Everyone starts learning to swim with preparatory exercises. Swimming lessons - basic swimming techniques! Exercises for teaching children to swim - on land

"Teddy Bear in the Den"

Target. Activate deep calm inhalation and noisy exhalation through the nose.

Description. Children lie down in a dry den pool, sit comfortably on the balls scattered in it and turn from side to side.

Teacher.

The bear in the den sleeps sweetly and sniffles noisily throughout the forest.

Children perform 8-12 noisy breaths.

Exhalation is voluntary.

"A Mouse's Scary Dream"

Target. Direct the children's attention to frequent, shallow breathing through the mouth.

Description. Little mice sleep in a hole (dry pool). They dream sweet dreams and breathe calmly.

Teacher.

How does a tiny mouse breathe when you dream of an evil cat?”

Children breathe shallowly and rapidly.

"Hare Race"

Target. Stimulate deep, rapid breathing.

Description. Children-hares frolic in the clearing, catching up with each other, jumping on fitballs. After the teacher says that the hares are tired, the children stop, breathe deeply and often through their mouths, imitating a out of breath hare.

"Giant"

Goal: Form the vertical spine.

Teacher. Children, imagine that the sensory room is a cave of gnomes mining for gems. Lamps are not able to show us all the splendor of the precious stones hidden in the depths of the cave. It is difficult to breathe here, there is little fresh air. The stone ceiling presses from above. Each of you is a mighty giant who happily helps the dwarves hold this stone vault. You are confident in your abilities and it shows in your body. You are very straight and tall, your stomach is pulled in, your head is directed upward, you are stretching the top of your head, your shoulders are higher and higher! You become taller and slimmer. Feel how beautiful, powerful and reliable you are. All the gems of the dungeon are at your feet. The gnomes thank you for helping the little workers. And you do it for them with joy and love.

"Jellyfish"

Target. Teach children to relax the muscles of the entire body and then tense them.

Description. Children lie on mats, arms and legs apart.

Teacher.

I'm lying on my back

Like a jellyfish on the water. I relax my hands,

I put it in the water.

At the “Storm” signal, children curl up and tense up. “The storm is over” - the children relax again and lie down freely.

"Gull"

Target. Teach deep, calm inhalation to coordinate the rhythm of breathing with the movements of the hands.

Description. Children lie in a dry pool on their backs.

Teacher.

I lie calmly on my back, like a seagull, I fly slowly. I slide my palms in the water:

Up - inhale, as you exhale I lower.

Children raise their arms up from their sides and slide their palms over the balls lying in the pool; inhale, exhale, lowering your arms down to your sides.

"Sloth"

Target. Maintain a general relaxation pose.

Description. Children lie on their stomachs on giant balls.

Teacher.

I'm lazy, cute, nice, clumsy and funny. I hang on a branch all day. I'm too lazy to even hang.

"Rest"

Target. Learn to relax the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle.

Description. Children sit on giant balls, legs spread wide, arms along their torsos, and relax. lowering his head to his chest. The teacher monitors the quality of children’s relaxation.

"Rinse"

Target. Learn to perform the exercise with effort, overcoming resistance.

Description. Children stand near a dry pool, dipping their hand (leg) into it, and perform movements to the right, left and inward, followed by shaking imaginary splashes.

Teacher.

I’ll put my hands in the pool and rinse thoroughly. Well, then, in order, I’ll take it out, shake it off, and rub it.

"Mountain"

Target. Develop strength and amplitude

movements of the muscles of the shoulder girdle.

Description. Children stand near a dry pool and rake balls into a pile with their hands.

Teacher.

This is certainly not Everest

I raked the mountain with my hands.

There are probably steeper mountains.

Try it, do it yourself!

"Pinocchio is surprised"

Target. Activate the muscles of the shoulder girdle.

Description. Children sit on giant balls.

Teacher.

The log is surprised:

Papa Carlo, where is the knee? He raises his shoulders and looks so trusting.

Children alternately raise their right and then their left shoulders.

