I took lessons through the park district as a kid.
I have never swam regularly enough to really be proficient. I am confident in my ability to not drown, but I can't do any distance. Part of it is because I am out of shape and out of practice though. I think I learned how to do it properly.
Post by dancingnancy on Jun 7, 2019 16:13:17 GMT -5
I grew up on a big ass lake. My mom has me in swimming lessons at the beach at a very young age - I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know how. Then when I was late elem/early middle school I went to summer camp and really learned all the strokes.
Post by ginandjucie24 on Jun 7, 2019 16:43:14 GMT -5
I can swim, I consider myself a good swimmer. I don’t know strokes or breathing techniques. I can swim underwater and probably do some laps
I never had lessons. When I was 10 years old until 15 years old, my aunt worked at a hotel with a pool and every day my sisters and I and our cousin (my aunts daughter) would take the bus to the hotel and spend the day in the pool while my aunt worked. There was no lifeguard, none of us had lessons, we sort of taught each other.
I can do basic strokes, but that’s it and I’ve never had a real lesson. My best friend taught me to float when I was ten and taught me to dog paddle the next year. I can tread water, back stroke, and float but I’d never call myself proficient. I won’t drown if I fall into a pool.
My aunt taught me when I was 4, which is funny because she can't swim. But when I was 5 I started in formal lessons and then was on a private swim team from 8-12
My DH can't float. So much so that when we took our first deep-water aerobics class on Tuesday, he couldn't stay up even with the float belt on - he had to have a noodle under his arms in addition to the belt around his waist/chest.
I've known of others who can't float but they can swim. Anyone here like this? If so, how do you swim? I'm a good swimmer but also have zero trouble floating, and when my DH asks me for how-to-swim help, I don't know how to help if he can't float! (He took an adult swim class 3 years ago, but I don't consider him to be "able to swim.")
Is your DH super skinny? I've heard lots of random stories about people with low BMIs not being able to float.
He used to be!
I’ve heard that as well about low BMIs, but I really don’t think he’s in this group of people.
What I have observed is that he can’t keep his legs up, so when they drift back down then they pull the rest of him with them.
Not very well. My whole 5th grade class took lessons as part of gym class at a local pool. I could swim pretty well (in a river) then but they wouldn’t let me wear my glasses (even from the beginning so I could get a sense of where things were which I asked to do) and I am very near sighted and couldn’t see the ladder into the pool etc and they put me in the lowest group and I basically did nothing. We didn’t have the money/inclination for prescription goggles as my eyes changed 2-3x a year and I didn’t swim much. My skills have atrophied.
We had a pool growing up and there is video of my mom setting me on the steps and my brother nudging me into the pool. (Mom was in the pool to catch me).
By today's standards, not safe. Lol. I did learn to swim though and am fairly good at it.
My grandparents had a swimming pool when I was growing up, so I self-taught myself how to dog paddle in the shallow end. Eventually I could swim in the deep end. Then when I was 9, I had formal swimming lessons at the local high school.
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
lust2hart my DH only floats somewhat in the ocean. Otherwise he always swims with a pool noodle or a life jacket on the lake. He is a great swimmer, but sinks like a stone and finds it just incredibly tiring unless he is in the ocean.
On the other hand, I am naturally positively buoyant and can float with my head out of the water with my arms and legs stick straight at my sides. I have been since I was a skinny little kid.
It is weird when we go diving together and I carry a massive weight belt and he’s got hardly nothing.
I lived in Miami as a young kid and pools are very common. I learned to swim early but not well. I joined swim team at 6 when we moved to Texas and became a very proficient swimmer then. I am not fast but can definitely swim.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Jun 7, 2019 18:24:31 GMT -5
Yes. I swim. I honestly don't remember a time when I couldn't swim but I know I got most of my skills from day camp. I spent all summer M-F from ages 7-13 with morning lessons and two hours of afternoon open swim. In high school I got lifeguard certification but never worked as one. Im still a good strong swimmer although I don't have beautiful form or anything.
I kinda taught myself. I hated swimmies so I spent a lot of time in the deep end of the baby pool treading water. Any chance I got, I ran to the big pool so my mom taught me to go under, hold breath and do basic freestyle.
I took one year of lessons at six to learn how to do all four strokes well.
I never took lessons (except mommy and me swim lessons as a baby), but could swim at an early age. My mom took me to the pool all the time and I was an only child until almost 6, so I think she just worked with me. I have no grace/speed, but I can swim/tread/stay afloat for a long time if need be. Endurance but no style!
My grandparents had a big in ground pool and we would go there every Sunday in summer for dinner and swimming. I think I kind of taught myself with some help from my dad and my cousins.
I can swim, but I only know very basic swimming. I won't drown.
I started swimming lessons at the age of three and continue to swim today. I consider myself a proficient swimmer. I love open water swimming and did my longest open water swim last year of almost 4 miles. My big goal is to swim longer distances at some point.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Jun 7, 2019 19:46:55 GMT -5
Am I the only one who learned as an adult? When my kids were 3 & 4, so I was 44, they took lessons from a friend of mine, and I thought, "Heck, if she can teach THEM to swim, maybe she can teach me. I'm way smarter than they are." So I learned, but I still can't really breathe while swimming because she wanted me to breathe the opposite of how I can ... In through my mouth and out through my nose, I think. I cannot do it that way.
I am a strong swimmer who was taught by my father, did lessons at the community pool, and did the travel swim team for many years.
My mother learned as an adult. (My father failed at teaching!) She took lessons at the community high school when they built a pool. Totally on her own. Learned everything as an adult.
Post by lexxasaurus on Jun 7, 2019 20:39:55 GMT -5
I can't stay afloat to save my life so I had to become a good swimmer. I started swimming with my mom before I could walk, and I grew up on an island so I spent a ton of time in the water. I also helped with Special Olympic swim team once or twice, but no formal lessons. I'm not as in shape as I used to be but would still consider myself strong at it.
I took lessons as a young child. I can’t be sure, but i think it was just for a few weeks one summer. I was on the swim team at our pool for like 10 years and a lifeguard for several summers. Yes, I consider myself a proficient swimmer. I am actually considering training to do a Triathlon next year.
Post by puppylove64 on Jun 7, 2019 21:04:54 GMT -5
I don’t remember learning to swim. I was a competitive swimmer on and off again from age 4 through high school. I was a life guard and swim instructor from 15-25. I think I am pretty proficient, but also know to stay out of the ocean on red flags. I am pretty out of shape, but could probably swim a mile if i had to.
I vaguely remember my swimming lessons so I think I was pretty young when I learned. I hadn’t swam in many years though (beside just being in the water splashing around) and when I started swimming again a year or two ago I found that I knew how to do freestyle and could breathe properly which was good but I had no endurance .. like one length of the pool was tiring and I had to rest each 25 yards.
I took three private lessons and learned how to backstroke and breast stroke which was helpful but time in the water is what helped my endurance. Now I can swim a mile in the pool and it is fine but I’m still slow
I’ve also found I don’t really love it. I WANT to love swimming but I’m having a hard time with it. I think I just don’t like being wet