The magic of swimming lessons in the Middle Ages

I was never a good swimmer.

I mean, I can swim. But what I do in the pool is more like a fight for survival than training – especially after the first few laps. My legs are too long, my stroke is uneven, and I’m constantly struggling to breathe properly.

It’s not fun, which is why I rarely swim for fitness purposes. Plus, the culture of swimming is intimidating, with caps and goggles and rules about lane division.

But it’s great exercise in the winter if you have access to an indoor pool. That’s why I recently decided to become a better swimmer, taking advantage of my first lessons since elementary school.

It turns out that with just a few lessons you can achieve much more. And once you do, you suddenly have another aerobic training option that’s simple on your joints.

“That’s the benefit of swimming,” said Matthew Barbini, USA Swimming’s performance director, who took up the sport after an injury as a teenager. “It really has no impact. There is no question of a sidewalk. There isn’t really any equipment here.

Swimming lessons are extremely useful.

Even though swimming doesn’t stress the body, exercising underwater can still feel fundamentally unnatural. So it’s no surprise that as an adult you may need more instruction to get it right.

I hired Angie Peluse, a Denver-area swim coach who specializes in teaching adults, to evaluate my freestyle technique. She said about half of her clients are like me – they know how to swim but need coaching.

So I was thrashing around in the pool and she quickly assessed my stroke. Unskilled swimmers like me can solve many of their problems in four to six lessons, she said, with a few training sessions in between. Ideally these will be weekly, so expect to be at the pool for a month or two.

If you don’t know how to swim at all, it may take longer to learn the basics, depending on your level of fear of water.

There is no national governing body for swimming instructors. Ms. Peluse advises that to find a good one, start at recreation centers or local adult swimming groups. Then try out for nearby college swim teams.

However, if you’re looking to up your swimming game on your own, here are some of the most common mistakes people – including me – make in the pool.

Lesson No. 1: Body position

My first lesson was in the 24-meter swimming pool in Mrs. Peluse’s office. She quickly noticed my first mistake – very common among people who have never participated in coaching. I kept trying to look forward towards the other end of the pool, which caused my chest to rise and my feet to drop, causing me to sink into the water.

I’m already naturally less energetic than most people. When I float on my back, my legs immediately go down, no matter how difficult I try. That’s why this lesson was especially vital to me.

How to improve

It’s simple: look straight down and focus on the center line at the bottom of the lap lane. No matter what, don’t look up.

“The wall won’t move,” said Nadine Ford, veteran swim coach and founder of Mahogany Mermaids in Charlotte, N.C. “Relax. Lower your head.

Looking up is a surprisingly arduous habit to break, so schedule at least one pool training session where you only work on keeping your head down.

Lesson #2: Digging

It was also obvious that I was focusing too much on my arms and not enough on my legs.

“Your kick is the most propulsive part of the stroke,” for elite swimmers reaching top speed, said Barbini, who advises athletes across the country. For the rest of us, kicks are vital to keep the hips afloat, he said, and perfecting your kicks is the easiest way to boost speed.

Since I was essentially trying to pull myself through the water with my arms, my kicks were too wide and leisurely. Slower kicks mean less propulsion and, once again, a tendency to sink.

How to improve

Start by swimming one lap as you normally would. Then try one where you focus on swinging your legs for faster kicks and see if you feel a difference. Mrs. Peluse told you to imagine that you were taking off a pair of slippers – with your legs straight and your toes pointed out.

“You want it to be gigantic enough to provide propulsion,” Barbini said, but “tiny enough not to create unnecessary drag.”

On each lap, Mrs. Peluse had me push off the edge of the pool, holding my arms in front of me as if I were diving, and swim as far under the water as I could just by kicking. I quickly felt what my legs could do and forced myself to kick faster and harder.

Then swim one lap using your board and a pair of fins, if you have them. The kickboard will force you to kick faster to move forward, while the fins will add speed and keep your hips up. They are also arduous to operate without the proper form.

“Feel what the resistance feels like,” Ms. Ford said. “Then we’ll take them off and I’ll try to get you to copy it.”

Lesson No. 3: Weapons

Ms. Peluse explained that I spend far too much time with my hands under the water rather than in front of me, which makes it harder for me to stroke.

The best way to stay afloat is to hold both hands straight in front of your head, like a diver. The more time you spend with at least one of these hands, the better.

How to improve

There’s a very plain way to learn this: catching up practice. Hold the board in front of you with both arms fully extended. Now start moving your arm, but keep one hand on the board, releasing each hand when the next one grabs the board. At first, it may seem inappropriate to keep your arms straight for so long, but stick with it.

Lesson No. 4: Breathing

“Even if you are the best swimmer in the world, breathing will always leisurely you down” Mr. Barbini said.

Add to this that I never felt like I was running out of air, especially after the first lap. I always roll over to get my head out of the water to breathe better. I learned that the problem was less about my breathing rate and more about my timing.

How to improve

Mastering breathing takes work, and many swimmers tinker with their technique for years. But the first step is plain: inhale above the water and exhale under the water. Ms. Peluse said too many people exhale while their head is above the water. Practice breathing completely – slowly and evenly – underwater, rather than all at once just before you breathe.

“It’s a leisurely trickle,” Ms. Ford said.

I would like to say that I am now as graceful as a dolphin in the water. I’m not and I’m still struggling after the first few laps. But after four lessons, I can go to any pool in the country, get a good workout, and feel like I belong.

And on a good day, I might even have a little fun doing it.