"Kolobok"

Target. Form the smoothness and range of movement of the neck muscles.

Description. Children sit on giant balls.

Teacher.

The bun rolled

From left to right side. And then on the back, As if along a path.

At the first lessons, the child is taught to move in the water using rowing movements with his hands. Then they are gradually taught to exhale air correctly and dive headlong while exhaling. Further, in order to better navigate in the water, he is taught to open his eyes under water. These exercises can be performed by two people, holding hands.

When the child has become comfortable with the water and correctly performs the preparatory exercises, he is taught to float on the water. For this, exercises such as “Float” and “Jellyfish” are used. To perform the “Float” exercise, go into the water to chest depth, stand facing the shore, take a deep breath and, holding your breath, plunge headlong into the water. Underwater, bend your legs and grab your shins with your hands, pressing your knees to your chest and your head to your knees (tuck position). In this position, the child’s body gradually floats to the surface, and he calmly stands on the bottom with his feet.

The “Jellyfish” exercise is also performed with holding your breath after a deep breath, but at the same time you lie on the surface of the water, spreading your arms and legs to the sides. The child’s body will first submerge in the water and then necessarily float to the surface.

Carrying out special exercises“Float” and “Jellyfish”, the child silently counts to 8-10, and then stands with his feet on the bottom.

Then the child is taught to glide through the water on his chest, which helps him subsequently master the horizontal position of the body and feel the supporting force of the water. To perform this exercise, enter waist-deep water facing the shore, squat, raise your arms up, pressing your head with them from the sides and, having done take a deep breath, push off with your feet from the bottom and lie down on the water. Exhale into the water. This exercise should be performed at every lesson.

It is also necessary to master the correct movements of the legs, because these are the movements that help the child stay on the water and swim. Leg exercises are first performed on the shore, and then in the water in a shallow place. The child lies down on the water, leaning on straight arms or forearms, and straightens up so that his toes (if the child is lying on his back) or heels (if the child is lying on his chest) are visible on the surface. In this position, slowly and rhythmically move almost straight legs up and down, mainly due to bending in hip joints. The toes are pulled back and turned to the middle, without unnecessary muscle tension. The amplitude during leg work should be no more than 30-40 cm.

Footwork is improved in every lesson; combined with moving your hands along the bottom. Then they begin to swim, holding onto a swimming board or other object with their hands. Breathing should be uniform: inhale quickly and exhale slowly into the water through closed lips.

Having mastered footwork, they learn hand movements and try to float on the water independently. The child performs hand movements under water alternately. When one arm makes a stroke, the other straightens forward, finishing the stroke near the hip, the arm is bent at the elbow and smoothly brought forward until fully straightened. The stroke should be done smoothly, slowly, slightly accelerating the movements at the end of the stroke.

Movements of the arms and legs while swimming should be continuous. For each hand stroke, make 3-4 alternating movements with your legs. First, children are given the opportunity to relax more while swimming, and then the activities are diversified different games that promote learning to swim.

Subsequently, the child is introduced to in a sporting way swimming - crawl, which is translated from in English means crawling on water (fig.). This is the most quick way swimming It is best to teach a beginner a lighter version of this method - on the chest without taking your hands out of the water. When swimming this way, the child's body is in horizontal position. The head must be held so that the mouth is above the surface of the water. The legs are freely extended, the toes are pulled out and turned to the middle. When the leg goes down, it bends slightly knee joint. The arms are alternately extended forward and swept near the surface of the water. The hand stroke is performed to a vertical position, and the palm ends up near the shoulder and again stretches forward, as if catching up with the second hand in movement.

Having learned to confidently float on the water and swim a certain distance, you can learn other swimming methods.

From work experience

“The role of “dry swimming” in preparing preschoolers for activities in water”

Ivanova Elena Viktorovna,

instructor physical culture MBDOU No. 7,

urban-type settlement Nikel, Murmansk region.

