how can teach my self to swim...i'm 40 yrs old...never learned?

Answer 1

I'm 35 and just learned to swim, but took private lessons. I only took them privately because of my fear of the water and I felt i needed the individual attention.

If you want good but cheap lessons, then try the RedCross. 8 sessions is $25 while most lessons are in the $100-200 range for only 4 or 5. Even the YMCA isn't cheaper, even if you're a member!

But, I can give you the basic steps that got me there.

1. Get accustomed to having your face in the water and learn to breath correctly. Basically, you want to take a breath and then put your head into the pool and breath out. Don't go down into the pool vertically, go face-first and submerge your whole head.

2. Step one will naturally lead to step 2. As you submerge your face lower and lower, try to keep your chin tucked to your chest. You'll find your legs will naturally want to float up and you'll start to float. If you straighten your back and keep your chin tucked and head down, then you'll easily float.

3. Get a noodle or other floating device to hold on to and when you master step 2, push yourself off from the side of the pool (in the shallow end), take a deep breath and submerge your face and go into the float. Then you can start to kick your legs. At some point, you'll realize the noodle isn't what is keeping you afloat and you can start the arm motion for freestyle swimming.

The truth is that even though I gave you all this, I can't really teach you or anyone via yahoo how to do more than this. And there's a lot more to it. How to float on your back, how to turn to breath, how to turn onto your back from front and vice versa, how to stand.

In other words, its best that you go to the red cross or another swimming facility to learn.

Answer 2

Learning Swimming At 40

Answer 3

Teaching yourself can be very tricky no matter what you're teaching yourself to do. For example, I taught myself how to play guitar and I know I'm probably doing some stuff wrong but if you have a natural talent for it and don't let your fears or nerves get to you then you'll be all set.

I would just start off with the basics in the shallow end. I wouldn't suggest holding on to the wall, if you really want to swim there's not always going to be a wall to hold on to like if you're out on a lake swimming. I would suggest that you work on the breaststroke, it's not too easy but yet not too hard to learn and it's great for beginners, I would've used it all the time when I was just learning how to swim. I'd say you should really watch other people swimming if you really want to teach yourself, this is how I taught myself a lot of stuff I know about guitar playing. You use a frog kick for your legs and kind of use a synchornized sculling motion for your hands. It's pretty simple but if you're not used to the timing it might be a little more difficult.

I would also suggest the elementary backstroke, it's one of the first real strokes that I learned when swimming and there's a really easy acronym for remembering how to swim it: tickle, T, touch. Your legs use a kind of inverted frog kick and your arms just kind of propel you the water, it's almost breaststroke on your back in a sense. Your arms come up like you're trying to tickle yourself and then you make a T form as your legs come up for the first part of the frog kick and then you bring everything together and kick the water and also propel the water with your arms. If kids as young as 4 can learn it then I'm sure you can.

Answer 4

I would suggest checking with your local pool for a private lesson or two. I am a swim instructor and have taught private swim lessons to various age groups before, and unlike with children, adults pick up much quicker on all the strokes. In a half an hour lesson so much more can be accomplished and you could be swimming safely and efficiently after just a couple lessons.

If going to your local pool for lessons is not an option to you (you can also try checking to hire a teacher from the pool to teach you somewhere else -- that is allowed!) I would suggest getting a swimmer friend to help you out in a supervised area.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I most certainly learn from others. I seem to stagnate completely when I can't interract with other people. Even if I read books, it all seems so pointless to me if I can't share thoughts with other people. Even things I have received through inspiration are not "self taught" because the inspiration comes from God. My little brother said this to my mother a couple of years ago: "Oh, I raised myself." Mum was deeply offended. (She is very loving, but not very big on giving direction.) I sniggered when she told me what my little bro had said ("So true", I thought to myself). He is the fourth child in a family of eight (I'm the third). My little brother (whom I love deeply) has always been the stubbornest little kid. He'd rather get smacked and yelled at (by Dad) than give in to another person's demands... and then he'd just say, "Didn't hurt! (sob)," and he'd continue to do things his own way. (At the age of four, he also said things like, "I don't have to do what you say! You're just a woman!") He's so funny.... Anyway, point is, he was always in his own world, and never listened. He was so right when he said that he had raised himself. Even if my parents had sat him down and taught him, he wouldn't have heard, and he still would have been "self taught". Humans are such fascinating creatures, lol.

Answer 6

Yes! Swimming is the best exercise there is. It even exercises your eyelids.

It's a good start that you can stand up in the water.

Here are several tips:

Stand in the water. Hold onto the edge with both hannds, legs extending behind you. Kick both legs at the time.

Stand in the water. Bend over, putting your head in the water (more on this in case you are afraid to do that). Practice the "crawl stroke" that you see people do. Many people make the mistake of trying to breathe with every stroke. This will only tire you out. Breath every 3rd stroke or so, turning your head just so that you can get a breath. Don't put your head entirely out of the water.

IN CASE YOU ARE SCARED TO PUT YOUR WHOLE HEAD IN.......go a little at a time....chin first, then mouth, until you can put your whole head in.

Then try to go in water over your head. You can hold onto the edge of the pool for comfort and confidence if you're scared of deep water. Try to "tread water." That's just moving your legs back and forth to stay up. Another good idea would be to get a little board to hold onto. You can kick while you are holding that as well.

It's really hard for me to say more without actually being there to show you, but since your boyfriend loves water, he can help, too.

GOOD LUCK! I promise you will grow to love it.

I swim a mile almost every day. (That's 66 times the length of the Olympic Pool.)

Answer 7

RE:
how can teach my self to swim...i'm 40 yrs old...never learned?

Answer 8

Why teach yourself? The YMCA and other organizations will give swimming lessons for free or for very cheap. That way you'll learn the right way and safely.

Answer 9

Hey, as a start, just get in water and lay on your back. You will not sink in, trust me!!! It's all about human density ;)

Answer 10

try to just hold on to the edge of the pool then let off do a doggy paddle then just try to work from there or use floates