What's the fastest swim stroke to learn?
July 6, 2011 8:10 PM Subscribe
What's the easiest/fastest swim stroke to learn? I'm a bit of a nervous beginner and I just want to go from point A to point B in water. A head- above-water stroke would be great but not absolutely necessary. The instructional videos I've seen on youtube seem more focussed on form and technique for the "official" strokes (front crawl, breaststroke, butterfly). Is there a quick and dirty swim stroke?
Side stroke. It's fast, easy to learn, comfortable to do, and your face stays dry. It's also not very tiring.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:17 PM on July 6, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:17 PM on July 6, 2011 [5 favorites]
The easiest stroke is the doggy paddle. The "official" strokes are official because they are fast and efficient, for the most part (although breaststroke is weird) and the fastest of those is the front crawl.
(Side stroke would probably be fine - I was never super comfortable with it because I would rather see where I'm going. But it's definitely a mellow stroke.)
posted by restless_nomad at 8:19 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
(Side stroke would probably be fine - I was never super comfortable with it because I would rather see where I'm going. But it's definitely a mellow stroke.)
posted by restless_nomad at 8:19 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Butterfly works for me with my head mostly out of the water. Picture swimming like a frog swims. I took swim lessons and my instructor kind of just gave up on me because I was so bad. Nevertheless, butterfly is my go-to stroke to get from point A to point B.
Don't even get my started on butterfly...
posted by rancidchickn at 8:19 PM on July 6, 2011
Don't even get my started on butterfly...
posted by rancidchickn at 8:19 PM on July 6, 2011
I agree with Chocolate Pickle. Sidestroke. Bonus: the powerful scissor kick easily keeps your head above water, without much effort.
It's the stroke that made JFK a lifesaver after PT109, and maybe, a President later.
posted by paulsc at 8:21 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's the stroke that made JFK a lifesaver after PT109, and maybe, a President later.
posted by paulsc at 8:21 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Rancidchickn, do you mean breaststroke in one of the instances above? (I suspect you do because butterfly kind of totally fails to meet the criteria.)
posted by restless_nomad at 8:21 PM on July 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad at 8:21 PM on July 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Breaststroke always makes me the most comfortable in the water (e.g., slow paced, arms and legs move in similar ways at the same time, no fear of bumping into something or inhaling at the wrong time). You might also like the side stroke, which is kind of old-fashioned, but a lot like the standard "crawl," just with more head-out-of-water visibility.
In terms of ease, the dolphin kick that you do with the butterfly feels very natural, but the arm movements are exhausting. As you're getting comfortable in the water, try holding your arms straight at your sides and dolphin kick for a while (just holding your breath). It feels really good ("I'm a fish!") and definitely closes the distance from point A to point B, but it's not all that efficient.
On preview: see above!
posted by mauvest at 8:22 PM on July 6, 2011
In terms of ease, the dolphin kick that you do with the butterfly feels very natural, but the arm movements are exhausting. As you're getting comfortable in the water, try holding your arms straight at your sides and dolphin kick for a while (just holding your breath). It feels really good ("I'm a fish!") and definitely closes the distance from point A to point B, but it's not all that efficient.
On preview: see above!
posted by mauvest at 8:22 PM on July 6, 2011
If you can already more-or-less float on your back, have you tried elementary backstroke? I don't remember learning to swim - I was put in classes by the time I was 2 or so, but I definitely remember the chicken-airplane-soldier stroke. It is not efficient in the least, but it'll get you moving.
posted by Metasyntactic at 8:24 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by Metasyntactic at 8:24 PM on July 6, 2011
Ooh, I came in to say what Metasyntactic did. After a lot of bad face-in-the-water experiences as a kid, once someone taught me to backstroke, I did a whole hell of a lot of backstroke. I can now haul ass in backstroke, as funny as it is; you can't see where you're going, but damned if your face is going to get wet.
I learned it "worm, chicken, hawk."
