How to Tread water eggbeater style

You never know when you are going to find yourself alongside a large body of water. Maybe you are attending a party on the neighbor’s pool deck or maybe your in-laws have rented a houseboat on the lake. Maybe your kids want you to take them fishing off the pier. Even if you hate to swim, it is a very good idea to know how to tread water, just in case the unthinkable happens and you fall in. When you tread eggbeater style, you can keep your face out of the water for a long time.

Instructions

    • 1

      You can learn this skill in relatively shallow water. While you are building your confidence, practice in shoulder-deep water. Lift your legs off the bottom and hold them straight in front of you, parallel with the surface of the water, as if you are sitting. Gently paddle your hands to keep yourself afloat.

    • 2

      Bend your knees and make a right angle with your legs so your feet are hanging toward the bottom.

    • 3

      Make circles with the bottom half of your legs; circle your left leg clockwise, then circle your right leg counter-clockwise. Or circle your right leg clockwise and your left leg counter-clockwise. It doesn’t matter right or left; the point is to mimic the action of an eggbeater (electric mixer for those of you who don’t know what an eggbeater is).

    • 4

      Use your arms to stay afloat while you are learning. Once you have mastered the skill of treading water eggbeater style, you should be able to maintain your head above the water without the use of your arms.

    • 5

      Take up water polo; become a lifeguard.