Every person should be able to swim. And the sooner he learns, the better. The success of teaching preschoolers practical swimming skills and the degree of its health-improving influence depends on how clearly and correctly all the basic requirements for its organization are met.

Several stages of training can be distinguished.

First stage: begins with familiarizing the child with water and its properties.

Second phase: is associated with children’s acquisition of skills and abilities that will help them feel secure enough in the water.

The main content of classes consists of physical exercises and games. Right organized process Swimming training has a diverse developmental impact on children and has a high educational effect. Understanding the meaning of tasks stimulates interested and active implementation of them, contributes to the gradual assimilation and awareness of the meaning of the exercise. This encourages children to perform movements as best and as clearly as possible.

Motor skills and abilities are formed through repeated repetition of exercises. The principle of visibility when teaching swimming is one of the leading ones.

In my work I use exercises to teach swimming to children before school age on land (dry swimming) with elements of breathing exercises. The use of exercises contributes to the formation of specific motor experience of preschool children (learning swimming skills); strengthening the health and strengthening the body of children; ensures the creation of conditions for the emotional well-being of pupils. These exercises are useful in themselves and develop physically no worse than exercises with dumbbells, expanders and weights. The use of exercises will help maintain children’s interest in performing them, promote the formation of friendly relationships, and understand their own feelings and impressions.

I will give a few examples of exercises on land, figuratively and playfully:

Exercise “Sea Figures”

Goal: development of muscle strength.

Starfish - lie on your stomach, bending over, arms to the sides, legs apart.

Seahorse - sit on your heels, hands behind your head.

Crab – movement in a standing position, bent over, legs bent apart.

Dolphin - lying on his stomach, bending over, hands up in the lock.

Goal: development of flexibility

Snail - lying on your back, feet touching the floor behind your head.

Sea lion - sitting between your heels, knees apart.

Medusa – sitting, legs apart, bending forward until her hands touch her feet.

Already gray-haired with his legs extremely spread apart, hands on his belt.

Sea worm - standing position, bent over.

Outdoor game: The sea is rough.

Goal: development of imagination and motor memory.

A figurative and playful form of exercises in poetry and riddles.

Ex. "Two Frogs"

Goal: development of communication skills, attention, flexibility.

Children jump like frogs, extending their arms straight forward upward.

We see them jumping along the edge of the forest

Two funny frogs.

Jump-jump, jump-jump,

Jump from heel to toe.

Ex. "Heron"

Goal: formation and correction of posture, development of attention.

Walk in a circle with your knees raised high.

I have stilts - standing on one leg,

The swamp is not scary. He looks intently into the water.

Will I find the frogs? Pokes his beak at random -

That's my concern. Looking for frogs in the river.

Ex. "Starfish"

Goal: development of muscle strength.

A star fell from the sky,

I fell into the blue sea,

And now a starfish

She settled underwater.

Ex. "Jellyfish"

Goal: development of flexibility.

Sit down - bend forward until your hands touch your feet, legs apart.

Dynamic control "Jellyfish"

Goal: prevention of scoliosis.

I.P. – lying on your stomach, spreading your legs and arms apart. Raise your arms, legs, and head for 4 counts. Then slowly lower it to the floor and relax a little.

Game exercise "Walrus"

Goal: strengthening posture.

Children, imitating walruses, crawl one after another and pull themselves up on their hands.

You recognize the walrus -

Tusks like two walruses!

But walruses are also for show

They wear tusks - like mustaches!

The walrus is hardening all the time -

Bathing in icy water.

Exercise: “Hedgehog”

Goal: mastering the technique of holding your breath.

Group up, roll forward and backward.

Paired exercises for warming up when learning to swim

In older preschool age, when learning to swim, a significant place is given to paired exercises performed during the warm-up to warm up the basic muscle groups. The use of paired exercises allows children to maintain interest in performing them, promotes the formation of friendly relationships, develops the ability to listen to their partner, adjust their actions to the actions of a friend, and teaches them to perform movements at a common pace, synchronously, with the same amplitude and intensity. In pair training, the vestibular apparatus is actively involved in the work: performing many exercises requires children to be able to maintain balance, which means coordination will develop.

