The key steps from ordinary earthling to efficient swimmer

6.0 Why swimming seems difficult ?

Here is a definition of the task of swimming: moving in water; in deep water, without solid support; without buoyancy aids; at the surface, without propulsion support. This task should be applicable whatever the level of the swimmer, from beginner to expert. This is why equipment should be avoided, especially during the learning process

The body is both the means and the object of movement. In other words, it's thanks to your body and the movements you produce that you'll be able to swim

The aim of the task will therefore be to move the body. We're going to try to improve our actions and our position to be as efficient as possible in our movements

The only technical means possible in swimming will be the different body segments. In other words, your body will have to change in relation to itself and not in relation to an external object. This means a lot of work on proprioception at the level of the senses

You can use equipment to work on a specific aspect (pull buoy, board, fins, etc.). Sometimes it's necessary to simplify some tasks and make you feel the right movement or position. But it should always be used with caution because it can lead to other faults. So you should always go back to swimming without equipment.

6.1 Familiarise yourself with the aquatic environment

It's important to be familiar with the aquatic environment from a very young age. This will help to avoid (or limit) certain fears. On a day-to-day basis, you can familiarise your children with water without having to go to the pool. When you give your child a shower, it's important not to hesitate to wet their face - there's nothing dangerous about that. Unfortunately, some parents have fears of the aquatic environment that they pass on to their children.

Water on the face is really a step that makes it easier for children to put their head under water completely. And putting the head under water is one of the first steps in swimming, it's a necessary condition for the rest of the learning process. Here you can teach your child not to panic by congratulating him and smiling at him. If you show them that it's nothing serious and that it can even become a game, little by little your child will get used to water on their face

If you also have the opportunity, baths are also times when you can familiarise your child with the aquatic environment. Lying on their back, get them used to having their ears under water and their face above it. This upsets the balance of the inner ear, but helps them learn to relax in the water. Lying on his stomach and putting his face in the water voluntarily can also be a goal. Ask him to open his eyes and mouth underwater to show him that water does not enter our bodies (unless we swallow it voluntarily). You can also teach him to blow into the water with his mouth, making bubbles

All these exercises are done in swimming lessons. Often for children, but sometimes even for adults who might be apprehensive. You can start to make your child more comfortable in the water by doing these little exercises every day.

You should also respect your child's rhythm. If you notice that water on the face is a difficult stage for him, don't try to make him do all the exercises right after. An exercise done regularly, even for a short time, is a learning experience. Don't forget to also explain what you're going to do, as it's important that he's not surprised, which could increase his fear

Every time an exercise is successful, either totally or partially, or even if it's just attempted once, don't hesitate to congratulate your child. Show that you're proud of him/her and it will be easier for him/her to agree to try again next time.

6.2 Immersion

There are several ways of getting children to immerse themselves in the water through play, especially with children who may be apprehensive. Immersion is part of discovering the environment

Immersion lets you realise the effect that water has on your body. You are carried along, with a feeling of lightness. You'll realise that the more relaxed you are in the water, the more you'll float. Just as the more you are immersed, the more you will float.

6.3 Floating

It's important to know that everyone floats. If you get into the water, without support, whatever position you take (standing, lying down, in a ball...) your body will remain below the surface of the water. Under no circumstances will you go all the way to the bottom of the pool. You can see this when you ask someone to stay at the bottom, to try and touch the bottom. They'll soon realise that, contrary to what you might think, staying at the bottom is difficult

But we don't all float in the same way. To find out if you're subject to a lot of floating or not you can do a simple test and notice that you won't all be at the same level.

Illustration: stand in the water with your arms at your sides, take a breath (lungs full of air) and hold still. Some people will have their eyes above the surface of the water, while others will have their head completely submerged.

It doesn't matter where the surface of the water is in relation to your head, you'll be floating in any case!

6.4 Exploring the volume of water

By exploration, we mean familiarisation with the volume of water. It's important to know how to act on water, and not just by swimming. Successfully going underwater is part of that. It may sound simple, but it's not. To succeed in going underwater, you need to know that using your head is going to be important. To do a «duck» dive, for example, it's the movement made by the head and then the body that will allow you to go underwater without too much effort

You can also descend to the bottom by sitting down (where your feet are). Or simply by raising your arms upwards (when you're standing). In fact, the more you try to get your body parts out of the water, the more you'll be underwater. So don't hesitate to build up momentum! Get out above the water as much as you can before «letting go»

6.5 Alignment

Alignment is a key element in the transition from earth person to swimmer. The problem is that alignment becomes horizontal when you're in the water. All our reference points are therefore disrupted.

Why line up?

Quite simply, have you ever tried to swim standing up? You'll notice that it's not very efficient (you move forward very slowly), and it costs a lot more energy because as well as moving forward, you're trying to keep your head above water.

