How to Swim?

Acquiring swimming skills can be frightening if you lack experience. But don't panic, there are ways to lessen the intimidating nature of learning to swim. It will become really easy to swim once you get the hang of it.

Getting Comfortable in the Water

1. Give up your fear. Many people delay learning how to swim due to their fear of drowning. Although drownings do happen, most of them could have been avoided with basic precautions. If you adhere to these principles while swimming, your chances of drowning will significantly reduce:[1]

• Avoid swimming by yourself. Always go swimming with at least one other experienced swimmer, if not multiples. The ideal spot to swim is typically one that has lifeguards on duty.
• Start out cautiously when swimming in flowing water. You will need to pay greater attention to the flow of the water if you are learning to swim in a river or ocean. If you have to learn to swim this manner, try to learn from someone who is experienced in the sport, and read the section below on how to exit a riptide or rushing river.
• Use the appropriate safety equipment until you've had enough practice in the water and feel fairly at ease.
• Remain at a depth that you can manage. Avoid entering water that is too deep for you to stand in while you are initially learning how to swim. That way, you can just get up and take a deep breath in case things goes wrong.
• Steer clear of the pool when the weather is bad. It should be OK to swim in a light rain shower, but you should quickly leave the water if you hear or see a storm coming. Regardless of how proficient you are in the water, you must abide by this regulation.
• Avoid swimming in extremely cold water. It might be very hard to move your limbs to paddle in really cold water.

2. Acclimate to floating. When you're in the water, grab onto the edge of the pool or pier and extend your legs behind you; if you let them, they should come up naturally. The upper body floats, but other people like to sink to the bottom. Just give the method another go; don't worry. Until you're comfortable with having half of your body float, try this on your stomach and your back.In [2]

• When you're ready, try floating on your stomach or back. Keep your depth low enough that you can easily get back up if things don't work out. Having water surrounding your ears while your mouth and nose are in the air may seem strange at first, but you'll get used to it. Make a "T" shape with your body by extending your arms at a straight angle for added stability. If this is your first time floating, you might want to try inhaling deeply first. Your body will undoubtedly float if your lungs are full of air. Till you gain more experience, keep doing this.

3. Stay calm. Always keep in mind that you have a backup plan in case you find yourself in an uncontrollable depth or are unable to move your limbs at all: floating on your back. If you are not a swimmer, don't panic or start breathing rapidly; just lay back as flat as you can and let the water carry you until you recover your calm.In [3]

• Breathe deeply and maintain a full lung capacity as a helpful advice for floating on your back. Exhibiting your stomach is a fantastic idea as well.

4. Try letting out breath underwater. Inhale deeply and submerge your face while you're still at a shallow depth. When you run out of breath, slowly release your nose and raise yourself back up. It should release bubbles. You can also release air from your mouth, though typically in large bubbles that eventually form a stream.[4]

• You can wear a nose plug or hold your nose closed if you find it painful to exhale through your nose.

5. Put on goggles if you choose. You may be able to see better and feel more at ease opening your eyes underwater if you use goggles. To make them attach to your skin, find a pair with spongy circles around the eyes and submerge them in water. To ensure a good fit, tighten the strap across the back of your head.[5]

Beginning Strokes and Treading Water

1. Kick your legs a few times. You can practice kicking whether you're floating on your back or still hanging on to the pool's edge. (Try it on a kickboard to see how far each kick can take you. As a result, you may concentrate on honing your kicking technique rather than thinking about how to survive.)[6]

• A flutter kick might be tried. As you perform little kicks, keep your legs mostly straight, point your toes like a ballerina, and alternate legs. Your ankles should be at their most flexible.
• Give it a whip kick. From your hips to your knees and from your knees to your ankles, maintain a tight grip on your legs. Keep your thighs together the entire time as you quickly draw your shins apart and move them in a circular motion after bending your knees to around a 90-degree angle. (That is, move your left leg to the left and your right leg to the right as you trace half a circle with each leg.) At the bottom of the circle, bring your shins back together and raise them once more to resume the kick.
• Give an eggbeater kick a try. Typically, this kick is used to tread water while maintaining a vertical posture with your head and shoulders above the surface. Begin with your legs slightly wider than hip-width apart and your knees bent. Then, "pedal" each leg like you would a bike, but with the exception that they will go in the opposite directions: one leg should pedal "forward," and the other leg should pedal "backward." It takes a little getting accustomed to, but this is a useful "resting" position when your feet are unable to touch the ground.

2. Acquire the ability to crawl. As a novice, crawls are fantastic to learn because they move you very quickly. Here's how to carry them out:[7]

• First, attempt a backstroke. Lay flat on your back and kick your legs in a flutter motion. Perform the "crawl" action with your arms by raising one straight up into the air and maintaining it there until it re-enters the water next to your head. After it's submerged, bend it till it's straight again next to your side, then do it again. As you swim, switch arms and make an effort to keep your hands as flat and your fingers together.
• Try a front stroke, sometimes referred to as an American crawl or freestyle. As you "crawl" forward with your arms, perform a flutter kick with your legs while floating on your stomach. After "reaching" forward with one arm raised above the water, lower it back down and "push" the water behind you with your cupped palm. Switch up the arms. In order to breathe, raise your head to one side beneath the crawling arm just far enough to allow you to do so. Breathe once every two strokes by taking a breath under the same arm each time.

