How I Learned to Swim, Finally: The Everyday Helpful Lessons of Self-Taught Swimming
by Jeff Potter
Swimming is one of those things that you can do for years without really knowing how to. You can learn to do it without feeling all that confident about your skill or even ability to stay afloat, more like youíre using willpower mostly, while relying merely on the knowledge that youíre sure this is how you do it. It might not be fun, but itís how itís supposed to be done, so weíll slog thru it. Also itís a sport thatís very easy to be rushed in doing. To have a panicky feel. Iím talking about the crawl of course. It seems like the easiest stroke to lose control of. Itís also the best in certain regards. But itís a doozy. Itís easy to overdo it and exhaust yourself. Itís easy to go slow despite working hard.
But this isnít how swimming has to be. Iím no pro, but maybe how I figured it out eventually can help you.
I may have a few tips here that will put you over the hump into a rock solid crawl, no-brainer, ìnow Iím finally comfyî type of stroke that you didnít think was possible. I know I didnít. Maybe I can save you some of the frustration I went thru.
Iíd had lessons. Iíd read books and articles. Iíd been coached by team swimmers. But I admit Iíd never been coached for real, nor did I take a lesson as an adult. This breakthrough was self-taught. Maybe I wasted a lot of time. Maybe Iím still doing a lot wrong. But it works. Better than ever by far. And it has nothing to do with fitness that I can see.
I had been swimming for decades like anyone else. I had even really tried to learn how to go fast, long and strong so I could win triathlons. Actually, before that I simply wanted to do crossings. See if I can swim across here or there. No more than a mile. Hmmm, could I do it if I had to. That sort of thing. I really liked the idea of swim touring. Go maybe 3 miles down a lake shore. Really come to grips with it. But as it was it was hard. Iíd have to really work and build up a few more laps at a time. It was really easy to get winded, panicky, tired. And I could canoe race all day, race any other way for that matter. Why did I fall apart in the water? Why wasnít it easy?
I read up on swimming, pros told me their tips. You gotta do the S-stroke with your hand. Etc., etc.
I finally got out onto a perfectly still pond one day for some skinny dipping and noticed that I could get some glide going even while crawling with my head above water. I was trying to slow my stroke down. You know how you see those old ladies in the pool just gliding along without seeming to even move? I wanted to be able to dial back and stay in control. I figured that would really help my ability. If you can go slow in balanced control you can go fastóa good rule in any sport. So in trying to go slow that day I noticed I could still get some glide if I interfered less with the water. And that it made a certain feeling of water flow down my chest. The less I interfered with the flow, the more glideóeven though weíre just talking a few inches here. The water that day was real calm and I could see the glide by a little bow wake that would stay vee-ing after each stroke. I verified the glide by having my head above water but I finally now also had an underwater notion of what it was like due to that feeling of flow down my chest. I think I also had goggles on and could see little particles and leaves and such keep moving toward me nicely after each decent stroke. So I put my head down and started crawling. But I tried to keep that flow going a little bit.
I found that an S-stroke with the hand did help. That it helped keep my hand in solid water. Swimming is slow stuff. S-ing is not wasteage. Let that hand slowly wander, out at first, then in to the center, then kinda out again. Youíll be better off.
I also used to try to use my long reach to cover more ground. I overextended my shoulder a few times and got injured. Maybe real swimmers can do that. But I was now trying to go slow. Conserve. Relax. Really, not just pretend. So I finally tried really shortening upójust let the arm enter with a relaxed bend, or a gentle straightening. Forget extending your shoulder. I find a totally relaxed, natural shoulder and arm-stretch to be much less work. óAnd the glide kept going, no stall out.
What I also did long about now was swim with goggles in just 3-4 feet of water. I finally noticed my pace along the bottom. I noticed that with my S-stroke and my short arm that I was still moving along.
All this period of improvement took place over a month or two. Maybe 5-10 swims.
I also said that I didnít care if I sank, I was going to have a slow rate, like a granny, so I wouldnít get winded no matter what. Panic was worse than slowness. Gotta start somewhere. I finally got away from the workout mentality of churning the water to starting out at square one.
For some reason my notion of relaxed touring came back to mind. Maybe it was the skinny dipping pond I used to go to. A very relaxing place. Very pretty. Iíd just swim a few entire lengths. When you go for distance you look at the big picture, no worry about the in between.