I still hold my nose when I jump in.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:31 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I learned it "worm, chicken, hawk."
I still hold my nose when I jump in.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:31 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: metasyntactic, fiercecupcake: Heh, I can do the backstroke but it bugs me that i can't see where i'm going. Then the other thing that gets me is that a wave (even a tiny one) washes over my face....and.... I totally freak out!
posted by storybored at 8:43 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by storybored at 8:43 PM on July 6, 2011
Dog paddle. It isn't pretty, and it isn't very efficient, but it keeps your head above water, and it gets you there. You could also try to get a breast stroke with the frog leg kick. That's actually a little more efficient (meaning you won't get as tired).
posted by Gilbert at 9:01 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by Gilbert at 9:01 PM on July 6, 2011
A modified breaststroke where I don't put my head underwater is the easiest for me. The center animation on the wikipedia page shows the real breaststroke pretty well. I think I hold my head a lot higher than I am supposed to and my head does move up and down, I just never go under the surface if I don't want to. I also do a side stroke where I don't go under either (I turn my head forward), but I suspect it looks pretty silly.
posted by soelo at 9:03 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by soelo at 9:03 PM on July 6, 2011
Another vote for sidestroke. Easy, keeps your head out of water and you can still sorta see where you're going.
posted by asynchronous at 9:23 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by asynchronous at 9:23 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I tend to front crawl with my head out of water... like a doggy paddle with a full arm stroke. Not terribly efficient, but, less water in the face.
posted by underflow at 9:27 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by underflow at 9:27 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like the breast stroke because you can do few strokes with your head above water and a few below. You can exhaust yourself quickly if you try to keep the weight of your head above water all the time. Also, sinceyour head is pretty much vertical all the time and you won't get any water up it.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:27 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:27 PM on July 6, 2011
Breast stroke (with head held up above the water) is the first stroke that kids here in the Netherlands learn when they start their swimming lessons (at least it was when I was a kid). They start out just doing the leg movements, holding a small plank in their hands that will help to keep the upper part of the torso afloat.
posted by rjs at 9:28 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rjs at 9:28 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ex-swimming teacher here. I would suggest either breast stroke or freestyle without the breathing. The most difficult part of both is getting the timing of the breathing.
Which one probably depends on your kick. You need to have a pretty strong patter-kick to keep your head out of the water all the time in freestyle, but if you've got strength, it's pretty fast and effective (the stroke of choice for enthusiastic boys generally). Breaststroke without breathing is generally the stroke of choice for ladies who like to chat and not get their hair wet. However, some people don't frog kick naturally, they prefer a scissor kick (where one leg goes up and the other down), which results in a twisted uncomfortable breaststroke. (Natural scissor kickers are better at sidestroke, and stroke which is my favourite: I side stroke almost as fast as freestyle, but you don't look forward when you side stroke, and it's a bit more complicated as your four limbs are doing different things.)
Note though that if you do either of them without the breathing for too long, you can have serious trouble then learning to do them properly.
posted by kjs4 at 9:29 PM on July 6, 2011
Which one probably depends on your kick. You need to have a pretty strong patter-kick to keep your head out of the water all the time in freestyle, but if you've got strength, it's pretty fast and effective (the stroke of choice for enthusiastic boys generally). Breaststroke without breathing is generally the stroke of choice for ladies who like to chat and not get their hair wet. However, some people don't frog kick naturally, they prefer a scissor kick (where one leg goes up and the other down), which results in a twisted uncomfortable breaststroke. (Natural scissor kickers are better at sidestroke, and stroke which is my favourite: I side stroke almost as fast as freestyle, but you don't look forward when you side stroke, and it's a bit more complicated as your four limbs are doing different things.)
