Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim-

Adjusting water
10 exercises to get you used to water before learning how to swim

Adjusting water is one of the most important thing before learning how
to swim.

Have you always wanted to learn how to swim, but you couldn’t understand
why it takes so much time? Have you also tried to learn swimming, but after
swallowing air and water, and suffering from lower back pains and strain in the
neck, you simply got despaired?
If so, the following video clip and the magical words “gradual adjustment” are
meant just for you.

You probably already know that swimming is one of the healthiest sports,
however, it is recommended to adjust the swimming style individually for each
person so that the work with getting used to the water will be gradual and
correct. Just like with the building process of a house – the foundation is
crucial in swimming. It doesn’t matter if we are learning backstroke, crawl,
breast stroke, or even butterfly – it is important to know how to breathe right,
to strengthen the specific muscles that will later help us to make complicated
movements, to expand the capacity of the lungs, and to protect the neck.

Does this sound complicated? It really isn’t! For all of the points mentioned
above, and some more, we have prepared 10 exercises that are
recommended to go through before learning how to swim, and most
importantly in order to strengthen the muscles without hurting the neck and
the back joints that are so important.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 1- Breathing by the wall and while walking
The first step is to hold the wall with one or two hands. , we inhale
through the mouth for 2 seconds. Insert the head into the water and then
exhale for 2 seconds.

While putting the head into the water we bend the knees and we will keep a
slightly rounded back to create a smaller hip movement while the body is
going up and down.

The next step is to make the same exercise but this time while walking with or
without using the hands. It is recommended to do both exercises 5-10 minutes
before the training session.

The purpose of the exercise is to make the lungs used to taking air in, and
breathe it out, slowly. Please note that in this exercise you need to make a
separation between the nose and the mouth, so that you won’t push the air
out through both. This in order to keep the nose free of water.

The movement of the hip, while bending the knees, will warm up the hips and
the lower back.

During the walking the breathing work continues, but this time you will
experience a serious resistance from the water on the chest. This expands the
capacity of the lungs while you are warming the joints of the body before you
start the

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 2 -From laying to standing, with or without the wall

We hold on to the wall using both of our hands, we wait about 3-5 seconds
while floating and slowly, slowly, we will bring the knees up to the stomach
and the hands to the back while slowly exhaling. Finally we move the legs
toward the floor of the pool. Only after the feet touch the floor we will lift the
head above the water.
When we feel comfortable with this exercise we will do the same thing without
the support of the wall. We lay in the water with our hands stretched out in
front of us. After 5 seconds we start to blow air bubbles from our nose. While
making the air bubbles we will bring the knees up to the stomach and we will
bring the hands back. Only when the legs touch the floor we will lift the head
above the water. If it is not done according to this order it could create a stress
on the lower back while standing.

The purpose of this exercise is to know how to stand right, without stress on
the lower back and neck, while using the muscles of the hands and arms,
protecting the joints and expanding the capacity of the lungs.

This way we also prepare ourselves for the exercises when we will be
swimming without breathing and when we will simply have to stand up when
we need to breathe.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 3- Hand circles while walking and swimming, non-progressive leg
movement

We walk with our arms inside the water, and we will make circle movements
with the arms similar to the breaststroke. Only this time the circles are bigger
and deeper. (About 20 centimeter below the surface) During each circle you
will touch the stomach as the arms are moving back up, and at the end of the
circle you come back to an arrow and wait 3 seconds while walking. After this
we will repeat the circle movement in the same way.

We will go through the same exercise also while swimming with gentle leg
movements and without exhaling. Right before we are out of air, we will slowly
come back to standing up, just like we did in exercise number 2.

The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the muscles of the arms and the
shoulders while making a symmetric movement without causing the lower
back any stress.
This movement is relatively easy to make, and we use it in order to expand
the capacity of the lungs and to prepare the body for swimming. It is very
important to stretch out the arrow movement forward at a depth of 20
centimeters, or more, below the surface. This is in order not to cause the
lower back and neck any stress, and also in order to try to reach a swimming
distance of 12.5 meters without breathing.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 4- Standing with fins

We swim with fins on the feet while the arms are stretched out parallel to the
shoulders. We will kick with the legs while crawling slowly. Right before we
are out of air we will start to exhale from the nose and make little bubbles. We
will point with one hand to the opposite shoulder till the body starts to turn
without any stress on the lower back, and the heels fall by themselves to the
floor of the pool. Only when we come to a standing position on the floor, we
will lift the head out of the water and breathe in.

The purpose of this exercise is to help us go through the swimming exercises

without breathing till we learn how to breathe correctly and efficiently. The leg
work with fins will slightly expand the muscles, and when done right it
improves the elasticity of the legs. Most important, it helps to protect the lower
back while standing. If we try to stand like in the previous exercises when
bringing the knees to the stomach, the fins will interrupt us and we won’t be
able to stand well. This would also cause the neck and lower back stress.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 5- Hands circling using fins+ lifting the head and breathing

We swim making an arrow movement with the arms, and with fins on we crawl
with the legs for 3 seconds. After 3 seconds we make a big circle with the
arms and we lift the head to breathe. When the head is inside the water we
exhale making bubbles, and we lift the head out of the water. We inhale slowly
and we try to use the neck as little as possible when lifting the head up. If we
experience neck or back pains we will go through this exercise with a snorkel
in order to relieve the back and neck from the stress.
If we don’t have a snorkel, we can go through this exercise without lifting the
head by simply standing when we are out of air.

