Adult Learning to Swim

My wife, an experienced swimmer, is trying to teach me how to swim. She had me holding on to a board
with my arms stretched out and kicking my legs, but for some reason my leg kicks were not propelling
me forward. She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked fine, but she
can't figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving backwards. There was
a young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it out either. Any
suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning to swim?

dant wrote:

>She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked fine, but she can't figure
>out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving backwards. There was a young
>swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it out either. Any suggestions as
>to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning to swim?
>
I bet you're an avid runner and you've lost some flexibility in your ankles. If this is the case,
find some stretches to do to increase your flexibility through your ankles.

Try to power your kick from muscles high on your leg: quadricep and hip-flexor. Don't be stiff
through your knees, they should bend slightly. Relax your ankles.

Keep practicing. Good Luck.

Your experience is similat to that of many adult starters. Try to relax your legs and body when
kicking. However it would probably be better to work on the arm stroke than try to strengthen the
kick. If you really want to do kick work, concentrate on breaststroke kick. If you don't move
forward on brs kick then you really do have problems. Good luck, Paul "dant" <dantam8@netscape.net>
wrote in message news:850fb3af.0304191230.7d7d3078@posting.google.com...
> My wife, an experienced swimmer, is trying to teach me how to swim. She had me holding on to a
> board with my arms stretched out and kicking my legs, but for some reason my leg kicks were not
> propelling me forward. She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked
> fine, but she can't figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving
> backwards. There was a young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it
> out either. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning
> to swim?

Hi

In article <850fb3af.0304191230.7d7d3078@posting.google.com>, dantam8@netscape.net (dant) writes:

>My wife, an experienced swimmer, is trying to teach me how to swim. She had me holding on to a
>board with my arms stretched out and kicking my legs, but for some reason my leg kicks were not
>propelling me forward. She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked
>fine, but she can't figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving
>backwards. There was a young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure
>it out either. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult
>learning to swim?

I'm an adult learner. Started from scratch at age 45 (and scared of water) and am now 48 and have
pursued adult swim classes at the local leisure centre to the point where I now have reasonable
competence in breaststroke, backstroke, sidestroke and front crawl. To get my next certificate I
have to be able to do a non-stop 400 metre swim comprising 100 metres of each of those. I can also
manage about 25 metres of rather messy butterfly.

Anyway, comparing the "primary" strokes of breaststroke and front crawl, I've found from my own
experiences and those of other adult learners that many people are markedly better at one than the
other. It may well be that at this early stage while you build water confidence you should try
breaststroke where most of the propulsive power comes from the leg action while in the front crawl
you are struggling with not more than about 20% will ever come from perfecting the flutter kick.

If you want to perservere with front crawl in the short term and are happy floating on your back try
developing your kick in that position. You may find a striking difference in your propulsive
ability. You can also monitor your leg position and straightness to some extent. As you sometimes go
backwards this means that your feet are almost vertical in the water such that they are pushing the
water forwards while at other times they are acting like the water equivalent of air-brakes.
However, improvement in ankle flexibility will not happen overnight. Even now I find a drill with a
float doing front crawl legs only is the toughest exercise for me so I suggest you concentrate on
getting yourself moving confidently through the water using any stroke where you can achieve better
efficiency - now.

Cheers

Martin

"dant" <dantam8@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:850fb3af.0304191230.7d7d3078@posting.google.com...
> My wife, an experienced swimmer, is trying to teach me how to swim. She had me holding on to a
> board with my arms stretched out and kicking my legs, but for some reason my leg kicks were not
> propelling me forward. She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked
> fine, but she can't figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving
> backwards. There was a young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it
> out either. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning
> to swim?

