How to swim

Swimming is a skill that some people find harder than others. For sure, there are natural swimmers who simply manage to get in the water and away they go! However, if you want to swim properly, perhaps even work towards competing in triathlon events, you'll need to focus on strength, endurance, and of course, technique. The good news is that swimming ability can be learnt.

The First Strokes

Before you even get into the water, you need to understand safety. As a beginner, never attempt to learn to swim alone. You should always be in the presence of an experienced swimmer, be it a family member, lifeguard, or an instructor. That will also help you to feel more comfortable as you're learning.

Next, practice holding your breath. Becoming comfortable with controlling your breathing will help you to feel calmer in the water and not panic. Simply inhale as much as you can and then hold your breath. Try to wait as long as you can before you exhale, but not to the point where you feel desperate to take another breath. Practice makes perfect!

The next step is getting into the water and floating in shallow water. Ask someone to help support you as you start learning how to float as it will help you to feel calmer. You need to try and lay as flat on the surface of the water as possible, on your back. However, you need to relax! The stiffer you are or the more concerned you are about going under, the more likely you are to do so. Relax and your body will naturally float.

Core strength is very important when it comes to swimming in general but for beginners learning to float, this is even more key. The ZEN8 Swim Trainer helps you to improve your strength in general but it also isolates your core muscles too. You can also do this at home, and you don't have to venture out to the pool every single time.

When you feel like you've learned how to float comfortably, you should practice kicking your legs. Again, this comes down to technique. Kicking your legs correctly helps you to stay afloat but it also gives you the power to propel you through the water.

To practice, hold onto the pool's edge and relax, allowing your body to float. Then, start kicking your legs up and down. When you're ready, pace your face into the water and hold your breath, while kicking. When you feel like you need to breathe, resurface and take a breath.

These beginner steps will help you to start learning the basic strokes - breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle swimming.

Learning to Swim

You should never learn to swim alone. Taking lessons will give you confidence and help you to remain safe while you're learning. You should also avoid open-water swimming, i.e. outdoors, and stick to a pool until you're comfortable in your swimming ability.

Once you've mastered floating and holding your breath, try the following steps.

• Place your arms out to your sides, with your palms facing downwards and making sure that your fingers are together
• Breathe and then bend forwards at the waist
• With your face in the water, raise your right arm upwards and in front of you, almost like you're reaching forwards
• As your hand touches the surface of the water, drag your arm downwards and up behind you once more - your arms should then be at your right hand side, behind you, with the palm facing upwards
• Slowly turn your head to your right hand side and breath through your mouth, without lifting your head totally out of the water

You also need to practice breathing while kicking your legs in an even motion, so you're not splashing unnecessarily. Again, building your core strength with the ZEN8 Swim Trainer will help you here.

Hold onto the side of the pool with both hands and lift your legs until you're floating on the surface of the water. Turn your head to your right hand side and breathe through your mouth. Keep your face slightly in the water. With your knees straight, kick your legs, moving them from the hip for more power.

Now, practice kicking at a fast pace but try not to splash too much. Do not allow your feet to rise out of the water. Also, make sure that you're exhaling while your face is in the water and that you turn your head to the side to take a new breath.

Your First Swim Strokes

Increasing your comfort level in the water before you start to actually swim will increase your confidence. Even competitive swimmers started at this point, experienced swimmers too!

Once you've practiced and you're ready to make your first swim strokes (with the supervision of a lifeguard, instructor, or someone who can swim well), it's time to get moving.

Widths should be your starting point and again, never attempt to swim in deep water. Learn in shallow water first and slowly increase your confidence. This also goes for open-water swimming - stick to pools until you're more experienced.

With your right hand facing the shallow end, you're going to attempt to swim from one side of the pool to the other, therefore completing your first width.

• Bend your knees
• Reach forward with your left arm
• Breathe!
• Push with your legs, away from the side of the pool
• As you move, place your face in the water and start kicking rhythmically
• Take your first forward stroke, using your right arm
• Continue with a rhythmical stroke until you reach the other side of the pool

It may be that you need to stop and stand a couple of times on your first attempt. That's fine! Practice makes perfect and the more you practice and build your confidence, the faster you'll learn to swim effectively. Don't expect to be able to swim like a pro straight away - even seasoned swimmers have had to train regularly for many years to get to the point they're at.