The most common swimming techniques

Swimming is fun, healthy, and it certainly improves your lifestyle and mental health. Those who have experience surely know how great it feels to get in the pool, swim using your favourite technique and enjoy the way your body behaves in the water. Those who are beginners and want to learn to swim, have an amazing opportunity to get started with the help of a fully qualified swimming instructor to learn the most common swimming techniques.

Private adult swimming lessons in London are a great choice for everyone, regardless of experience. A great teacher can adjust his lessons to suit each student’s swimming level. The main goal of these private adult swimming lessons in London is to teach you how to swim and how to be confident in the water. Don’t be afraid if you’re scared of water! In the right hands you will be able to overcome this fear and see how great and brave you are.

Before you learn the the most common swimming techniques

The first level consists of getting used to entering and exiting the water, in a safe manner, while also working on your confidence. You will have to learn how to put your face in the water and how to float on your front and back. Don’t worry, if you have just started, you will get a flotation device, since safety is the most important thing. When you are ready, you can go to the next level and try jumping in the water, blowing bubbles through your mouth and nose, and move forward and backwards, short distances in the beginning. If you feel confident enough, you and your individual swimming teacher can go further and work on rolling on your front and back underwater.

We understand that, for someone who is afraid of water or does not have experience, this can be scary. That is why we recommend that these lessons be taken in your own swimming pool, or using your residential pool. It’s certain that both children and adults will feel safer in their own environment, and will be able to perform better if they are learning to swim in a pool that is familiar to them.  You will probably feel safer learning to kick properly for front crawl or backstroke.

What are the most common swimming technique that are worth learning?

After a few sessions (depending on each individual’s learning curve), you can go ahead with your instructor and learn a few specific techniques, that are more advanced. Thus, you will see how great you are so far, since you achieved this level.  Let’s see which are the most common swimming techniques:

 

• Front crawl / Freestyle

This is certainly the fastest of these swimming techniques, and is done in a horizontal position with your face down. It is important to move your arms continuously, and try to recover your other arm above water while one arm pulls from an extended position toward the hip. In the meantime, your legs will do the so-called „flutter kick,” meaning that you move them in a quick and compact way, up and down. Learning to breathe properly is not an easy job, especially for beginners, but if you are taught well in the beginning, you won’t have any problems later. The swimmers need to turn their head sideways when they recover their other arm, until the mouth reaches the surface of the water.

• Backstroke

This is the only competitive swimming technique that is swum on the back, hence, you have the advantage of easy breathing. First, the student lies flat on the back with the arms stretched and extended fingertips. It’s important to know that in this technique, the arms are your best source for forward movement and there are two main parts of this: firstly, the power phase, and secondly, the recovery. With a great swimming teacher, you can be sure that you are taught these well and you can implement these techniques properly. The backstroke is the only technique with which you start from the water, facing the wall and grabbing part of it. It is worth learning this technique, since it is considered many people’s favourite. During your private adult swimming lessons in London you can perfect this style.

• Breaststroke

When it comes to one of the most popular swimming techniques, breaststroke is certainly one of them. The main idea here is that your body goes from a horizontal position to a more inclined one. This all happens very fast, during the arm recovery phase. If, during front crawl you move your arms alternately, in this case the movements are simoultaneous and symmetrical, and the legs are using the symmetrical whip kick. Breathing is, again, very important, and it happens at the end of the underwater arm pull. More specifically, when the swimmer’s hands move below the chest.

This technique is the beginners’ favourite, due to allowing you to keep your head above water. It is worth knowing though, that keeping your head out of the water all the time is not good for your neck and it can cause injuries. That is why you should work with someone who can teach you every technique correctly, from the very beginning.

• Butterfly Stroke

This one is quite exhausting, that is why you will need an experienced swimming teacher to learn it correctly. In the case of the butterfly stroke, your body is making wave-like movements, with your chest and hips taking turns in moving up and down. The arms move symmetrically, leaving the water at the hips and circling forward sideways above the water. The butterfly requires strong muscles and good technique as well. Breathing can occur only in a short window, ideally synchronizing the breathing with the undulation of the body. Before trying this technique, remember this: the butterfly stroke is pretty difficult if your core is not engaged, and in order to make this kind of swimming techniques easier, you will need to learn the correct timing and body movement.

Summary of “The most common swimming techniques”

In order to start your lessons, all you have to do is find a private swimming instructor who will be there for you from the beginning and who is willing to teach you these techniques in your own swimming pool. Not only is this more convenient for the students, but also less time-consuming.

Regardless of age and gender, a good swimming teacher can handle each student with care and can boost their performance and self-confidence. Don’t be afraid, there is no deadline for learning these techniques! Adam knows that everyone has their own learning curve, and this is perfectly normal. For professional and private adult swimming lessons in London feel free to reach out to Adam. If you’re looking for swimming lessons for babies or children, you can also count on him.