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Are you learning to swim?
Are you struggling to improve your strokes?
Do you struggle with basic swimming techniques like treading water effortlessly?
Are you afraid of deep water?
Are you preparing for a lifeguard course but not sure you're ready?
Do you want a one to one teacher to help you build your confidence in the water?

I am a certified Lifeguard, Level II Swimming teacher, Psychology graduate and a member of the British Psychological Society.

For enquiries, contact:
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text 00353899790259.

Breaststroke swimmer learning the Frontcrawl?

Most people will agree that the Breaststroke is more challenging to master when compared to the Frontcrawl. While this may be true, it is possible to swim long distances using the Breaststroke without too much stress even if you are not doing it properly.
On the other hand, the trouble with Frontcrawl is that if you're not doing it correctly, you will not go far. It's as simple as that.
I have seen many swimmers, who are good swimmers as far as the Breaststroke is concerned, struggle to complete a single lap on a 25m pool using the Frontcrawl. Very often, the swimmer gets tired after a length or two and then immediately switch back to what they know how to do well- Breaststroke. Sometimes, the swimmer stops in the middle of the swim to tread water.
So is it right to describe yourself as a strong swimmer if you are good with Breaststroke but not the Frontcrawl? The answer is yes. A fast swimmer? The answer here is a big NO!
The need to develop a Frontcrawl technique that is very effective is usually fuelled by the desire to swim fast. If you are preparing for a lifeguard course or just trying to enter an open water swim, you will understand that as good as your Breaststroke is, you will need the Frontcrawl to make it. Frontcrawl is the fastest of all the popular swimming strokes.
Here are some of the common challenges you will encounter as a Breaststroke swimmer trying to learn the Frontcrawl:

1. THE KICK: If you're a good Breaststroke swimmer, you must be used to pushing water backwards with the soles of your feet. The Frontcrawl on the other hand requires the flutter kick which doesn't feel as powerful. Well, unlike the Breaststroke, most of the power for the Frontcrawl doesn't come from the kicks, instead it comes from the upper body. Try not to kick too much as you will burn a lot of energy unnecessarily. Your kicks should come from the hips and help to keep your body in a good horizontal floating position. You must learn to do this with ease, not with too much power.

2. BREATHING: As a Breaststroke swimmer, you have plenty of time to inhale as you pull. A big challenge with the Froncrawl is breathing. The floating position (lying horizontally with face in the water) helps you move easily in Frontcrawl but the need to breathe ideally on every three strokes means you need to turn to your sides and inhale quickly without pausing your swimming. You will need more oxygen if you are using a lot of energy as a result of drag caused by poor technique. Truth is, this is the main reason you get tired quickly and stop.
My advice is focus on getting the techniques right. For a start, don't try to go long lengths. Stop immediately you notice you are struggling and try to correct what you are doing wrong. Typical mistakes will be that you are not exhaling after inhaling, or you are raising your head up too much and sinking your legs, or you are kicking too fast. When you get the techniques right, you'll discover that your breathing is easier. A swimming teacher will tell you what you are doing wrong.

3. BILATERAL BREATHING: Most swimmers learning the Frontcrawl will come across this problem. Turning to one side to inhale usually come naturally. The ability to turn on both sides is a challenge for many swimmers because most people are either left-handed or right-handed.
Although breathing on one side does not mean your Frontcrawl is wrong (some elite swimmers breathe on one side), breathing on both sides means you have a good balance on the water. It also means your breathing is perfect because you are able to turn anytime to either side, never having to hold your breath.
The best way to learn the bilateral breathing is to do it. It will appear difficult at first. You may tend to raise your head up rather than turn to your side, but if you persist, you will overcome this challenge.

4. LEGS SINKING: In Breaststroke, it is possible to have your legs more on the vertical position and still swim comfortably. Legs position in the Frontcrawl is strictly horizontal. Anything other than that will cause drag. A good legs position and a relaxed head facing the bottom of the pool will make your frontcrawl smooth. If you're a beginner and you find your legs sinking when attempting the Frontcrawl, stop and start with a glide keeping your legs flat and raised. Try and maintain this position as you swim. A kick board can help you improve your kick technique.

