How do you stand up from swimming?

lisajane

I recently became brave enough to conquer my fear and take swimming lessons. I am doing ok in the class, except for one thing. I cant seem to stand up.
My instructer has me gliding from wall, pushing off with my feet, hands out straight, and gliding in the water but I am having the hardest time trying to stand up. I was told to pull my hands down and bring my knees up to my chest. I can not master this and I am getting so frustrated. My legs tend to continue floating half way in the water and I can not bring them down and i start to panic and grab the wall. Can someone tell me directly how to stand from a swimming position or gliding position. I really want to be able to master this on my next class. Thanx

AngryHippie

Instructor is doin fine,bear with him.It can take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. Try just tucking your knees up first, try it a few time on the couch or an armchair outside of the water, bend your knees and tuck your legs up as close as your chest as you can, In the water don't try to lift your head too soon, Pull back and down with your hands, sweep your hands a little from side to side as you do, You'll get a bit more power from that, When you feel your legs are nearly under you, remember not to try and put your feet flat too soon, try and get one foot under you, If you are tipping forward, try it in slightly deeper water (NOT THE DEEP END), stay close to the bar/Instructors reaching pole. Don't leave it until you have no breath left to stand up, As you run out of air, you will get more susceptible to panic, It's your main enemy in getting the hang of this.

One other thing that may/may not help is that some people find it easier to stand up from the backstroke position. Try it at the wall/bar hold your self shoulders and head lying back in the water, lift your legs up, then slowly try and stand again. If you find this easier, it may be the way forward, try it out with a lifeguard/instructor close to hand.

BTW, you don't suffer from vertigo do you ? If you do, It may take some time to get the hang of this, but it will be worth it... Patience grasshopper.

paulksnn

Well done you lisa for conquering your fear.
Being able to stand, and to tread water are the 2 things you need to be confident in any pool.

As for how to stand, it does take a little practise. You need to to treat the water almost as if it's a solid object, and push down on the water to bring your legs down. Women's legs do have a tendency to float better than mens' legs, because you don't have as much muscle.
What you need to do is:
1. Arms out in front of you, palms facing directly down.
2. Take a deep breath. This will take a moment the first couple of times you try it. You really don't want to run out of breath and start panicking.
3. Bring your knees up to your chest (not actually, but that's the sort of movement your aiming for.
4. At the same time as you bend your knees, push down on the water with both hands. Your hands will push down through the water, bringing your head and upper body out of the water.
What you're aiming to do is to get the feet onto the bottom of the pool, while having your head out of the water.

You can practice the arm and leg movements seperately.
Legs:
1.Hold on to the side of the pool (bar, ridge, whatever is at water level), and stretch your legs out long, behind you.
2.Now bring your knees to your chest. Your legs will start heading for the bottom of the pool.
3.Practice this a couple of times and get used to the feeling. Notice that you automatically push down with your hands on the edge of the pool to stand up.
4.When you're used to this leg movement, hold on to the side of the pool with your arms straight, and your head in the water, and as before, legs out long behind you. Now just repeat the knee bending move.

Arms:
1.Stand in the shallow end of the pool with the wall on one side of you(left or right doesn't matter).
2.Now take a breath, put your head in the water, and your arms out straight in front of you palms down.
3.Push your hands down through the water, almost to your hips. Notice how much effort it takes, if you keep your hands straight, as well as how much of your head/body comes out of the water.
4.If you panic/feel that it's not working, move your hand to the side, and you can use the edge of the pool.

Swimming takes a long time to master, but it's easy to learn. It's all about having the confidence that these strange movements work in the water
Hope that helps.
Paul