Ex. "Kalach"

IP - standing with your back to each other, interlace your hands and place them on your belt.

1 – synchronous turn of the head to the right;

3 – the same to the left;

Ex. "Canoe"

IP – squatting, arms to the sides, lean forward slightly.

1 – straighten your back, reach the top of your head towards the ceiling, arms parallel to the floor.

Ex. "Pump"

IP – one child is squatting, the other is standing in a basic stance, both are holding each other’s hands.

1 - the first child gets up, the second one sits down. Partners help each other.

Ex. "Window"

IP - standing opposite each other, arms to the sides, the top of the head stretched upward.

1 – tilt to the side, one hand up, the other down, look in the direction of the tilt;

2 – the same in the opposite direction.

Ex. "Sawing wood"

IP - sit facing each other, legs apart, heels together, hold hands.

1 – the first partner bends forward, the second pulls him towards himself.

2 – similar actions are performed by another partner.

Ex. "Water lily"

IP - sitting cross-legged, arms to the sides, in a boat position.

1 – tilt to the side, one hand up, the other down, look in the direction of the tilt.

2 – in the other direction.

Ex. "Cars"

IP - one child lies down on the mat, rests his hands on the floor; the other stands, holding the first by the legs.

1 – 6 – the first child moves in his arms, the second helps him by holding his legs. Then the partners change places.

Correct breathing when performing exercises is a necessary condition for full physical development. When teaching a child proper breathing First of all, you need to teach him to exhale deeply to clean the lungs well and improve their oxygen supply. It is necessary to draw children's attention to the fact that they need to breathe through their nose. Proper nasal breathing is a condition for a child’s health and a preventive measure against tonsillitis and respiratory diseases.

To master physical exercise with elements of breathing exercises it is necessary to solve the following problems:

1. increase the child’s overall vitality, resistance, hardening and resistance of his body to diseases of the respiratory system;
2. develop respiratory muscles, increase the mobility of the chest and diaphragm, improve lymph and blood circulation in the lungs, improve the activity of the cardiovascular system.

I use breathing exercises, which have positive influence on all body systems: endocrine, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, urinary, nervous. IN breathing exercises There is a calming “evening” and mobilizing “morning” breath.

Calming breathing can extinguish excess excitement and nervous tension. This type of breathing can neutralize the effects of conflict, relieve pre-start anxiety and help you relax before bed.

Mobilizing breathing helps overcome lethargy and drowsiness when tired, promotes a quick and painless transition from sleep to wakefulness, and mobilization of attention.

With a tonic effect

Exercise 1. Mobilizing breath

IP – standing or sitting (back straight). Exhale the air from your lungs, then inhale. Hold your breath for 2 seconds, exhale for the same duration as inhale. Then gradually increase the inhalation phase.

Exercise 2."LOCK"

IP – sitting, body straight, hands on knees in the “lock” position. Inhale and at the same time raise your arms above your head, palms forward. Hold your breath (2 seconds), exhale sharply through your mouth, hands fall to your knees.

With a calming effect.

Exercise 1."REST"

IP - standing, straighten up, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a breath. As you exhale, bend over, relax your shoulders and neck, lower your head and arms to the floor. Breathe deeply, watch your breathing. Stay in this position for 1-2 minutes. Then straighten up.

Exercise 2."BALLOON"

Goal: relieve tension, calm children.

All players stand or sit in a circle. The presenter invites the children to inflate imaginary balloons: “Inhale, bring the “ball” to your lips and, puffing out your cheeks, slowly inflate it through parted lips. Watch how your ball becomes bigger and bigger, how the patterns on it increase. Blow carefully so that the balloon does not burst. Now show the ball to each other.”

Exercise 3."BREATH"

Breathe slowly, calmly and deeply for 3 minutes. You can even close your eyes. Enjoy this deep, leisurely breath.

Exercise 4."BARBELL"

Goal: relax your back muscles.

