Learning to swim

[Babw]

I’ve been saying it to friends and family for many years but I really need to learn to properly. I’m now 34 and would love to do some surfing but my lack of competence in the water is putting me off.

As a kid a bad experience put me off spending much time in water, in recent years I’ve happily jumped into water/sea and can swim across a pool however have no life saving skills such as treading water, floating on my back etc

I used to be embarrassed of it especially as I used to play other sports at a national level so when team mates were jumping off diving boards etc I was sitting it out but now I’m over it.

Would be happy to go for a week long course or even across and tie it in with a holiday.

Any recommendations for an exceptional coach or course?

[Challo]

Babw said:

I’ve been saying it to friends and family for many years but I really need to learn to properly. I’m now 34 and would love to do some surfing but my lack of competence in the water is putting me off.

As a kid a bad experience put me off spending much time in water, in recent years I’ve happily jumped into water/sea and can swim across a pool however have no life saving skills such as treading water, floating on my back etc

I used to be embarrassed of it especially as I used to play other sports at a national level so when team mates were jumping off diving boards etc I was sitting it out but now I’m over it.

Would be happy to go for a week long course or even across and tie it in with a holiday.

Any recommendations for an exceptional coach or course?

Would it not be better to find a local swimming coach to get the basics and confidence in the water?

[Panamax]

In many ways a good place to start as an adult is at one of the sports centres that have a lap pool. i.e. a swimming pool that's the same depth - about 4 ft - everywhere. In other words they're deep enough for swimming without your hands hitting the bottom but shallow enough that you can just stand up anywhere you like. This should make "confidence" much less of an issue.

[The Mad Monk]

This is obviously speculation bordering on madness, but I wonder if your local swimming pool do lessons?

[Salted_Peanut]

Finding a swimming teacher is easy, but it’s hard to find a good one.

I highly recommend seeing if there’s a Total Immersion coach within reach (scroll down to the United Kingdom section):

https://www.totalimmersion.net/get-coached/find-a-...

[MrsMiggins]

Salted_Peanut said:

Finding a swimming teacher is easy, but it’s hard to find a good one.

I highly recommend seeing if there’s a Total Immersion coach within reach (scroll down to the United Kingdom section):

https://www.totalimmersion.net/get-coached/find-a-...

This.

I returned to swimming in my 40s and had a rose-tinted idea of my capabilities. I remembered that when growing up I'd spend all day at the local pool every Saturday, so I must be a good swimmer, right? Wrong! All I ever really did at the pool with friends as a kid was dive/jump in, swim to the edge, climb out and repeat.

I found a local swimming teacher and did a short series of lessons which were enough to give me the confidence to start swimming lengths at the pool, but my technique was still really bad and as a result I was slow and tired easily.

I found Total Immersion on YouTube first then did a coaching day with them and the difference is huge. They are really good at breaking down the different elements of the stroke to allow you to work on each piece separately. When you get it right it feels amazing!

[NDA]

I have seen a few adults learn to swim by using a snorkel in a pool to begin with.

Stand in shallow end with face in water. Get comfortable with standing but breathing through the snorkel... no rush... then float forwards doing a slow breast stroke - head in water, breathing through snorkel. Stay in the shallow end... float around, head in water, breaststroking.

[BoRED S2upid]

Where in the country are you OP?

[Scabutz]

Babw said:

I’ve been saying it to friends and family for many years but I really need to learn to properly. I’m now 34 and would love to do some surfing but my lack of competence in the water is putting me off.

As a kid a bad experience put me off spending much time in water, in recent years I’ve happily jumped into water/sea and can swim across a pool however have no life saving skills such as treading water, floating on my back etc

I used to be embarrassed of it especially as I used to play other sports at a national level so when team mates were jumping off diving boards etc I was sitting it out but now I’m over it.

Would be happy to go for a week long course or even across and tie it in with a holiday.

Any recommendations for an exceptional coach or course?

Whereabouts are you based? I know a great coach who turned me from a practical non swimmer (I could throw a a stroke together and wouldnt drown if I fell off a boat, but couldnt do more than two lengths) to actually pretty bloody decent in a few lessons

[MrJuice]

Scabutz said:

Whereabouts are you based? I know a great coach who turned me from a practical non swimmer (I could throw a a stroke together and wouldnt drown if I fell off a boat, but couldnt do more than two lengths) to actually pretty bloody decent in a few lessons

do tell

I am in London and would love to be a competent swimmer from the novice that I am

[Salted_Peanut]

MrJuice said:

I am in London

James Ewert is in London Bridge. Several of my friends have trained with James, and they all raved about his coaching skills: http://www.twobeatkick.com/

And Susan Cheshire is in Woodford Green: https://www.susancheshire.co.uk/effortless-enduran...

[MrJuice]

Thank you

[generationx]

The Mad Monk said:

This is obviously speculation bordering on madness, but I wonder if your local swimming pool do lessons?