Note though that if you do either of them without the breathing for too long, you can have serious trouble then learning to do them properly.
posted by kjs4 at 9:29 PM on July 6, 2011
I had the same difficulty until I learned froggy style swimming. Not sure if thats like dog paddle, but you basically push out with both legs at once like a frog while sweeping your arms back from a mantis like position. You propell yourself by surging forward in beats, like a frog.
I am a weak swimmer and this stroke seems very energy efficient for me--I could probably go for at least a while. It's not fast but it's easy.
If someone knows the official name for this style, I'd be much obliged.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 5:16 AM on July 7, 2011
I am a weak swimmer and this stroke seems very energy efficient for me--I could probably go for at least a while. It's not fast but it's easy.
If someone knows the official name for this style, I'd be much obliged.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 5:16 AM on July 7, 2011
The ____ of Justice: "If someone knows the official name for this style, I'd be much obliged."
Breaststroke. Which I'd also recommend as the way to go.
fine fine, breaststroke would involve dunking your head under water, so I guess it's a modified breaststroke.
posted by Grither at 5:37 AM on July 7, 2011
Breaststroke. Which I'd also recommend as the way to go.
fine fine, breaststroke would involve dunking your head under water, so I guess it's a modified breaststroke.
posted by Grither at 5:37 AM on July 7, 2011
Doggy paddle is a notorious energy-wasting stroke. In my like 8 years as a lifeguard, I'd say that probably a good 25 or more of the people I pulled out were doing the doggy paddle to get from point-A to point-B, and at some point lost sync or got tired. Doggy paddle is 3/4 pushing down to stay up and 1/4 moving forward. Believe me, in my competitive swimming days, we tried to apply stroke technique to the doggy paddle and it's approximately impossible.
Butterfly is...a wild recommendation. I can haul ass w/ butterfly, but if your timing isn't perfect and you're not getting 2 frog kicks per swoop with your arms then you're slowing yourself down. Timing your breathing is also quite difficult to master.
Sidestroke is easy, relaxing, and where I often find myself on a long swim. Technique is good there too. You're reaaaaaaaaaaching for the apple while you kick (really any kick, I think you're supposed to modified-frog kick though) kicking again as your hand goes up, kicknig again as you bring back the apple, rinse/repeat. Bonus is that you can switch sides whenever you want.
Competitive breast stroke gets your face wet and timing is tres-crucial, but for fun you certainly don't HAVE to. My challenge has always been my kicks, I suck at kicking, any kick. Frog-kicking in breaststroke is what provides the bulk of your propulsion. To get fast, your hand position is super important too, but for fun, not so much.
When I became a BSA-Lifeguard in 1996 (Seriously, check out BSA lifeguard sometime. It kicks the Red Cross's ass.), we were taught how to front-crawl with faces out of the water to keep an eye on our victim. I have no idea if this is the method-du-jour today, but it worked great for us, especially when we had fairly long distances to cover. (Think 50+ yards, we were in lakes, after all.) Face-out front-crawl is probably my go-to stroke, and it transitions well as you get better. Soon you'll be face-in and breathing on every third or 5th stroke, just like a pro.
TL;DR--front crawl, face out. Learn to put your face in. Have a nice day.
posted by TomMelee at 5:47 AM on July 7, 2011 [3 favorites]
Butterfly is...a wild recommendation. I can haul ass w/ butterfly, but if your timing isn't perfect and you're not getting 2 frog kicks per swoop with your arms then you're slowing yourself down. Timing your breathing is also quite difficult to master.
Sidestroke is easy, relaxing, and where I often find myself on a long swim. Technique is good there too. You're reaaaaaaaaaaching for the apple while you kick (really any kick, I think you're supposed to modified-frog kick though) kicking again as your hand goes up, kicknig again as you bring back the apple, rinse/repeat. Bonus is that you can switch sides whenever you want.
Competitive breast stroke gets your face wet and timing is tres-crucial, but for fun you certainly don't HAVE to. My challenge has always been my kicks, I suck at kicking, any kick. Frog-kicking in breaststroke is what provides the bulk of your propulsion. To get fast, your hand position is super important too, but for fun, not so much.
