I started to learn to swim back in March. Since then, I can do the basics such as the front crawl and back stroke. My problem is that I don't feel comfortable in water that I can't stand up and actually touth the bottom of the pool. That restricts me to staying in water that's 5 1/2 feet or less. I use to be afraid to backstroke in 3 feet of water and I got myself out of that once I learned to stand myself up while in the water. I have not made any progress since. I won't even allow myself to learn to tread water because I am afraid to even get in deeper water even though the ropes and the wall is there for me. I don't know what to expect. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? What happens if I try to get myself to a stand up position in deeper water? Will I start to go down? My goal is to be able to get into 12 feet of water and be comfortable, and then I want to start swimming in the ocean. But, I don't know what's holding me back. I know it can be done because Masters can do anything in the water. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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lefty, you're completely right, I do have the fear of opening my eyes under water! I can force myself to open it, but it takes "forcing" to do... I think it's the uncomfortable blurred vision, along with the feeling of water touching my eyeballs... I don't know... I actually wonder if this phenomenon is common amongst swimmers....?
and, btw, my suggestion is completely restricted to the deep end of the pool, where it's relatively safe with life guards and no underwater currents... :P
it's funny how I used the term "freestyle" exclusively before, and was laughed by friends who told me it should really be called "front crawl" (but since almost everybody does the Australian front crawl in freestyle races, they become synonymus)... But from your wording, front crawl actually sounds like an amaturish term?
lefty, you're completely right, I do have the fear of opening my eyes under water! I can force myself to open it, but it takes "forcing" to do... I think it's the uncomfortable blurred vision, along with the feeling of water touching my eyeballs... I don't know... I actually wonder if this phenomenon is common amongst swimmers....?
and, btw, my suggestion is completely restricted to the deep end of the pool, where it's relatively safe with life guards and no underwater currents... :P
it's funny how I used the term "freestyle" exclusively before, and was laughed by friends who told me it should really be called "front crawl" (but since almost everybody does the Australian front crawl in freestyle races, they become synonymus)... But from your wording, front crawl actually sounds like an amaturish term?