Reference position in swimming

The «arrow», horizontal, in immersion.

6.6 Crossing the water or projectile body

In a fluid environment (in this case, a liquid) there are multiple resistances to forward movement

First of all, the resistance of form. This is the most important, for a still 'low' movement speed. Formal resistance is calculated as follows: ½ * Cx * d * S * V2

Explanation:

Cx = hydrodynamic coefficient

d = density of the fluid (fresh water = 1)

S = surface of the midship frame = orthogonal projection of the body on a plane perpendicular to the axis of movement of the body

If we project light behind these 2 bodies, here's what we get. The projected shadow of a person in 2 different positions. The shadow on the wall represents the frontal resistances. The bigger the shadow, the bigger the resistances and the braking.

V = speed

shape coefficient (unitless). It depends on the overall shape of the moving object

So, for the shape resistance to be low, S (surface of the midship frame) must be as small as possible. For the same S, we will have a different coefficient of hydrodynamism (Cx)

6.7 Finding your way in the aquatic environment

As all our reference points are disrupted when we swim, we will have to use other means to find our bearings in space. There are several reference points that you may not have noticed. First of all, there are the most visible, the water lines (most of the time with a colour change 5m before the wall). Then there are the flags above the water, also positioned 5m from the wall (for backstroke). Unfortunately, these 2 markers are not always present in swimming pools. Here's one that's always there in a 25m pool: the painted line at the bottom of the pool. As you may have noticed, this line ends in a «T», which is 2m from the wall. This marker is used for all adomen swims to execute turns, and finishes

As we're not supposed to look ahead (in the direction we're moving), these markers have been put in place to warn us of the approach of the wall and thus anticipate turns or finishes

These cues are often associated with a repetition in the stroke. For example, in backstroke, when you pass the flags it's important to know how many strokes you're doing before you hit the wall. This will allow you to integrate these cues and not waste time on the turns by knowing exactly how far you are from the wall.

6.6 Crossing the water or projectile body

The most important thing to know about breathing in swimming is that you have to breathe out underwater.

You have to breathe out underwater, otherwise you'll run out of breath very quickly. Your swimming rhythm will quickly break down every time you try to breathe. You'll hold your air for too long, then less and less until you need air too regularly.

This applies to all swims (except backstroke, where the airways are in the air).

Exhalation must be complete, you must really empty your lungs before taking your head out of the water. The only reason to leave the airways is to take in air. From then on, you'll have the right breathing rhythm and you'll feel much less out of breath with each length

In the front crawl, you should breathe on your side. If you straighten your head forwards, you're going to break your body alignment and therefore cause tiredness (as you'll also be trying to stay afloat). You should only have half your face coming out of the water, with your chin pointing towards your shoulder (on the side where you are breathing). If you're relying on your eyesight, you should only be able to see the water line or the wall to the side but in no way what's happening in front of you.

6.9 Diving level 1

First of all, to dive successfully, you need to know how to let yourself fall into the water. In fact, the dive is a sequence of actions: a forward imbalance followed by an impulse from the legs

The imbalance will allow the body to enter the water with the arms first, followed by the head and the rest of the body. You try to get into the water with your whole body in the same place. It's like trying to pass through a hole, through a hoop on the surface of the water

The first mistake a beginner makes is to take off with the legs before the imbalance. In this order, a «flat» is very often achieved

How do you learn to fall in the water? Several exercises are suggested. Remember to do each exercise several times, with no more apprehension, before moving on to the next

The next exercise still has the same aim: to let yourself fall into the water. This time we're going to get closer to the diving position

Standing at the edge of the pool, you're going to stretch out your arms and put them behind your head («arrow» position). Bend forward, with your arms pointing towards the bottom of the pool. In this position, let your arms fall first so that you touch the bottom of the pool upside down. Keep the same position as you fall.

6.10 Propulsion level 1

We start talking about propulsion or the propelling body once alignment (the projectile body) has been acquired. In fact, before you start wanting to swim faster, you need to know how to reduce the resistance (the brakes) to progress as much as possible. The faster you swim, the more important the brakes will become, so tiredness will take over very quickly if you don't have the right position

First of all, it's important to know what you're using to propel yourself, in which stroke and in which direction. In front crawl, butterfly and backstroke, most of the propulsion is provided by the arms. This is made up of the paddle (hand + wrist + forearm), but also the arm up to the shoulder. The paddle is the support surface most used for propulsion, so it's important to know which way it should be pointing. It will be pointing backwards (towards your feet). For your blade to be truly effective, it must form a single unit. Like an oar, your hand should be an extension of your forearm, so the wrist should be strong

Front crawl: Push backwards - forearm and hand aligned (wrist locked)

ackstroke: hand and forearm point backwards, wrist remains stationary

You can't see the forearm in the second photo because it's well aligned with the hand to form the paddle

