People who have just started swimming often expect to improve more quickly than is really feasible. This inevitably leads to frustration, particularly when you cannot swim the number of laps you would like to or develop the kind of swim stroke you were hoping for. This is extremely common with newcomers to any sport and can often lead to people giving up physical exercise altogether.
All this is connected with our emotions, but it also about setting realistic goals in relation to our own ability and motor skills.
Why can’t I swim that well?
This is the question lots of us ask ourselves just after starting to swim. We inevitably compare ourselves to better swimmers, which can often be extremely frustrating. This can also depend on the methods our swim instructor employs to teach us the proper technique.
Good instructors realise that beginners have not had time to learn the right motor skills to swim properly, whichever stroke they are focusing on. In this respect, we know that verbal instructions need to be backed up by visual aids: observing and attempting to implicitly memorise is the most effective strategy for achieving the aspired standard of swim technique. The idea is to make all the movements constituting our swim stroke automatic. Learning to make these movements…