Now you and I will be athletes - weightlifters. Imagine that there is a heavy barbell lying on the floor. Inhale, lift the barbell off the floor, and lift it with your arms outstretched. Exhale, drop the barbell to the floor, and rest. Let's try again.

Conclusion:“Dry swimming”, i.e. Exercises on land, firstly, play a significant role in preparing the child’s body for exercise in water.

Secondly: in the process of performing the exercises, it is possible to clearly explain the technology to the child, and devote more time to studying and improving it.

Learning to perform movements on land

- the child can easily reproduce it in water;

— easily copes with water resistance;

— the volume of physical activity increases;

- a hardening procedure that helps improve children's health.

You can start teaching children swimming from the age of 5-6 years. Swimming helps strengthen the body, develops the lungs, strengthens the heart and instills courage in children.

It is better to start teaching swimming to preschool children in the summer. However, long before summer it is necessary to learn preparatory movements on land so that the child is ready for exercises in the water.

Exercises for teaching children to swim - on land:

These special exercises simulate the first movements in the water. Adults need to ensure that the child performs all recommended exercises correctly.

1. Stand up straight. On the count of 1-2, the child rises on his toes, raises his arms through the sides, palms forward, first with his left hand, then raises them with the same movement right hand so that the thumbs touch each other - take a breath. On the count of 3-4, lowers the left hand first through the sides, then the right, accepts initial position, exhales. Perform 6-8 times.
2. Stand up straight. On the count of 1-4, perform with straight arms circular movements back, takes a breath. On the count of 5-8, make circular movements forward, exhale. Keep your head straight and perform circular movements with your arms with maximum amplitude. Repeat 2-4 times.
3. Stand up, bend your torso forward, left hand at the top with the palm forward, the right one at the hip. With straight arms, alternately perform circular movements forward, as when swimming in the crawl style. On the count of 1-4, raise your head, looking forward, inhale, on the count of 5-8, lower your head, exhaling. Perform 4-6 times.
4. Sit on the floor, lean back, leaning on your elbows. Raise your straight legs, spread them 30-40 cm between your feet, pull them back and slightly turn your toes inward, make counter movements, as when swimming in the crawl style, do not hold your breath. Perform 4-6 times for 10-15 seconds.
5. Lie on your back. On a count of 1-2, bend your knees, grab your shins with your hands and press them tightly to your chest, while tilting your head and pressing your chin to your chest, exhale, and on a count of 3-4, return to the starting point. position while inhaling. Repeat 6-8 times.
6. Get on your knees, lean your straight arms on the floor. Bending your arms, touch your chest to the floor 5-6 times, do not lower your head. Perform 3-4 approaches.
7. Stand up, then squat on your toes, raising your arms up through your sides, palms forward, thumbs touching each other, keeping your head straight - exhale. Return to ref. position – inhale. Do 5-6 squats. Repeat 2-4 times.
8. Jumping on your toes: alternately clapping your arms above your head, then behind your back. Breathe freely. Perform 20-30 jumps.
9. Walk for 30-40 seconds.

Be sure to take a shower after class or rub your body with a damp towel. Rubbing and dousing will prepare the child's skin for cooling while swimming in a pond.

If swimming training for preschoolers is carried out in a natural body of water, then you need to choose a place with clean water, a flat bottom, not a fast current, with a water depth of no more than 30-50 cm, and when bathing children, the water depth should not exceed 60-80 cm in 2 -3 meters from the shore.

Teach your child to follow certain rules for swimming in bodies of water:

- go to the toilet in advance,

- you can start swimming only an hour after eating,

- When entering the water, you first need to wet your face and under your arms with water.

The duration of bathing in the first days is limited to 2-5 minutes and gradually increased to 10-20 minutes. If a child's lips turn blue or he is trembling, he should immediately be taken ashore, rubbed with a towel and dressed in dry clothes.

Exercises for teaching children to swim - in the water:

The success of the first lessons in water largely depends on the child’s preparation: whether he performed the special exercises given above, or whether he did morning exercises every day.

