How-to: Swim Competitively (Basics For Beginners)

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Swimming is one of the greatest forms of exercise, it works out nearly every muscle in your body. Not only does swimming keep someone fit but it can be used as a great stress reliever. The more you compete and train the more you see the progress of all the hard work, which makes swimming even more fun.

Step 1: Find a Pool

Optimal Practice Pools

In order to practice swimming competitively you will need to find a pool that is at least 25 meters long. Most gyms have a pool that will be 25 meters, but if money is a problem some apartments also have a pool that is 25 meters.

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Simple Practice Pools

If you are not able to find a 25 meter pool and the only other option is a recreational pool would at least help you practice the basics of swimming. Once you get a hang of the basics you will need to find a bigger pool to start swimming competitively.

Step 2: Swim Equipment

All you need to buy before starting to swim is a swimsuit, goggles, and a kick board.

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Men and Women Swimsuits

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Kick boards

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Goggles

Step 3: Basic Swimming

Kicks and Breath Control

When you first start to swim you will need to keep your head underwater and hold a kick-board straight forward while kicking across the pool. It is important to keep your body straight and only turn your body slightly when you need to take a breath.

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When doing this exercise try to take one breath for every five kicks then try one breath for every 10 kicks. Practice your kicks and breath control until you feel comfortable kicking while keeping a straight path and controlled breathing.

Arms 

After mastering kicking and breathing control you can start to incorporate your arms. It is important to make sure to extend your arms with every stroke. Start by leading with one arm forward with your body sideways and face down, looking at the bottom of the pool, while kicking so you get used to floating while swimming without the kick-board.

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Make sure your hands are always straight, with your fingers closed together, so when you take a stroke you pull the water and move quicker. Take a stroke every 10 kicks to continue to work on your breath control. When taking a stroke you need to make sure to twist your body while you pull down with the leading hand and reach with the other at an angle that does not crossover your head.

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Now you can combine both kicks and arms to practice swimming the stroke called Freestyle or Front Crawl. 

REMINDER: Keeping your head down during all exercises is important so that you won't slow yourself down while swimming and so you keep practicing your breath control.

Step 4: Learn New Strokes

Now that you have learned the basics of swimming you can begin to explore the rest of the strokes. There are four types of strokes for swim. Out of the four strokes, Freestyle is what most people learn first, due to how simple it is. Once you learn Freestyle the rest will not be as hard to learn. The four strokes are:

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Butterfly

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Backstroke

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Breaststroke

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Freestyle

Once you learn Freestyle learning the rest should be easier and from there you will be able to choose which one you would like to practice on the most. Now you know the steps on how to swim and can fully enjoy the sport!