Try drowning. By that, I mean once you're in safe waters like a pool put yourself in a stressful position like diving under water without a proper breath in etc. The goal is be ready for discomfort same way skate boarders learn falling so when you actually get into trouble you have some experience on how to react.
this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2025
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Only do this in water you can stand in and close to the wall, preferably with a friend with you. People still drown in pools with lots sometimes.
Obviously yes!
ha valid point lol should give it a try
TL;DR when you learn breathing in the right way, crawling is the best
I began swimming regularly 10 years ago or so. Nothing serious, just a couple of times a week, to try to keep my back in shape (spoiler: it wasn't enough for that but it is really good for heart and lungs)
Well, initially I found that backstroke was better for me too, because I wasn't able to breath regularly during crawl and I wasn't comfortable having my head in the water all the time (and water in the nose... Not a good feeling)
In the long run I learnt to breath well, and to gently push air out from the nose while the head was down. So now I feel much better crawling than backstroking. In the sea even more, because while backstroking, a wave can hit my face and send water in the nose easily, and this doesn't happen while crawling.
Then, to each their own, but this was my experience
do you keep your head under water in the ocean ? if yes I don't know what to say, the salted water eats my eyes and nose , how you manage it
Back frog is the easiest for breathing, but if you're trying to get anywhere efficiently the crawl is the fastest and easiest to breathe with
Get yourself a pair of goggles, nobody should take the brunt of the ocean directly to their eyes. If you're interested in the ocean get a half mask that covers your eyes and nose, and honestly you can find a cheap snorkel as well and you don't need to worry much about breathing at all.
Please be aware of local beach conditions, if there's a spot that says don't swim it's not worth the risk, even if it looks calm, hell especially if it looks calm.
As others have said, goggles. But also, people have been swimming in the ocean doing things like diving for pearls or spearfishing for thousands of years. If you do it enough, you'll get used to it.
Like they mentioned, slowly blowing air out of your nose can prevent this. Or, if this isn’t working for you, you can get clips to close your nostrils, but they might not be comfortable with a longer swim.
Personally I like to swim with a mask and snorkel, as it’s much easier and more relaxing.
As @donjuanme@lemmy.world mentions, I swim with goggles, it's much better. Morever since I was having issues in the pool with clorinated (I'm not sure it's the correct term) water I also use a nose clip. But when swimming in the sea (Mediterranean sea, no ocean, usually) i don't mind the water in the nose, as I told, I usually keep it out by slow expiration, so that air pressure keeps water out. But a good mask covering your nose would be a good solution too, as suggested by @donjuanme@lemmy.world
Idk, I swam the 500m freestyle for 4 years in high school. I still think I'd prefer the jellyfish or sidestroke for swimming really long distances in open water.
I'd say the butterfly is the most energy intensive way to swim, and dead man's float is the least energy intense.
Swimming is the best exercise you'll ever do, and you should be able to do it for most of your life. You can do it to get ripped, you can do it to rehab.
The 2 most important things when swimming are: don't get overconfident, and don't mess around with safety. The ocean absolutely doesn't care about you, and it's amazing how little it'll take to become disoriented. Never swim halfway past where you can't see the shore, and never swim more than halfway past the longest you've swam before.
Saltwater is generally fine if there are no nasty organisms in your neighborhood, but fresh water swimming can kill you if the water is stagnant or polluted.
If you're looking to swim for exercise or fitness my biggest recommendation (after goggles) is get yourself a speedo/teva suit (if you don't want a banana hammock get the thigh length shorts), you'll be amazed how much further you move per stroke and how much less energy it takes to go from a to b.
As I've said in another reply, the most efficient stroke with easy breathing is probably the backwards frog, it's very easy to learn, just pulse like a jelly fish while keeping a bit of your face out of the water.
I'm glad you had a great experience and you're looking to continue practicing! Knowing even the basics can be life changing.
If you ever find yourself under water and can't tell which way is up (this can happen surprisingly easy), follow your bubbles, bubbles always go up
the most efficient stroke with easy breathing is probably the backwards frog, it's very easy to learn, just pulse like a jelly fish while keeping a bit of your face out of the water.
When I was younger and was in the water more often I found that I could do that forever without getting tired, just slowly gliding in the right direction. So long as it wasn't too cold and the waves not too high it seemed like I could swim like that for as long as I could stay awake.
Yeah front crawl is not the most energy intense. Do Butterfly and report back.
OT but we're so close! Are you Italian or are you here just for a vacation?
here for vacation !
Hope you enjoy your staying here :)
everything is a tad expensive so a have a nagging, background feel of being ripped off at every corner BUT the food, the sea and the sun are indeed very nice lol
I've recently been in Capri and I brought food and water from home, because yeah, they try to rip us off in these touristic places. Maybe in Anacapri it's more affordable
Side stroke is an efficient stroke and keeps your head above water at all times.