When I became a BSA-Lifeguard in 1996 (Seriously, check out BSA lifeguard sometime. It kicks the Red Cross's ass.), we were taught how to front-crawl with faces out of the water to keep an eye on our victim. I have no idea if this is the method-du-jour today, but it worked great for us, especially when we had fairly long distances to cover. (Think 50+ yards, we were in lakes, after all.) Face-out front-crawl is probably my go-to stroke, and it transitions well as you get better. Soon you'll be face-in and breathing on every third or 5th stroke, just like a pro.
TL;DR--front crawl, face out. Learn to put your face in. Have a nice day.
posted by TomMelee at 5:47 AM on July 7, 2011 [3 favorites]
I taught myself to swim and used a version of the breaststroke. I find it an easy way to swim, and you can keep your head out of the water as much or as little as you like, which is a plus for many beginners.
posted by theora55 at 7:57 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by theora55 at 7:57 AM on July 7, 2011
Sidestroke for beginners.
posted by jasondigitized at 8:02 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by jasondigitized at 8:02 AM on July 7, 2011
Response by poster: TomMelee, that face-out front crawl sounds tempting. How do you do it? Do you put your face in the water for a few strokes then raise your head? Or is it head up all the time? Would the latter be hard on the neck?
posted by storybored at 10:10 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by storybored at 10:10 AM on July 7, 2011
While a face-out front crawl is nice, it gets tiring much quicker than a modified breaststroke. Basically, the ease of the front crawl depends on having your body horizontal in the water. When you put your head out, your legs sink and that creates a LOT of drag that you have to muscle your way against. Plus, people doing this without a rather large amount of pectoral and bicep strength tend to whip their head around from side to side, looking rather frantic. Others put their face in for a bit then raise their head. HOWEVER, at this point, they sink, then thrash to get a breath and get back on top of the water. While lifeguarding, I get nervous when I see people swimming like this. I would not recommend unless you have considerable upper body strength or are serious about learning how to breath and put your face in.
The modified breaststroke will be fine - if the image helps, try squeezing water between your legs like you would air from a billows.
posted by marylucycraft at 11:22 AM on July 7, 2011
The modified breaststroke will be fine - if the image helps, try squeezing water between your legs like you would air from a billows.
posted by marylucycraft at 11:22 AM on July 7, 2011
Yea, marylucycraft is right---it's more physically demanding than a breaststroke.
You don't, like, put your whole head of the water. Really your chin up to your mouth stays out. For us, we would enter the water in anything but a dive (learning to jump from high things without getting your head underwater is awesome fun) lock eyes on our target, and never take them off.
I can't think of a way to tell you how to do it without showing you. Basically, normally on a crawl you're face down and you're looking actually DOWN not forward, that's why lap-pools have black lines on the bottom. You're stroke, stroke, breathe-stroke, slightly turning your head under your armpit every 3 or 5 or 7 or whatever works for you number of strokes.
Face up crawl, your stroke technique is quite similar. Arm comes from your side, bends at the elbow slightly, passes over your head only slightly, hand/fingers cupped, and enters the water with palm turned slightly outwards as you pull the water past you with that cupped hand, along the line of your body. Rinse/repeat. Your body is a torpedo in the water, I never had a hard time keeping my legs from sinking, although I am not a floater by default. The real trick is doing all this without splashing away 50% of your effort. I guess it's almost kind of like climbing a ladder, only smoother.
You move deliberately, not quickly, flutter kicking your brains out. My flutter kick is crap, and it always was, and that's why I sucked at competitive freestyle, because I'm 95% arms. Look up a proper flutter kick, because I guarantee you're not doing it right (almost nobody w/o formal training does, and even then it's hard to get the muscle memory) and because it would take too long to write here.
