controlling the length of the breath. Then you can have a go underwater.

Good luck!