3. Walk on water. Without actually swimming, treading water might help you catch your breath and maintain your composure. Use your hands to maintain your balance by "sculling"—keep your forearms flat on the water's surface and visualize them as butter knives spreading on toast—and do the eggbeater kick mentioned above. Make a clockwise circle with one arm and a counterclockwise circle with the other.[8]

4. To raise yourself from the ground, use your arms. Use your arms to propel yourself if you're below the surface and would like to surface. Raise them straight above your head and then rapidly lower them to your sides. You should rise a few feet as a result. Continue until the surface breaks.

Learning Advanced Techniques

1. Try some more complex motions. You can start learning new strokes that will propel you faster or with less energy after you feel more at ease in the water. Try these out:

• Learn the dolphin stroke.
• The butterfly stroke .
• Swim the breaststroke.
• Do the sidestroke.
• Try swimming laps.

2. Take a dive. A great method to get into the water and begin a stroke is to dive. Proceed from a simple dive to more difficult dives such as the rolling, swan, and back dives.[9]

• Prior to diving, always make sure the water is sufficiently deep. The water should be at least nine or ten feet (2.7 or 3.0 meters) deep; if you're a tall person, make the depth at least eleven or twelve feet (3.4 or 3.7 meters).

Being Prepared for Unlikely Situations

1. Understand how to escape a rip current. A rip current could ensnare you if you're swimming in the ocean. Try to commit these instructions to memory before you enter the water because knowing what to do can save your life.[10]

• Remain calm. Among all the steps, this one is the most crucial. You could literally keep yourself beneath the water by thrashing around in a panic.
• Swim diagonally. Avoid attempting to swim straight out to sea or straight to the coast. Strive to swim in an exact parallel to the shoreline instead.
• Stroke your swimming so that you can breathe. Use the strongest stroke you are capable of using while still giving yourself plenty of breathing room. This could be a breaststroke, sidestroke, or front crawl.
• Until you are out of the rip current, keep swimming. Continue swimming even if it can take you a while to exit the rip current safely. The last thing you want to do is ruin all of your hard work thus far by going ashore too soon.
• Scream for assistance if you can. As soon as you can, shout "Help!" or gesture toward the lifeguard. Nevertheless, it's preferable to keep swimming if doing so requires giving up a breath or forcing you to stop.

2. Understand how to escape a river's current. The following actions can help you escape a river that is pulling you down or flowing too quickly:[11]

• Remain calm and composed. Similar to a rip current, you risk being pushed further into the sea if you panic and flail your limbs. Try to breathe evenly and maintain your composure.
• Swim diagonally toward the direction of the coast. Swimming at a ninety-degree angle toward the beach will push you to battle the water too much, which could wear you out soon. Rather, make plans to approach the shoreline perpendicular to the current.
• Try not to go against the flow. You'll use excessive energy insufficiently to get benefits. If there is any immediate hazard downstream, such jagged rocks or a waterfall, don't attempt to swim upstream.
• Point your feet in the direction that the current is carrying you if it is carrying you downstream quickly. This could save your head from colliding with a stone or other object.

Tips

• After swimming, you should always take a shower because chlorine is extremely drying and harmful. Make sure you adequately moisturize after taking a shower.[12] 
• Begin swimming instruction in an area free of waves and currents.
  
• If you are a novice, swim in shallow pools (one meter deep).
  
• Don't forget to get ear drops. They come in handy if you have blocked ears.
• Recall that if you start to feel anxious, you can always put your feet down.
  If you are anxious about navigating the water, use arm floats, a kick board, or a life jacket to help you stay afloat.
  
• Invest in a strong swim cap and/or swimmer's shampoo if your hair is lighter in color to prevent discoloration and breakage.
  
• Try dipping your feet in the water first and moving slowly if you are anxious about entering the water.
  
• You should practice with family members until you can swim alone with confidence.
  
• To avoid ingesting chemically treated pool water or microorganisms from past users, either buy a snorkel or cover your mouth.
• Learn to swim under the guidance of a qualified lifeguard, if at all possible.
  Even if you're underwater and unable to cry out for help, he or she has been trained to spot the warning indications that you need assistance.
  
• You won't float if you lose your composure when floating on your back.
  
• For further assistance, practice with a more seasoned swimmer.
  
• Use safety gear, particularly if you're a beginner or younger, as mishaps can and will occur.
• One of the best ways to begin exploring with swimming and floating in calm seas is to use supported floats.
  
• If your hair is long, you might want to use a swim cap to keep it out of the way. It can't hurt to have one on hand, as some public pools mandate that swimmers with long hair wear them.
  
• Before you start pushing yourself too far, have confidence.
  
• Just be advised that the chlorine may cause your blonde or lighter hair to turn green.

Warnings        

• Never go swimming during a lightning-accompanied storm. When lightning strikes water, it can shock everyone in the area. Lightning can strike you even if you can hear thunder miles away.
• Swimming in moving water, like the ocean or a lake, requires tremendous caution. You could be abruptly pulled from the shore by rip currents.
• Acquiring swimming skills takes time. Avoid taking on more than you can handle.
• Never attempt to swim in the "deep end" of a pool if you are still a novice unless you are accompanying an adult who is an exceptional swimmer.