At that point I started looking ahead. To where my hands entered the water. I started pulling the water past me and I started really trying to keep out of the way of the water. Suddenly I realized that you gotta get real horizontal, that any drooping was bad. Suddenly for me I realized that my leg stroke was mainly for keeping my legs up and shallow and out of the way of the water flow. I also started getting better posture. I definitely sucked in my gut.
Lifting the gut made my whole torso flatter in the water. Raise the small of your back. The flow improves! I now try to ëstand tallí in the water. You donít have to stretch or reach. Just donít bow, sag or arch.
Iíd always heard about keeping my hand close to my body as I stroked, but I just didnít get it. Now I could tell there was something to it. Pushing was another nice key to unlock. Itís a bit like mantling in climbing, where you grab a ledge at chest height then push it down past you. It suddenly became clear that itís the easiest way to push water past something that youíre already trying to keep out of the water. Possibly it helps avoid sagging also.
One of my whole lessons was to stay out of the water. Let as little of me sink in as possible. Stay out of its way. Keep the thighs high! The hips high! The belly high! Back flat, chest flat. Treat the body like a raft and then shove it along niceíníeasy.
It was very relaxing then to look down. Even to look at my toes. Keeping a flat back makes this easy. It was also nice looking straight ahead sometimes. I could tell I was starting to really move and glide thru the water and it was nice looking forward to check progress.
One sure sign that Iím stroking right and moreover that my posture is right (BECAUSE POSTURE DICTATES STROKE!) is that my hand finally touches my thigh like all the rule books said it should. I guess the how-to books didnít emphasize posture enough coz it never really worked for me before. It seemed forced and artificial. But thatís not the best sure sign. What pleasure is there in that? My super sure sign is that I feel water flowing past my thighs. I feel the glide flow at the bottom of that stroke. If Iím keeping my body out of the way, Iíll feel flow over my groin and thigh. And thatís a good thing. And stop that snickering! : ) It means Iím not bogged down and that weíre getting somewhere efficiently. That weíll be there before ya know it.
Thatís the cool thing about finally learning how to swim. It finally seems to move you faster than the effort it takes. Thatís the hump to get over in any sport, I think. The payback hump. Where you get somewhere earlier than you think you deserve. Where the other shore fairly rushes up to meet you. Hey, not bad. A nice change from paying with lung-hack and exhaustion just to swim anywhere.
I made these final breakthroughs while swimming across the Danube in Vienna every day one summer. Itís a big serious river and Iíd swim across in front of a LOT of people. I didnít want to either drown or need to be rescued or look laborious. Actually, I knew I had to be efficient or it just wouldnít be worth it, it would be panicky. Well, maybe it was the do or die that made me see the light. But suddenly swimming got easy and I was there and back before I knew it and not even out of breath. I was swim-touring.
I found that as I got more secure, I could break rules without slowing too much. Like taking peeks ahead to see where I was going.
Well, if youíve put up with me so far, I might as well give you the Number One tip! The secret to my new rock solid foundation.
I roll. I rock. I let my chest roll like a barrel thru the water. I let that rolling provide power instead of my arms. Itís not an exaggerated roll. Maybe just quarter turns. Itís a total rhythm roll. And it really relieves the arms. And it totally sets my pace and tempo. Sure it might involve dipping the shoulder but it doesnít seem to hurt flow. It just rolls along. Itís my bedrock. I can roll thru weeds, thru harsh stormy waves, thru kicked up water. Itís like a rocking chair. Itís finally the rhythm of swimming. Nothing is good without a rhythm. So here it is. Set your roll to easy and it will stay there. You wonít suddenly find yourself rushing or out of breath. It wonít happen. The roll is too big. Itís central command. If youíre churning with your forearms your tempo can change and your arms start to tire or pump up before it even registers in your head (youíre worrying about other things at that point). Start from the roots, the base. A nice gently rolling barrel.
I find that by doing this that I get a proper warm-up and proper muscle use. Big ones get used the most. I get no tiring, cramping, clogging or pump lockup. I get thoroughly warmed up and worked out just as in any other sport done right. Everything being used, nothing overused. Me in charge. Getting nice payback.
Now isnít that what swimming should be?
So shorten and relax that reach, roll that chest, keep everything high, use your legs to keep your back half high, stand tall, look up, look down, look at your toes, S that hand, touch that thigh and take it easy. Feel the glide flow past your thighs. Youíll do fine.
Give it a try yourself and good luck! JP
