How long does it take you to become more comfortable in deeper water. I went to the 2 feet water and let myself just float on my back and stomach and realized that the water will in fact support me no matter how I move as long as I have air in my lungs. However, when I realize that I have floated in more than 3 feet deep I feel a little funny because I don't know to touch to bottom of the pool anymore. When I was dependant on the floatation devices I was fine in six feet of water because I could get myself to stand up. You can't exactly do that when you're floating and if u can I just don't know how yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Former Member
If you can float in 2 feet of water, you can float in 20 or 200
or 2000 feet of water. Granted, there is a probable mental
hurdle regarding deep water, but physically there is no difference.
50% of swimming is
90% mental:rolleyes:
Shaky is right on. I suggest doing exactly as he says. Reason: In watching small children say 5 years and up they naturally cling to the side and they naturally tread water as they experiment not holding on as they move further and further away from the side. I watched my grandson do this alot this past summer. Ah, youth!
Brenda, I think you need to learn to tread water. Once you can tread water, it won't matter whether you can touch the bottom or not, because you'll know how to keep yourself at the surface in any depth of water.
I wouldn't be able to describe it here. You need an instructor who can demonstrate it to you. It involves making semicircular motion with your arms and hands and kicking below you at the same time, but once again someone will need to show you for it to make sense. I would suggest asking your current instructor to teach you how to tread water; and if he or she can't, you probably need another instructor! I hate to be critical of someone I don't know, but I'm surprised that your instructor is trying to get you into the deep water without first teaching you the necessary techniques for remaining at the surface. It seems that a step is being skipped.
The way I was taught years ago was to start by hanging onto the side of the pool in the deep end, then ease away from the edge, within reach of the side, and tread. When I got tired, I could reach out and grab the wall. The instructor encouraged us to stay out a little longer each time, until we could tread water for a pretty good while. At first your motions will likely be frantic, but as you learn how to use the water you'll smooth out and be able to stay up considerably longer.
After we could tread water confidently, she had us stay off the wall and transition to a float on our backs if we got tired. Once I mastered this, I figure I could stay out in deep water as long as I could stay awake, and knowing that is a real confidence booster. Once you know how to tread water, the transitions from floating to treading (or floating to standing) become easier mentally. The reason is that you know that if the floor isn't there, you'll still know what to do to be able to stay at the surface.
Hang in there. You seem to want this badly enough that it'll eventually come to you. You'll be outswimming the rest of us before you know it.
Also to help getting to a verticle position from floating on your back is draw your feet up by bending your knees while doing the above steps that Janis wrote about.
Jeff
If you are floating on your back, to stand, put your arms out to the side like a "T", lift your head up, bring your arms around backwards under the water and then up, as soon as the head is lifted the bottom half on the body should start to sink. As you are sweeping the arms around drive the butt down. This should put you in a vertical position to stand.
If you are on your front floating, put your arms in front of you, lift the head, the legs will start to sink, drive the arms down, bend the knees up, and you should end up vertical.
If you should decide to wear fins at all, always stand by turning yourself on your back and stand in that manner as if you were floating on your back.
I have been working with a man who wanted to learn to swim in the worst way. He was afraid of deep water. What we did that seemed to work was to put long fins on (helped in learning to kick) and he held on to empty plastic gallon milk jugs with the lids on. This way he learned an effective kick without having the fear of going under. Once he was kicking effectively we took away the jugs (but not the fins). We also did many, many repeats of learning how to get into a back float from that position of being vertical in deeper water. Next I gave him back the jugs and took away the fins and he kicked until he was satisfied that he could stay up and get to a safe place-a back float or even the side if needed. Then we took away the milk jugs. I cannot say that he is totally without fear yet but he is swimming across the pool now.
Good luck.