I've been swimming for a long time but my flutter kick is pretty useless as well. As others have
mentioned, propulsion in the flutter kick depends crucially on ankle flexibility and foot position,
and unfortunately some of us have feet that don't cooperate with these demands. Kickboards are
especially difficult for me because the extra bouyancy up front tends to lower my back end and
worsen the angle of my kick. When learning how to swim though, as you are, the timing of the legs
for the purpose of body balance and rotation is much more important than propulsion. (Though without
the resulting propulsion you may find it harder to get a "feel" for when you have things in sync.)
In short, focus on moving the arms and legs together and finding a comfortable rhythm (I use a
two-beat kick; one kick for each arm pull) and for now just let your arms take care of the
propulsion.

on 4/19/03 4:30 PM, dant at dantam8@netscape.net wrote:

> My wife, an experienced swimmer, is trying to teach me how to swim. She had me holding on to a
> board with my arms stretched out and kicking my legs, but for some reason my leg kicks were not
> propelling me forward. She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked
> fine, but she can't figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving
> backwards. There was a young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it
> out either. Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning
> to swim?

1) Point your toes. Over time, you'll want to develop true ankle flexibility so that your feet act
like little flippers at the end of each kick, but for now, start by pointing your toes. Most
adult beginners I teach who go "nowhere" are doing so because their ankles are locked in the
standing position.

2) Learn how to start your kick from the top of your leg, with your hips and outer quads. Keep your
knees loose so that they bend a bit on their own, but *do not* consciously bend them. Most adult
beginners perform a "running" motion with the knees (bringing their knees forward and toward
closer to their chests), you need to learn to do a cross country skiing motion (tilted 90
degrees, of course) with your legs instead. The flutter kick starts at the hip, moves through the
knees, and snaps out the toes. Practice by standing in water on one leg and pretend you're
kicking a football/soccer ball in front of you: swing the leg back and bring it far forward.
(Then switch, of course.)

3) Lose the board as soon as you're comfortable getting your face in the water and exhaling.
Kickboards raise your head and arms and torso, which can lower your legs. Don't get overly
dependant on a kickboard-- most of my students are far better off practicing their flutter kicks
by just doing repeated "torpedo" drills: push off from the wall, head under water (eyes down at
bottom of pool), arms streamlined in front (one hand in the other), strong, steady kick, nice
easy exhale. Stop when you're out of breath, repeat.

Good Luck!

--
Shalom, Peace, Salaam

George Grattan

In article <3EA1B726.6060209@adelphia.net>, Ron <rzuwallack@adelphia.net> wrote:

> dant wrote:
>
> >She said that my legs were straight and everything about my kicks looked fine, but she can't
> >figure out why the kicks don't propel me. At times, I was actually moving backwards. There was a
> >young swim instructor at the pool who we asked and she couldn't figure it out either. Any
> >suggestions as to what I am doing wrong? Any other advice for an adult learning to swim?
> >
> I bet you're an avid runner and you've lost some flexibility in your ankles. If this is the case,
> find some stretches to do to increase your flexibility through your ankles.
>
> Try to power your kick from muscles high on your leg: quadricep and hip-flexor. Don't be stiff
> through your knees, they should bend slightly. Relax your ankles.
>
> Keep practicing. Good Luck.
>

i was about to say these very things. i come from a running background and had trouble getting
much out of my kick for a while when i was getting swim instruction and practising over the last
year or so.

over time, i realized i was keeping my foot rather immobile during kicks, but learned that a
loose, flexible foot/ankle can help. the idea is to really relax that leg, while keeping the knee
relatively straight, with just a bit of bend (mainly on the downstroke, i believe). and again...
to power your kicks from the the thighs/hips. think of a big hinge at the hips and the legs move
from there.

and to help with loosening things up and also avoiding cramps in the foot and calf, i do light calf
stretches before swimming... and sometimes after. you know, the one where you place hands on a wall
with one foot forward (with pretty much all of your weight on it) and place the rear foot in back,
lean forward until a gentle pull is felt in the calf. gentle! i've accidentally overstretched and
injured the calf in the past, and that isn't fun to deal with. i also do simple foot stretches, like
lifting the foot off the ground slightly and pointing the toe away from the body -down- (and hold)
for a bit of a stretch in the lower calf/shin, then raise the toe - up - and hold to get a stretch
in the achilles tendon and calf.

best of luck,

Cam