I have always emphasized the importance of acquiring essential skills. One important physical skill you can acquire today is swimming. It has many awesome benefits and it can be life-saving in some situations.
Nigeria has many water bodies including rivers, lakes and an 850 kilometre coastline with the Atlantic ocean. What this means is that some people might have to work offshore on places like ships. So, swimming might be one of the skills you need to do your job as a sailor, engineer or logistics officer.
There are also some great health benefits to swimming which we would go over. This article will help you discover the various skills everyone who wants to be a great swimmer should have.
Skills you need to learn in swimming
It takes some skill to be a great swimmer. While different people have varying opinions about what is the best way to become a better swimmer, I would like to explore the skills I believe are the most powerful.
Breath Control while swimming
One’s ability to control their oxygen consumption would affect how well they swim.
If you have more air in your lungs, it can lift the other parts of your body while you swim. But you need to have a breathing rhythm to do this effectively. You can’t exhale air too quickly or hold your breath forever while in the water.
You can improve your breathing through practice. Try to breathe while your face is deep down in the water. Practice exhaling and inhaling slowly and time yourself to see how long you last.
Diving
Swimming exercises often start with the swimmer diving into the water. So it is something every swimmer should know about.
Before diving, streamline your body by raising your arms above your head and crossing your palms. The next step is to move close to the edge of the water and allow your toes to grip the edge. Then bend forward slowly over the water and release yourself into it by pushing your leg against the edge.
Diving is important because it sets the tone for the entire swimming exercise. When done properly, it can help you maintain your stability while in the water.
Kicking in swimming
While swimming, we use a kicking technique to provide stability in the water. The swimmer kicks by moving the legs to the surface of the water and then kicking it downwards with force, using your entire leg in the process.
To have effective kicks, you shouldn’t move your entire knee. Ensure your kicks are in your body streamline. Kicks in swimming are smaller than the type used to play football.
You can improve your kick by practising your kicking techniques when you aren’t in the water. Practising can help you remember how kicks feel when you are in the water.
Floating
I have stated that swimming can save your life in some situations. This is where the floating technique of swimming comes in.
While in the water, accidents can happen. For example, one might get injured or stuck which means you might find it difficult to move your legs or arms. At such a time, you have to float.
The key to floating is retaining air in your lungs while in water. So while trying to float, do not exhale all the air you have taken into your lungs otherwise you could sink. If you are in a dangerous situation, you can keep floating until you find something to support yourself with in the water.
Becoming good at floating takes practice. If you repeat this through practice, you would soon feel comfortable floating in water.
Swimming strokes
There are different types of strokes in swimming. They are butterfly stroke, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle. Mastering these strokes would make you a master swimmer.
Let me briefly describe each of these strokes so you can have a better picture of what they entail.
Butterfly stroke
Butterfly requires a lot of physical strength that can be built over time through swimming. This type of stroke involves flapping your two arms at the same time in the water above your head and in line with your shoulders. To do this properly, you have to keep your legs together and your toes pointed.
While using this stroke, you would find yourself pulling a lot of water with you arms but remember to swim close to the surface. This would allow you to breathe when you briefly pull your head above the water.
Backstroke
The backstroke is unique because it allows you to swim in the reverse direction. To use this technique, dive into the water in a streamlined position but on your back, then stroke by pulling one arm at a time out of the water with the thumb side of the arm coming out first.
While doing backstrokes, your kick should start from your hips rather than from your knees. You should also learn to move your body from the stroking arm.
Breaststroke
This technique makes the most use of the legs and allows the swimmer to glide in water. It starts with entering the water with your arm stretched above your head in a streamlined position.
Then spread your arms and pull them back towards your shoulder so that your arms’ movement creates an imaginary circle in the water. When pulling your arms back, take the opportunity to pull your head above the water so that you can inhale air.
To propel yourself forward, fold your legs towards your buttocks then kick with the legs in both directions.
Freestyle
This is probably the easiest stroke. While doing this stroke, the key is maintaining balance and energy while swimming. It involves dipping your arm in the water above your head with your middle finger in front as you stroke into the water.
Then follow this up by reaching forward with the arm in the water to propel your body forward while you raise the other arm above the water for stroking. While lifting an arm, your body shifts to align with that arm bringing your head slightly above water. This is the opportunity to take in some air to keep your body afloat.
You have to avoid crossing the body centre with your arm so that you can maintain a stable stride while in the water.
How can I improve my swimming skills?
Just like with almost every other skill, the most important step you need to take to do better is to make out time for practice. What should you practise? Well, let me list a few.
- Practice streamlining your body before you enter water
- Practice breathing in water.
- Practice kicking when you are outside water
- Practice floating in water.
If you become good with these you should do fine.
Benefits of swimming
There are several benefits of swimming. Some people have taken up swimming as a professional sport. In fact, in Nigeria there are various aquatic sports such as open water swimming, Water Polo, and diving.
Some well-known professional swimmers in Nigeria include Yellow Yeiyah, Samson Opuakpo, Chinelo Iyadi etc. There are also national and international competitions for swimming as a sports such as the Olympic games, African swimming championship, Commonwealth games etc
But everyone doesn’t have to be a professional swimmer. There are still health benefits to swimming if you aren’t one. Some of these benefits include;
- Swimming can help keep your mind sharp. Some research has associated swimming with better short term memory, focus and positive mental well-being.
- Swimming is a great way to burn calories and manage body weight. It is also a great way to start working out especially if you are new to the whole thing.
- Swimming has been known to strengthen the lungs by improving oxygen retention. As you swim consistently, your body develops the ability to cope with the changes that happen with your breathing, thereby strengthening your lung’s capacity.
- Swimmers can experience better sleep as a result of swimming. This is because swimming, like most other exercises, helps to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.
- Swimming also helps with relaxation and stress management. Swimming has been known to release endorphins in the body which have been known to improve our sense of happiness.
- Swimming helps strengthen the heart and muscles of the swimmer’s body. Research has shown that swimming can help reduce the blood pressure in hypertensive adults. Also, the resistance provided by water during swimming exercise helps build the body’s muscles.
Conclusion
Swimming is one skill that can be learned for so many different reasons such as health, fun, or career. Regardless of the reason why, you need to master important skills like Breathing, Diving, Floating, Kicking and Swimming strokes