Learning how to swim as an adult

Drakeon

Hi all, im in need of learning how to swim and unfortunately never made the effort when I was younger. Does anyone have any experience with learning how to swim as an adult? How to go about it and what to expect?

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

any local pool (either public parks and rec or private gym/club/etc) is likely to have adult lessons; typically they are taught on a one on one or small group basis. Usually even total non-swimmers can progress to the level of basic competence relatively quickly, since adults (for the most part) are over the whole 'face submerged in water' hangup.

Learning to regulate your breathing will be the hardest part, but you should figure that out pretty easily if you're even remotely athletic

PedroAsani

Step 1: Relax. Wait, this isn't just trite bullshit. A tense body sinks. A relaxed one floats. So first, learn to float. Lungs are huge floatation devices. So just take a large breath, lie back and ease into it. Unless you are a bodybuilder with a BMI of 2.5, you will naturally float.

Step 2: Dress the part. You know how kids have water wings so they float easier? Well you can do that as an adult. If you don't want to look self conscious, get a wetsuit. Neoprene is a huge buoyancy aid, and you will look like a surfer if you get a shorty (3mm thick, short sleeves and legs)

Step 3: The big fear is getting your face under the water. But you can practice this on your own first. Just stand in waist deep water and bend over. Count to one, then come up. Next time, go to two. Keep going, see if you can beat your high score. Blow bubbles. When you get brave, try opening your eyes. It won't hurt, but it will feel a little weird the first time. You get used to it quickly though. After this, you can kneel down instead of bending, and then try floating face down. Eventually you can move into deeper water. But the point is, you can do all of this on your own, at your own pace. Most you can even do in your bathtub.

Step 4: Signing up for lessons. See the above post. But hopefully by now you have the confidence that you won't freak out.

HeraldS

What is your ability level right now? How comfortable (or not) are you in a pool right now? Can you tread water or anything? And when you say 'learn to swim' do you mean actually swim or just learn how not to be a drowning hazard?

If you can give me some more info I'll do a nice long write-up for you on how to start and what to expect and all. I swam for a D1 program in college and have experience teaching all ability levels so this is an area I'm very familiar with. Congrats on deciding to learn to swim! I think you'll like it. It's pretty nice in the water.