Sidestroke is the best way to deal with waves IMHO. Pretty much so long as you keep calm and your lungs nearly full of air you'll be alright breast stroking. I just hate being surprised by waves. Same reason I don't backstroke even on big lakes.
Learn to tread water for ~20 minutes without many breaks. That can help you figure out a lot about your body and how to work with the water
Swimming on your back is the thing to know. So face up, body as straight as you can get it, and when you have lungs full of air (possibly also without lungs full, depends on your physique) you will effortlessly float. Then just propel yourself by treading with the legs, waving with the hands, or both. Zero stress swimming. You can flip around and go fast in the usual modes of swimming and then gather strength by flipping back.
Im just going to throw out that its good to know the sidestroke as its useful to technically rescue someone although. Grated actually rescuing someone is very dangerous but its nice to know if you find you need to do that.
My favourite technique learnt during Lifeguard training was The Eggbeater. Basically picture yourself sitting in a kitchen chair but whirling your lower legs in opposite directions. You do this very loosely and slowly. It allows you to tread water while leaving your hands free. You 'can' use your hands by slowly sweeping your arms out wide forwards and backwards but this is only to reduce the workload so that you can very easily stay afloat with minimal effort (without floation devices).
The same technique can propel you on your back by simply leaning back a bit. It is good because it uses different muscles than typical flutter kicking etc. so you can switch it up if you get tired.
i had to look up a couple of Wikipedia articles to understand what you explained, i think i managed to visualise it. Interesting, i was always wondering how life guards are able to swim AND bring someone. will try soon!
Safety first if you're self taught. What to do if you accidentally overdo it and get exhausted. Or get caught in a riptide.
thank you I had to look up "riptide". I also got stung by a meduse/algae today so that's fun, at least i know what it feels like
Cnidaria (jelly fish and anemone's) stings on your skin are usually nothing, if you ever want to swim with jellyfish a pair of nylons over your exposed body is generally enough to keep you from being stung, but whatever you do don't put your tongue (or other sensitive parts) to one, because the toxin can totally mess you up (generally just major swelling like the worst bee sting you've ever seen, but swelling could always lead to other problems). Some of the most potent venoms on the planet are secreted by the cnidaria, but there will definitely be (actual) signs warning you away from areas they exist in.
man you know a lot about swimming lol I don't know what stung me, but AFTER i went out of the water, it was the most intense burn I ever felt. like someone continuously pouring hot water on my thigh/hip. It's been at least 4h, I still feel it, but much less intense. hot water helped
Vinegar helps counteract the toxin for most jellies. I also have friends that swear by bentonite clay, which helps absorb the toxin and soothe the rash, but I haven't personally tried it. It's definitely a good idea to look up what critters are in your waters, both for how to keep yourself safe and for you to avoid disrupting their habitats.
And congrats! I also taught myself how to swim. I recommend joining an open water swimming group if any are around your area, you can learn so much just by watching how they swim.
Life guards will always have a floatation device with them, it's incredibly energy intense to egg beater with any amount more than your head out of the water, let alone trying to hold another person up. I've convinced many people that the hardest/most energy intense thing you can do in the pool is to get hands and elbows dry without touching the bottom.
But once you learn the technique, keeping your head out of the water is almost 0 effort. But nothing is less effort than having a flotation device!
Congratulations on learning to swim.
The best place to learn and perfect your swimming skills is in calm water, with lots of people/lifeguards around. Like a swimming pool or lake.
--//--
This swimming stroke advice may only work in calmer seas.
For best efficiency, I find my own modified survival-sidestroke feels the easiest.
Frog kick with your legs, then each arm alternates pulling water from ahead.
The arm that is 'closer to the water surface' pulls with a half-stroke from near your chin, back to waist level.
The arm that is 'far from the water's surface' pulls from a long stretch out front, back to waist level.
Alternating these, and doing a mini-glide on each stroke. I think my glide is after the long stroke from out in front to the waist.
Every 10 or so strokes, roll over to switch the arm that is doing the long stroke.
I was going to recommend sidestroke for them as well, except with scissors kick. I find it a little easier and less drag!
Yes, can be done with a traditional scissor kick, instead of a frog-kick.
Scissor gives less power for me, use whichever one feels more efficient.
"swam", I think.
I never quite learned to swim. Well, I can stay afloat and intentionally move in a direction, but it's more like tactical flailing. Back in school the teacher gave up on me learning to swim with proper swimming strokes. I stick to what works for me.
I've "swam" a lot in the ocean, and I've found that unless you know how to bodysurf (which I sometimes manage to pull off) a vertical style is better as it makes it easier to keep your head high and above the waves.
My gf taught me! I could only swim downward before that lol.
An alternative the front crawl is the doggy paddle. Kinda the same, but saves you from taking your hands out of the water. Even as someone who's swam my whole life and can swim pretty much any stroke I still doggy paddle a lot especially in salty water
Wish I was in Capri also! Congrats