How to Learn to Swim for Beginners

Learning to swim can make summers more enjoyable by making your time in the water safer. Children and adults who do not know how to swim can be terrified by thoughts of drowning, afraid to look weak or ashamed for not knowing how to swim. Learning how to swim can increase a person's self-confidence and eliminate fears of drowning.

Things You'll Need

  • swimsuit
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Instructions

    • 1

      Overcome the fear of water. This is a huge step, and many times it is what is holding people back from learning how to swim. Young children often fear the water, and adults who do not know how to swim have years of fear built up. Wanting to learn to swim is the first big step in overcoming a fear of water. Spend as much time as necessary sitting on the side of the pool and walking in the shallow end, and perhaps consider learning to swim in a shallow pool if you are not able to get hold of your fears.

    • 2

      Practice kicking. You can hold on to the side of the pool or, if you are feeling more adventurous, use a kickboard. The kickboard helps you float while also adding a feeling of safety and balance as you move through the water.

    • 3

      Practice moving your arms. At this point, you do not want to worry about specific strokes; simply move your arms under the water. Walk back and forth in the shallow end of the pool as you move your arms. As you start to feel more comfortable with this movement, try lifting your legs one at a time.

    • 4

      Push off from the wall. Remain in the shallow end of the pool and push off with your feet. Move your arms as you propel yourself forward. This is a fun drill that will help you get used to moving in the water without the pressure of swimming yet.

    • 5

      Swim. You have just finished pushing off from the wall and might even be making it close to the other side of the pool. Now is the time to add your kicking to your arm movements. After pushing off from the wall, start kicking your legs as you move your arms underwater. You will continue moving through the water to the other side of the pool, and now you are swimming.

    • 6

      Practice your swim stroke. Swimming with your arms underwater is a great first step, but to be able to move through the water faster, you need to learn the crawl, or freestyle stroke. To practice this stroke, hold on to the side of the pool and begin kicking. Let go of the wall with one hand, put it into the water and pull it under your body, then hold on to the wall again. Repeat this process with the other hand.

    • 7

      Swim using overhand strokes. Push off from the wall and begin kicking your legs, adding your overhand strokes as you move across the pool. Stand up and take a break at any time if you feel you need one. This step takes practice, and you may only be able to swim a couple of strokes before you stand up. But the more you practice, the more strokes you will be able to swim before standing up, and soon you will be able to swim across the entire pool without stopping.