Why Swimming Lessons are not just for Kids...
Most of us understand the concept of swimming lessons, they’re for kids to make sure they are safe around water… right?
We think there's much more to it than simply learning to be safe. Of course learning to swim competently will make your children more capable of getting to safety if they find themselves out of their depth in water. However, there is a whole new world that swimming lessons can help you discover, and they definitely are not restricted to child learners only!
Swimming is about staying healthy, getting fit and having fun! We think it’s just as important for adults to have swimming lessons, regardless of swimming ability, as it is for children, and here’s why:
There’s always room to improve
No matter how good you are at swimming, there’s always room to improve! Even Olympians don’t train alone, they have coaches and are always working to shave off that little bit of extra time from their swims.
It’s about sharing an experience
Adult swimming lessons aren’t just about being taught, they’re also about companionship. Sharing the experience of learning to swim or improving your swimming technique with others is equally rewarding, allowing you to forge friendships through the common experience as you develop. It also helps you to realise that you’re not the only one that struggles to swim a whole length of freestyle, breathes in half the pool when learning to tumble or finds breaststroke kick just impossible.
Discipline
Sounds dull, but it’s true. The fixed session time increases your likelihood of sticking to at least one weekly swim, particularly when you’ve paid for the sessions. Regularity is half the battle when learning to swim or improving your technique and so if swimming lessons increase your frequency of attendance at the pool, then you’re on the way to swimming further and faster!
Time out
If you have a busy schedule, children or a demanding job, a weekly swimming lesson may simply be about taking time out for you. A little like the point on discipline, the fixed weekly time slot encourages you to take that time out to focus on you – you might still be working hard, but you can feel great knowing that you are investing in ‘you’.
Quiet lanes
Often, as a non, or not confident, swimmer, adults are too nervous to swim in public swimming sessions for fear of ridicule, being too slow, a mouth full of water from another swimmer’s wake or perhaps even simply being seen in a swimsuit – it can take quite a bit of getting used to! Swimming lessons for adults are a great opportunity to get some quiet time in the lanes with people who are a similar speed and share the same insecurities.
I’m very lucky to have private use of a pool where adults can learn to swim without being judged, which is a big thing for nervous adult learners.- Jo McLellan, Swimming Teacher
They’re not like they used to be
The days of trauma-inducing swimming lessons are long-gone. From being chucked in the deep end and told to swim, to trying out the stroke on dry land, if you’ve had a bad experience of learning to swim as a child, it may still haunt you to this day. Thankfully, teaching methodology has moved on from a fishing rod-like tool to help keep learners afloat and is now as much about building confidence and psychological development, as it is about the mechanics of swimming.
1920s swimming lessons - thanks to @FindMyPast for sharing this great picture!
Learn from the Experts
Last, but definitely not least, swimming lessons really are about learning from the experts. Swimming teachers are qualified, have normally experienced lessons themselves and understand what you need to do to improve your swimming technique. Regardless of whether you need help to get the confidence to take your feet off the floor of the pool, or want to improve your stroke technique, a swimming teacher can watch your stroke and give you tips and pointers for improvement.
Unless you set up a camera at the pool, you can't see yourself swimming. My swimming teachers have been invaluable in giving tips to help me make lots of small improvements that have made a big difference to my swimming ability.Jocelyn Kirby, Adult Learner & Zoggs Team Member