Breaststroke: wrist fixed, hand and forearm pointing backwards for propulsion

utterfly: wrist fixed, hand and forearm pointing backwards throughout the propulsion phase

Let's not forget the last stroke, the breaststroke. It's a bit different from the others, as you'll have realised. In breaststroke, the legs are the driving force. It's the action of both legs simultaneously that creates the backward thrust. You could compare this action to the image of a frog

Frequently, the action of the legs is not carried out correctly because the feet are not in the right position. In fact, unlike other swims where the foot is always straight (as in ballet, for example), in breaststroke the feet must be bent before pushing backwards. The most difficult thing is to feel the position of your foot, because very often you just can't do it. You'll need to do several exercises to get your feet in the right position

The feet are further apart than the knees, not the other way round, which is a very common mistake

6.11 Synchronisation

The coordination of propulsive actions is important to create continuity in the movements and avoid dead time

In front crawl and backstroke, each time one of your arms finishes pushing underwater, the other immediately takes over. This creates a continuous movement of the arms and therefore ensures that you move continuously too. The legs allow you to make up for any dead time. For example, over longer distances such as the 400m or 800m, the propulsive actions of the arms are no longer as synchronised because we're more interested in gliding and lengthening the stroke. So, for a very short time, one arm extends forward while the other begins the aerial return. During this time, the arms are no longer propelling the stroke. A continuous action of the legs in beats makes it possible to maintain the created speed

In breaststroke and butterfly, you also need to be synchronised. In breaststroke, the propulsive action of the legs must start when the arms have already returned to the projectile position (the arrow). This ensures that you cover a greater distance thanks to the movement of the legs, because we have limited the front brakes as much as possible

In butterfly, there are two undulations. The first slightly precedes the movement of the arms, which combines the propulsive action of the arms and legs. It also makes it easier to get your arms out of the water (the aerial return). The second undulation maintains the speed created because it takes place just after the arms enter the water. You repeat this movement and so on; the butterfly isn't the most physically tiring stroke for nothing

However, it's important to note that in breaststroke and butterfly, the propulsive actions are often followed by a longer slide than in front crawl and backstroke. In fact, the propulsive actions are simultaneous in breaststroke and butterfly, which allows greater speed to be produced, and so to take advantage of this propulsion there will be a moment when the body remains as projectile as possible. Secondly, in these strokes, breathing is forward, so you need to constantly compensate for straightening and alignment. You therefore need to give your body time to lengthen again. Otherwise you run the risk of swimming half upright and therefore tiring yourself out much more quickly by creating more resistance.

6.12 Breathing level 2

At this level you have learnt and succeeded in integrating that the exhalation must take place in the water and must be complete

Now you need to know that the inhalation must be quick and at the end of the push. We're trying to optimise every movement and every time the head comes up, the alignment of the body is inevitably slightly disturbed. The inspiration must therefore be rapid so that this moment when the body is no longer in optimal alignment is as short as possible

To minimise disruption to the stroke, breathing should take place at the end of the propulsive actions carried out by the arms.

6.13 Diving level 2

Once you have integrated the work on imbalance, here is what you need to work on to achieve an advanced dive.

The trajectory of the dive must not simply be directed downwards and forwards. In fact, following the imbalance, the trajectory must be towards the front and the top before coming back down towards the bottom. The idea is that gaining height will allow you to gain speed on the way back down, when you enter the water

To climb upwards, the orientation of the head will play an important role. It will have to be upright, with the focus looking far forward at first. Once at the top of the trajectory, pull your head in before entering the water

The action of the legs and arms must be defined by a big push on the block. Once you start to lose balance, your legs will push very hard towards the block. You wait until the shins are almost parallel to the surface of the water so that the push is in the right direction

The arms will also have a pushing action towards the back, less important than the legs but if you want to be as efficient as possible you have to use them too. During the ascent, the arms are at the side of the body following their push backwards, then they come back into position with the head, before entering the water.

6.14 Propulsion level 2

For you to be effective, the orientation of the propulsive surfaces is not enough. To produce speed and really propel yourself, each propulsive action must have an intensity.

The movement you make underwater must have an increasing intensity. In other words, as your arm enters the water, your arm travels underwater before returning above the water. This underwater trajectory must be executed with an increasing speed. For the propulsion to be really effective, you must intend to accelerate your movement underwater

The quantity of propulsive surfaces used is also an important factor. The more you point your limbs backwards when accelerating underwater, the more speed you'll produce. For example, in front crawl, in addition to the paddle (see propulsion level 1), you can also engage the arm and therefore increase the amount of surface area that will allow you to propel yourself. To do this, when you push backwards, your arm will have to go deeper to be able to move larger masses of water and therefore propel yourself even more

At this level the physical aspect also comes into play, to succeed in accelerating the movement while having the most propulsive surfaces engaged, you'll need strength