For an adult, swimming is the best way to work out. Practicing it on a regular basis helps in releasing stress and staying fit.
Well, many adults fear water and that is why they don’t initiate swimming. So, professional swimming lessons help in overcoming fear. Further, swimming allows the body to work against resistance, which strengthens the lungs, muscles, and heart.
As you already know swimming has many benefits. And those appealing perks of swimming approach adults to learn it. However, it’s also important to get lessons from a reputable and experienced swimming center. So, here in this article, we will discuss the important points to consider while teaching swimming to an adult.
Points To Remember While Teaching Swimming To Adults
1. Build Trust
Adulthood is the time when a good instructor is required to learn any new skill. For a coach it’s important to build trust with their students. It makes the further tasks easier.
Ensure the swimming institute you have chosen for your friend (sibling, parent, or any other person) is experienced. The instructor there must have good experience to deal with the same age group.
Often adults feel scared and insecure around water bodies, so to make them safe, a coach must start with building trust first.
Furthermore, we would recommend that before registering the name, discuss fears with the swimming instructor.
Important characteristics a coach must have:
- The key quality for taking swimming lessons is patience. For adults, a coach should have patience and empathy.
- They shouldn’t get frustrated with slow learners because the class will have learners of different abilities. Coaches must understand they are the source of inspiration for students so be calm when students are progressing at their pace.
- The instructor must discuss safety tips with their students and provide them with goggles for swimming, swimsuit, sunscreen to protect the skin (for outdoor swimming class), etc.
- A coach should be helpful to every student without being biased. They should never make a student feel guilty for not knowing how to swim.
- Whenever an instructor is teaching the strokes, they need to be a good observer. So, it’s better to stand on deck and observe swimmers. It helps a coach to see the mistakes or the strength of students.
- They must encourage students and not criticize them.
- Usually, adults learn swimming in three styles. It includes listening, observing, and practicing. So ask an instructor to follow the method of teaching a new skill to students. It can be done by explaining, then demonstrating it, then explaining it again, and then at last let your students practice every swimming style.
2. Use Tricks For Comfort
Making swimmers comfortable is also one of the most important rules for teaching them. So, ensure the swimming institute you are choosing has a quiet and private environment. It is because sometimes adults feel embarrassed. That is why it’s not a good idea to teach them in a crowded pool.
Also, an instructor must teach basic kicking skills to the students. It will make learners feel comfortable enough to touch the bottom of the swimming pool. Once your students feel safe then move towards another skill buildup.
3. Concentrate On Breathing
The most common problem stated by adults while swimming is breathing. Usually, adult students can swim, however, they face difficulties while breathing and become tired quickly in the water.
Believe it or not, breath control is the base of good swimming. Nobody can learn to swim without the capability of breathing in the water.
Key points for a swimming instructor:
- They must watch their students while swimming and ask them to breathe frequently. Also, check their body movements while breathing.
- Check out if they are blowing bubbles on the sides of the neck and head.
- There must be a sound of inhaling and exhaling while the head turns.
- Check out if a swimmer is catching their breath or not.
- An instructor must tell swimmers about the kick, strokes, and body position.
A swimming coach needs to ask their students to concentrate on the air blowing in the water. You might have seen or heard that people usually focus on leg and arm movement while swimming. But it’s not the right way to learn.
As good instructors, they should tell swimmers to concentrate on breathing and then practice the floating skills. It is because breathing is the key element to learn swimming.
4. Introduction To Floats and Glides
Now, moving ahead the most important techniques are floats and glides. Have a detailed view!
Float
Front Float
First of all, a coach must tell their students to take a breath and fill their lungs with air while swimming. The front floating makes it difficult to breath for adults so students need to be careful. Also, an instructor should teach students about putting their face inside water in such a way that the back of their head will be exposed.
Back Float
Back float is easier because swimmers can breathe naturally while swimming. In this, students lie on their backs and water supports them to float. There would not be more issues in breathing when you practice back floating.
Glide
To glide, swimmers can take a deep breath, and later they can put their faces in the water.
5. Breaststroke
Well, the breaststroke cycle is known as the “pull, breathe, kick, glide” process. So as an instructor, ask your students to recite this process in their head and practice it in the swimming lessons.
Teach how to perform breaststroke:
- First of all, ask students to float with their faces in the water and keep their bodies horizontal and straight. Swimmers need to stack their hands and keep their legs and arms long.
- The second step is pointing thumbs down, pressing hands out and back (in a circle), keep your elbows high. Later, lift your head upward and then breathe in.
- Now, place your hands in front of your shoulders and your thumbs should be pointing up. The elbows should be close to the swimmer’s body. Bend your knees simultaneously and bring your feet toward your hips and point your feet outward.
- Keep your arms in the forward direction. Start kicking out back (in a circular motion) later then snap your feet together. Also, remember to drop your head in the water and exhale.
- In the end, glide forward and repeat it.
Conclusion
Whenever you are searching for the bestswimming lessons in your town, make sure to check the background of the institute. Also, try to have a conversation with their instructors and understand their teaching methods.
Moreover, the above-listed guide will help adults to learn to swim with ease.
Good luck!
