20 Nov Lockdown 2.0 Swimming Exercises
Sadly unlike most clubs we cannot transfer our lessons online through this second lockdown however there are some exercises you can follow with your children to help them as they return to lessons in December!
Bath Time – we suggest no bubble bath for these exercises!
Head back! Ask your little swimmer to lie back in the bath and let their ears go under the water (this might be challenging itself for some) and allow them get used to the sensation of water in their ears. Get them to look up at the ceiling and make sure their eye brows stay dry (that they are not lifting their head back too far) Once relaxed with their arms by their side and legs straight (or knees bent, feet on the bottom of the bath) get them to focus on breathing in and out slowly and get them to tell you what they notice happens to their body.
If they are nervous about getting their ears wet you can place your hand under their head to support them and slowly lower their ears under the water. Swimmers should notice their bodies lifting up and down as they breath in and out – an interesting observation which helps children understand the importance of breathing whilst floating on their back!
Face in! The bath is a great place to try out new goggles, practise bubbles and see how long swimmers can hold their breath underwater. Perhaps encourage your child to take bath toys under the water to identify – time them blowing bubbles or if they are learning side breathing get them to put their face in the water and demonstrate turning to the side when you tap them on the head. Remind them to breath out in the water blowing bubbles and breath in when their head is turned to the side.
Dryside exercises to do in the living room.
Windmill arms! Standing up tall ask your swimmer to demonstrate frontcrawl scooping arms. Starting with arms out stretched in front of them get them to pull down one arm at a time, pull back to the hip, drawing the elbow up high and reaching up over head back to the starting position. Can they do this with their fingers closed? Can they make their arms as big as possible, stretching as far in front as they can? Perhaps ask them to ‘swim’ across the room with walking legs practising their breathing pattern too!
Stretch and kick! Lying face down arms in a superman position ask your swimmer to stretch through their fingers and toes making themselves as long as they can, toes pointed and hands one on top of the other to create a streamlined position. Head facing down, neck long and neutral. This is a perfect position for push and glides, arms are strong and stretching, leg muscles activated and extended. To make it a little harder ask your swimmer to demonstrate small flutter kicks in this position (great for working on straight legs as its very tricky to bend knees!) This is a great core exercise which is such an important muscle group for swimming!
Learning to swim is a lot to do with building up a muscle memory as well as confidence in the water, these exercises are a great way to keep the mind focused! We look forward to practising swimming for real when we return to the pools!