A beginner´s guide for nervous swimmers in London
Can Adults Learn to Swim? Benefits for Health, Confidence and Safety
Absolutely! Adults can learn to swim, and it is a must for many reasons. Swimming is not only a life-skill but also a way of improving overall health and wellbeing as an adult. It helps with:
- cardiovascular health
- mental health and stress relief
- coordination
- weight loss
With the right coaching and supportive teaching methods, adults can then enjoy the water while feeling safe and develop a skill that can save their lives. Having the right learning environment speeds up the learning curve and it gives every swimmer the freedom to succeed.
Why Many Adults Never Learned to Swim
Many adults never got to learn how to swim as many parents still don´t see swimming as an important skill for their children to have and very often remove their children too early from their lessons or they don´t sign them up at all!
In other cases, children also find themselves with a teacher who´s not the right fit and they grow to hate swimming, and this is a huge problem in the industry today. When this happens, children often give up too soon and force their parents to remove them from swimming. Some Children are also very anxious or fearful, due to past experiences or due to overprotective parents and this causes some delays in the learning process and/or traumas that they take to old age. Over time, this only causes the fear to increase, and it is even harder later when back in the pool.
Learning to Swim as an Adult vs as a Child
There are, although, some differences between learning how to swim as a child and learning how to swim as an adult. Adults are more worried of all the safety risks and overthink every step along the way which later might bring difficulties when learning. On the other hand, adults can easily take on instructions and can set clear goals to achieve. With the right coaching they feel a lot more motivated to achieve these goals a lot quicker and they tend to stay consistent.
How Long Does It Take Adults to Learn to Swim?
Learning to swim as an adult, can feel frightening and overwhelming. As coaches, we know that it takes quite some time to come to the decision of getting in the pool and this is why we built Hydroverse.
Within:
- 2 to 3 lessons, adults will feel a lot more comfortable in the water
- 8 to 12 weeks, complete beginners should be able to swim a whole length
after learning the very basics (floating, gliding, sculling, kicking) if they commit and stay consistent.
Tips for Nervous Adult Swimmers
If you are someone who´s nervous in the water, there are a few steps you can take to help you feel at ease:
- Firstly, breathe
- Don´t put high expectations on yourself
- Always hold yourself accountable
Swimming takes its time, so it´s important that your brain knows that. Secondly, understand your fears and past traumas. This will allow you to work on them with your coach and in eliminating them later once we go through the root cause of the fear. A coach should make you feel safe and comfortable in the water, so it is also important that you find the right coach! If you have the wrong support or just someone who doesn´t understand you, the learning process will be much harder.
Why Private or Small Group Lessons Work Best
As a beginner, having private or small group lessons can make a huge difference from day one. These lessons are more focused on the individual and allow the coach to solely focus on everyone´s needs while giving you personalised feedback and giving you the space to learn at your own pace. This is especially important as it allows you to build trust with your coach and the progress will be much faster. Another very important piece of the puzzle, is having your lessons in a quiet and calm environment as it will also allow you to stay calm, focused and you will enjoy your lessons a lot more.
Adult Swimming Lessons in London
If you are looking for adult swimming lessons in London, choosing the right pool and the right coaching can completely change your life.
You can explore our locations and book here:
- Kew Gardens – https://hydroverse.co.uk/kew-gardens/
- Sheen – https://hydroverse.co.uk/sheen/
Are you ready to start your journey?
Swimming can become one of the most rewarding things you do in life, if you have the right support and environment for you. Whether your goal is to build confidence, fitness, improve your technique or simply learn to feel safe in the water, it all starts with the first step!
Book your lesson with Hydroverse today and kickstart your swimming journey with us. Start building your confidence in the water and develop the skills you need to be able to swim independently and comfortably in the water.
