Swimming lessons for adults and more...!

Is it possible to teach an adult to swim? It's difficult to determine the average time it takes to learn swimming from scratch. Some people master it in a month, others in six months, and for some, it may take a year. If you are determined and committed to achieving your goal, you will definitely succeed!

Can adults learn to swim?

Swimming is an art – this is something you’ll often hear from experienced coaches both in Poland and around the world. The uniqueness of this discipline lies in the fact that creativity plays a huge role in movement in the water.

When we swim, we actually see very little, so to move effectively, we rely on what is called the “feel for the water.” In a sense, this can be compared to musical hearing – if you can identify a sound after hearing it, you may have potential as a good musician.

Similarly, in swimming, if you grasp the concept of “feeling the water,” you’ll learn to swim much faster.

What does learning to swim as an adult look like?

In the still widely recognized theory of Bogdan Czabański, three stages are identified:

• getting accustomed to water – overcoming unpleasant sensations associated with immersion.
• exercises on land
• exercises in water

There are other classifications of swimming instruction that include the following stages:

• introduction to the aquatic environment
• learning basic swimming techniques
• learning standard techniques
• technical training and mastering advanced techniques (for advanced swimmers)

How long does it take for adults to learn to swim?

The time needed to master swimming depends on the individual’s expectations and psychophysical predispositions. There are hundreds of factors that determine how quickly someone can learn to swim, ranging from life circumstances and prior sports experience to health, time devoted to training, and commitment to practice.

It's hard to determine the average time it takes to learn from scratch. Some people master it within a month, others in six months, and for some, it might take a year. If you are determined and committed to achieving your goal, you will definitely succeed!

How to start swimming training?

1. The traditional approach to swimming instruction begins with getting accustomed to water, which involves understanding how the body reacts to it (learning buoyancy, submerging the head, etc.).
2. Next, learners practice initiating body movement by kicking in a backstroke position.
3. Afterward, arm movements are introduced, and focus shifts to swimming on the stomach while incorporating breathing techniques, including submerging the head underwater.

Step by step, increasingly complex technical exercises are mastered. Health and consistency undoubtedly play a key role in this process.

A quick way to learn swimming?

Learning to swim as an adult can be a bit more challenging due to adults' tendency to adopt new motor habits more slowly compared to children.

"Total Immersion" is a method that focuses on understanding how your body behaves in water. Through exercises, training sessions, and weekend courses, it introduces breathing techniques with head submersion and coordination of arm and leg movements. Legs are used primarily for balancing the body during motion, while the arms propel the body forward (as in freestyle swimming).

This technique can be a foundation for those who struggle with traditional teaching methods, as the movements are much simpler for the nervous system and muscles to process, and they reduce stress levels.

The method emphasizes performing exercises with complete body relaxation. The main principle of "Total Immersion" is to simplify swimming techniques and move through water in the most energy-efficient way possible.

On the other hand, the principles of this method can complement the expertise of advanced swimmers who are looking for improvements, sometimes down to fractions of a second.

If you're an adult and wondering how to learn to swim quickly, consider enrolling in a "Total Immersion" course.