How to learn to crawl

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Swimming is a sport that suits anyone: thin and fat, young and old, athletic and not so. We continue to give advice on how to learn to swim on your own. This article is about crawl swimming.

If you've already mastered breaststroke and feel confident in the water, it's time to move on to a faster style - crawl.

Basic moments

Crawl is a type of swimming on the stomach, in which the arms alternately stroke along the body, and the legs imitate the movement of scissors.

During crawl swimming, the muscles of the chest and arms are most involved. The abdominal muscles need to be tense, so swimming will help those who dream of removing excess belly fat.

For movement in the water to be as effective as possible, your face should be submerged almost all the time, so you cannot do without glasses. Or you can use a snorkel mask so as not to raise your head at all and focus on the correct position of the body.

The main rule: movement in the water should be smooth. The effort should not be excessive, and the breathing should remain deep and even.

With the help of the following videos, you can understand the basic nuances of movements while crawling.

Video # 1: body position

For the correct body position, the face is in the water almost all the time. The body should be horizontal for maximum speed. Do not try to look forward, your gaze should be directed down to the bottom, and when you turn your head - to the edge of the pool, not to the ceiling.

Video number 2: legs

For each hand stroke, 2-3 kicks are performed. The stronger your legs, the faster you swim. But at the same time, the legs are not constrained by tension - they should move easily in all joints. The greatest force should be put in the downward movement, while the leg should be relaxed when lifting up.

Legs move from the hip, not from the knee. But with an increase in speed, the legs bend at the knees a little more. The distance between the toes on the vertical axis does not exceed 40 cm, and along the horizontal the thumbs should almost touch each other.

Video # 3: hands

The more your hands grab the water and the more you push off from it, the higher the speed will be. To do this, the palm must be turned so that the thumb is first immersed in the water. For the most effective stroke, you also need to keep your elbow high. The forearm in the water moves along the body, and the other hand at this time is at the surface in an extended, relaxed position. The exit of the hand from the water is also carried out in the position of the high elbow.

Do not strain your shoulders when the arm is in its highest position. Do not hit the water with all your might, the movement should be smooth, and the immersion of the palm should be without clap and unnecessary splashes.

Swimming paddles can help you master the correct paddling technique. But do not swim with shoulder blades for more than a quarter of the time of the entire workout to avoid errors in your stroke technique.

Video # 4: breathing

Breathing properly allows you to supply your muscles with oxygen, which is essential for strong and effective movement.

To take a breath during one of the strokes, you need to turn your face towards the hand that is moving above the water. At the same time, the whole body turns after the hand. The gaze should not be directed too high to avoid unnecessary strain on the neck.

Breathe in with your mouth, and exhale smoothly into the water through your mouth and nose at the same time. One inhale-exhale takes from one to three cycles of hand movements.

We hope you now know how to learn to crawl.:)