Why you find Eggbeater difficult to learn

I am not going to waste your time defining what an eggbeater kick is or how and why it is used. If you found this page based on the above headline, then it's likely you've already been trying to learn how to do the eggbeater kick- and probably finding it difficult to understand why you are doing all the "right things" according to the theories of eggbeater, but still not getting it right. You're probably thinking "I give up! to hell with the eggbeater kick, at least I can tread water using the flutter kick or web kick".
While it can be frustrating, the joy of finally treading water effectively using the eggbeater kick makes the whole journey of learning it worthwhile.
Use driving for an instance. Learning to drive a manual car for the first time- having to engage the clutch, change the gears, watch your mirrors, turn your steering, calculate your movements and still look out for road signs or cyclists all at the same time, can make you decide immediately that you won't be able to manage it. Yet, a few months later, you are driving and chatting with a friend!
The same learning process applies with learning to tread water.

Here are some of the most common reasons for not achieving an effective eggbeater kick:

1. You are focusing on achieving the circular motion. Wrong!
I know you already know that your kicks alternate with the left leg going clockwise and the right going counter-clockwise and making circles in the process, but that's not the point. Your eggbeater kick is basically breaststroke kicks but one at a time. If you lie down on the floor and attempt to do the breaststroke kick one at a time, you'll discover that your left leg goes to the left as you push water backwards in order to move forward. Your right leg also move to the right.
It is this same pushing water backwards with the breaststroke kick in order to move forward that applies in the eggbeater. The difference is that you are doing it one leg at a time.
Try not to focus on achieving a circular motion, instead think of using the breaststroke kick one at a time. The circular motion will come naturally.

2. You are trying to stay afloat. Wrong!
A common mistake beginners make while learning to tread water generally is trying to stay afloat. I usually tell people; "don't try to float, just float!".
As stupid as this may sound, the trouble with trying to stay on top of the water is that you make your muscles stiff and your body heavy as you try hard to float on the water.
People who are still learning the eggbeater usually kick so hard and fast because they think the strength they apply will keep them on top. The thing to do instead is to relax your muscles and press your relaxed body weight on the water. Remember the water is pushing you back as you press your weight on it. This is an experience you only notice when you are completely relaxed.

3. You can't scull water properly.
I know the eggbeater kick allows you to tread water without your hands. However, for the beginner, you must start with both your legs and your hands.
Sculling water is something a lot of people believe they can do, but in reality cannot do it well. One way to find out if your sculling is good enough is to keep your leg still while treading in deep water and scull water with only your hands.
A good sculling technique enables you to learn the eggbeater kick faster.

4. Your legs not wide enough.
Your legs should be spread wide enough as you attempt the eggbeater kicks. This should not cause you any discomfort however. Generally, your legs should be spread a little wider than shoulder width. A well spread legs and a relaxed body will give you a feeling that you are very light in the water as you tread.

5. The sole - the power!
Most beginners fail to realize that most of the magic in the eggbeater kick is coming from the sole. Yes, the bottom of your foot!
If you swim using the breaststroke, then you will understand this better. You must feel the water on the bottom of your foot being pushed away. One good way to develop this is to use a kick board and swim with only your legs.

Treading Water for beginners

Treading water is a skill that allows a swimmer to stay vertical with head above the water without necessarily moving forward or backwards.
One of the most difficult skills that beginners will encounter as they start learning to swim is treading water. It is possible to find people who can swim 20 lengths (or even laps) of a 25m pool continuously and fast, but cannot stand still for 3 minutes in the middle of a deep pool and tread water effortlessly.
Note the word "effortlessly".
If you can't have a decent conversation with someone else while you're treading water; you haven't learnt it. If you can't tread water without your hands (or without your legs while sculling) then I'd like to say you're still not there yet.
There are different methods for treading water like the flutter kick and the web kick. However, statistics shows clearly that the most effective and less energy-consuming method of treading water is the eggbeater kick. While the others are good, eggbeater kick is exceptionally good as it is less stressful. It is, however, a bit more difficult to master.
Treading water effectively without your hands using the eggbeater kick for instance, demonstrates how relaxed you are in water and also shows you have a good feel for water.
Click here for more information about the eggbeater kick.