It is sometimes said that children can learn to swim much more easily than adults and the elderly. One of the main reasons for that is that when we are young we often don't think about the risks awaiting us when we get into the water.
Children are likely to take swimming as a game and experiment with different movements until they learn to float and then swim smoothly over a distance.
For an adult, that stage may present a bit more difficult because they realise that if they put a foot wrong in the water, they may get into trouble.
On top of that, adults tend to be more concerned with what others might think about them. Failing to float after several tries may feel humiliating for them and discourage them from further attempts.
However, that absolutely doesn't mean that an adult or an elderly person can't learn to swim. It's just that they need to take their lessons in a safe environment and advance gradually in their training.
What can help in particular is to be accompanied by a professional coach who will draw up a clear training program for them and be by their side if something goes wrong.
As compensation, adults are better able to follow instructions than kids, so they can learn to swim in a more orderly way. Once they can float and feel more comfortable in the water, they can move on to working on a particular stroke.
By listening carefully to their instructor, they'll be able to avoid numerous mistakes and develop the right skills more quickly. They'll steadily pursue their goals and may achieve excellent results in the end.
In our article, you can discover the ten best reasons to start swimming.
In this article, we'll try to find out how an adult or an elderly person can learn to swim with the least possible trouble and enjoy all the benefits of that amazing fitness activity.
Is learning to swim worth it?
Given that it may take some time before they can swim with confidence, some adults may ask themselves whether it is worth the time and effort at all. The answer is definitely yes.
In fact, physical activity is essential for adults and the elderly because, with years, our lifestyle becomes tends to become more sedentary. In the long term, that may lead to serious health issues, such as heart attacks and overweight, as well as low physical fitness in general.
Without the due amount of exercise, we start getting tired much more easily, going upstairs become a huge challenge, and it becomes more difficult to enjoy life as before.
Regular swimming can help us prevent all those problems and take our body in hand.
What's especially good about swimming is that it is a complete fitness activity that trains all the muscles of our body, strengthens our heart and makes us feel happier and more relaxed. Even a few swimming lessons can really level up your fitness and if you follow a well-conceived training program, your overall health is bound to improve.
Check out where you can find the most effective swimming lessons in Sydney here.
A low-risk exercise
One of the biggest advantages of swimming, as compared with other sports, is that it is completely harmless for our joints and ligaments, which can be especially relevant for adults and elderly people.
When we swim, the water supports our weight, so our limbs and back don't get any pressure at all while our muscles are being trained.
You can safely practise swimming several times a week if you want to achieve even better results and your health will only get better.
Find more reasons to teach your kids to swim in our article.
If you want your training to be really efficient, you can ask a swimming instructor to help you draw up a training program tailored to your level of fitness to swim at the right moment and for the right length of time.
You can search for how to get the best swimming teachers in Australia here.
How to begin to swim from scratch?
When an adult takes their first swimming lessons in an aquatic centre or with a private instructor, they still don't feel comfortable in the water, so it's very important to take it easy.
The first step in their training should be to learn to float in the water. They can begin in the shallow part of the pool and try to let the water push their legs up while holding on to the side of the pool.
At that moment, you should try to relax your muscles as much as possible, so you can float more easily.
You can complement your training with simple fitness exercises in a shallow depth, such as water walking, arm and leg lifts, water bicycle, pushups and others. Even though they'll not directly help you to swim, they'll boost your general fitness in the first classes and prepare you for the swimming effort itself.
Another important aspect that can be mastered at that point is the breathing technique. When we swim, we usually lift our heads to breathe in and then breathe out into the water. You can train yourself to do that while standing on firm ground to use those skills later on.
See more baby swimming lessons here on Superprof.
Mastering a particular stroke
Once you become able to float and can breathe out underwater, you can move on to swimming itself. For that, you'll need to choose a stroke that you want to master and acquire the right movements.
For a beginning swimmer, we recommend that you start with the breaststroke because it is great for swimming for long periods of time without getting too tired.
When working on your stroke technique, it can be especially useful to take classes with an instructor to make sure that your movements are right.
They can show you what you are supposed to do with your arms and legs to use your energy efficiently and reach a good speed.
You can first try to swim over short distances in a shallow depth and then try to cross the entire pool.
Your coach can watch over your movements throughout your lessons and give your advice on how to enhance your skills to achieve better performance.
Where to take swimming lessons in Australia
Australia is definitely a great country for swimmers because it has plenty of places where to swim or to take lessons with an instructor. One of them is, of course, the beach. If you live on the coast, you'll have plenty of places where to swim in the summer.
However, the ocean may be dangerous for inexperienced swimmers because of the currents, so we rather recommend you to start by training in an aquatic centre.
The ideal option would be to find an aquatic centre or a public aquatic centre near your home or as close to it as possible, so you don't get discouraged by the distance.
Once you've selected your aquatic centre, you can make enquiries about the lessons they give and see if something may suit you.
In our article, we described in more detail how swimming can help you lose weight.
If you are not sure what coach to take classes with, you can book a trial lesson with one or two of them and compare their approaches. If you think that each class can be helpful to you, you can even take lessons with several private instructors at the same time to boost your abilities even more.
Another excellent way to unearth the right instructor is to search among private coaches. You'll have an even better choice of instructors and can pick the one who best suits your expectations.
Don't hesitate to tell your instructor about the skills you want to develop and your fitness goals, so they can draw up an effective training program and make their classes even more motivating for you.
Find the perfect coach on Superprof
If there are no swimmers among your friends, you may not know how to get in contact with a good private instructor. This is where Superprof comes in.
Superprof is an international educational platform where thousands of coaches from all across Australia offer their classes.
On each coach's profile, you can find a description of their class, information about their fee, methods and experience, as well as reviews from other users to give you a better idea about the instructor's services.
When you get interested in a particular profile, you can contact the coach directly via chat or by phone and ask them for more details. They'll suggest a few dates and times on which you can set up your first class and you can see if any can suit you.
There is more on swimming for rehabilitation purposes in our article.
What's especially good about Superprof is that most of our coaches give their first class for free, which can be a great opportunity to meet them personally before you make the final decision. You'll employ an instructor only when you are sure that their classes really interest you, so you can enjoy your training sessions.
With Superprof, finding a private coach is easy and quick, which makes it possible to start your training whenever you feel like it.
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