Total sidebar---My first "Stroke" was accidental. I learned to swim underwater long before I could swim on top of it. Swimming under water is easy---if you can keep from panicking and learn how to properly hold your breath. Suck in some air, go down as deep as you want, frog kick, put your palms together, shoot your arms out, turn palms out, and either gliiiiiiiiiiiiide those arms all the way back to your side (slow, effortless, not entirely fast but your air lasts longer) or do sort of a modified breast stroke, bringing them back halfway, bringing them back to your sides, then repeating. Once you start to increase your o2 saturation, you'll be amazed how far you can go. The trick is to think about something else, kind of like running. At some point you'll kind of forget and all the sudden your brain goes "AHHHH AIR!" and you'll come back up. In the mean time, you've been under water for a minute and a half or more. It helps to set goals---"across the pool". Then "the length of the pool." Then "up and back." Rinse/repeat. Extra points because once you kick ass at this, it's a great way to flirt and sneak up on friends when swimming.
posted by TomMelee at 4:55 PM on July 7, 2011
You don't, like, put your whole head of the water. Really your chin up to your mouth stays out. For us, we would enter the water in anything but a dive (learning to jump from high things without getting your head underwater is awesome fun) lock eyes on our target, and never take them off.
I can't think of a way to tell you how to do it without showing you. Basically, normally on a crawl you're face down and you're looking actually DOWN not forward, that's why lap-pools have black lines on the bottom. You're stroke, stroke, breathe-stroke, slightly turning your head under your armpit every 3 or 5 or 7 or whatever works for you number of strokes.
Face up crawl, your stroke technique is quite similar. Arm comes from your side, bends at the elbow slightly, passes over your head only slightly, hand/fingers cupped, and enters the water with palm turned slightly outwards as you pull the water past you with that cupped hand, along the line of your body. Rinse/repeat. Your body is a torpedo in the water, I never had a hard time keeping my legs from sinking, although I am not a floater by default. The real trick is doing all this without splashing away 50% of your effort. I guess it's almost kind of like climbing a ladder, only smoother.
You move deliberately, not quickly, flutter kicking your brains out. My flutter kick is crap, and it always was, and that's why I sucked at competitive freestyle, because I'm 95% arms. Look up a proper flutter kick, because I guarantee you're not doing it right (almost nobody w/o formal training does, and even then it's hard to get the muscle memory) and because it would take too long to write here.
Total sidebar---My first "Stroke" was accidental. I learned to swim underwater long before I could swim on top of it. Swimming under water is easy---if you can keep from panicking and learn how to properly hold your breath. Suck in some air, go down as deep as you want, frog kick, put your palms together, shoot your arms out, turn palms out, and either gliiiiiiiiiiiiide those arms all the way back to your side (slow, effortless, not entirely fast but your air lasts longer) or do sort of a modified breast stroke, bringing them back halfway, bringing them back to your sides, then repeating. Once you start to increase your o2 saturation, you'll be amazed how far you can go. The trick is to think about something else, kind of like running. At some point you'll kind of forget and all the sudden your brain goes "AHHHH AIR!" and you'll come back up. In the mean time, you've been under water for a minute and a half or more. It helps to set goals---"across the pool". Then "the length of the pool." Then "up and back." Rinse/repeat. Extra points because once you kick ass at this, it's a great way to flirt and sneak up on friends when swimming.
posted by TomMelee at 4:55 PM on July 7, 2011
Wow I can't type. Your chin up to your mouth stays IN. As you learn to lower your head, just your eyes will be out, and ever few strokes you'll surge up just enough to get a breath through your nose or mouth.
posted by TomMelee at 4:56 PM on July 7, 2011
posted by TomMelee at 4:56 PM on July 7, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks TomMelee and everyone else for your help! I've got a lot of things to try and am really looking forward to it!
posted by storybored at 8:47 AM on July 10, 2011
posted by storybored at 8:47 AM on July 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by storybored at 8:10 PM on July 6, 2011