The purpose of this exercise is to combine exhaling and inhaling while

swimming, and performing an aerobic effort with a movement that is relatively
easily to coordinate. Breaststroke with legs crawling, and without lifting the
head, is one of the best exercises to strengthen the chest, neck and all of the
torso muscles with.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 6- Classic backstroke with crawling legs

We lay on the back, the hands are to the side of the body, and we kick with
the legs while crawling. We will keep the kicks under the surface with a slight
bend to the knees. Slowly, slowly, we will lift the hands, close to the body, till
they reach the level of the arm pits, all the while inhaling through the nose.
When the arms reach to the level of the shoulders, we will start to push water
with the hands till the hands touch the thighs. During this part we will exhale
through the nose.

Throughout the entire movement we will keep a loose neck and look to the
sky.

If there is a feeling of stress on the back it is recommended to go through this

movement with fins to help the body float. With fins we will try to kick slowly
and gently.
The purpose of this exercise is to move the hands and the legs without
causing the neck and the back any stress. This symmetric movement can also
help those who find it difficult to swim with the head in the water to strengthen
the muscles involved. It will also be conductive to get the breathing going, for
strengthening the stomach muscles, and most importantly, to prepare us for
the back and front crawling styles.
Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming
Drill 7- Loose backstroke with timed breath

We float on the back and we swim backstroke, meaning that the hands move
to the back, the palms are very loose, and the swimming is slow. We try not to
use the legs at all, and simply let them come along with the body as part of
the movement. If we feel that we start to sink, it is possible to go through this
exercise with fins.

In this exercise we try to time the breath. When the arm goes out of the water
we inhale, and when the arm goes into the water we will exhale.

The purpose of this exercise –

Is to swim easy backstroke.

This swimming creates a wide opening and stretch of the chest and
shoulders, which is just the opposite of what happens when you sit in front of
a computer.

Also, each movement’s exhale fills the body with air and improves its floating
ability. Another thing to keep in mind is that the backstroke is the only style
that doesn’t involve any neck movement, and it can fit very well for people
who suffer from back and neck pains.
Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming
Drill 8- Arms in arrow legs crawling
We will make an arrow shape with our arms. One palm will overlap the other
to close the arrow. If our shoulder blades are not flexible enough, we will lay
the arrow about 20 centimeters or more below the surface, and we will kick
with the legs. If we experience stress in the neck we can go through this
exercise with a snorkel. This way we will bypass the problem of a strained
neck since the movement will not cause the neck to bend when we lift the
head to breathe.

Sometimes we don’t progress and this can be because of a lack of flexibility

and elasticity in the legs. In this case, every few seconds, we will make circles
with the arms or hand movements while crawling. This way we help our body
to make a slight progress forward. If we feel stress in the back, we will try to
work with fins at a slow pace, and if we still feel the strain with the fins, it is
recommended to skip this exercise and to work with the legs, only while
swimming with hands.

The purpose of this exercise is to practice the leg movements of freestyle

and backstroke, This helps in order to progress forward while swimming. It will
also strengthen all of the torso muscles, and it allows us to move forward for
longer distances without exhausting the muscles through oxidation. This
exercise is also very important for triathletes and runners in order to protect
the joints and avoid injuries while running or biking.

Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming

Drill 9- Loose shoulders, back and front, with fins

We kick with the legs gently, using fins, and we carefully roll the body from
side to side. While rolling the body we don’t breathe, and we don’t move the
head at all. The head will be directed towards the floor of the pool, and we will
keep the line of the swimming straight. When we are out of air we stand up
gently, as we studied previously. It is also possible to go through this exercise
with snorkel which will let us practice for longer without breaks. It is also
recommended to occasionally make this exercise on the back, just as long as
we don’t experience any strain on the neck.

The purpose of this exercise is to release the shoulders and the neck. This
is an excellent exercise for frozen shoulder, cervical disc prolapse or simply
for stress – who doesn’t suffer from stress these days?

After the training session, this exercise is also excellent for treating tense
shoulders. It can be done after training inside or outside of the water.

The beauty of this exercise is that all you have to do is roll in the water, and
the water will gently massage the shoulders to, without risk of injuries, release
them from stress after the training session
Swimming tips for beginners before learning how to swim- Swimming
Drill 10- Flip from Freestyle to backstroke, and vice versa

We will swim a few strokes in freestyle, and instead of breathing and

continuing the in crawl, we will flip over to the back and we continue with a few
strokes on the back, releasing the body, and catching our breath.

While flipping from the front to the back, and then back again to the front, it is
very important to keep the neck and the back loose, and to avoid straining the
lower back.

The purpose of this exercise is to allow us to swim freestyle for a long time
with breaks for recovery. When we are still perfecting our crawl and the
breathing causes us to swallow water – flipping over to the back allows us to
inhale, balance the breathing, reduce the heart rate, and then move back to
freestyle and continue the swimming.
This exercise works as a preparation for the freestyle. It is also excellent for
working on the stomach muscles while rolling the body 180 degrees from the
front to the back, and from the back to the front.