When learning to swim, you should not force children; try to interest them, praise them for their success - all this will make the learning process easier.

First, you need to help your child learn not to be afraid of water: let him run in the water near the shore and play with inflatable toys. But it is not recommended to put an inflatable rubber ring on a child.

Although a child is always drawn to water, for the first time in a pond he may experience unpleasant sensations: even in a shallow place he may choke, fall into the water, unsuccessfully try to get to his feet, etc. This can frighten him, so adults need to be especially careful attentive. Remember that some exercises may be difficult for a child. There is no need to raise your voice and get irritated, but simply explain what needs to be done and what his mistake is, and supplement the explanations with a personal demonstration.

This set of exercises helps to learn the simplest way of swimming, easy for children - this is swimming without taking your hands out of the water, it is also called “doggy” swimming. Children perform all exercises while waist-deep in water, facing the shore.

1. Exercise "Shower". Standing in the water, scoop up handfuls of water and pour it on your head, without closing your eyes. Perform 5-10 times.
2. Exercise “Walking on the bottom.” The child walks along the bottom with his hands lowered into the water, waving both hands at the same time and alternately with each hand.
3. Exercise “Immersion in water with your head.” Two children stand facing each other, holding hands. One of them takes a deep breath through his mouth, squats, lowering himself into the water for 3-5 seconds, the other child stands. Then the other one dives in, and this one holds his hands. Each dives 5-6 times. After surfacing, you don’t need to wipe your face with your hands; just shake off the water with your head.
4. Exercise “Opening eyes in water.” Two children simultaneously take a breath, squat down, immerse themselves in the water, open their eyes and pick up pebbles or previously placed objects from the bottom. Children can hold hands.
5. Exercise “Exhale into the water.” Two children stand facing each other, holding hands. After taking a deep breath through the mouth, one of them or both at once squat down and plunge into the water. In the water, they exhale vigorously and continuously through the mouth and nose, so that bubbles are visible on the surface of the water and open their eyes. Repeat the exercise 5-10 times. When surfacing, do not wipe your face with your hands.
6. Exercise “Lie with your chest on the water” - Very important exercise, after completing which, the child will be interested, and learning will go faster. The main task is to lift your legs off the bottom and lie with your chest on the water. To do this, you need to put your legs apart and raise your arms up. The child takes a deep breath, bends down, puts his hands on the water, slightly pushes off the bottom with his feet, and lies down on the water. In this case, the face is immersed in water to the middle of the forehead, the hands lie on the surface of the water, the heels are slightly covered with water. You need to remain in this position for 3-5 seconds.
7. Exercise. Perform the same exercise, but connecting your legs and arms.
8. Exercise "Sliding on the chest." Standing in the water, raise your hands up and join them thumbs. Take a deep breath, sit down and bend over, lower your head between your hands, push off from the bottom with both feet and do not raise your head as long as you can slide through the water. After completing 2-3 slides, take 5-10 exhalations into the water.
9. Exercise "Movement of legs in crawl." Lie with your chest on the water, holding onto a support, and make counter movements with your legs. Having learned to glide through the water without support, you need to make sure that your legs are not tense, your toes are pulled out, and your feet do not leave the water.
10. Exercise "Movements of arms and legs." If the child has already learned to move through the water using his legs, then rowing movements with his hands are added to this exercise. Having made a stroke, do not remove your hand from the water; it passes as close to the body as possible to make the next stroke. Make sure your legs move more often than your arms.
11. Exercise “Correct breathing”. Now it is important to learn how to breathe correctly: raise your head up to your chin out of the water, while taking a short breath, then lower your head, making a long exhalation into the water. During inhalation, the arms and legs do not stop moving, and the body does not bend.

By swimming in this way, in the future the child can successfully master another method of swimming - crawl.

The two most important exercises when learning to swim. Dear swimming lovers! Remember! There is nothing more important than these two exercises for a beginner who has decided to learn how to swim correctly! Because it is with their help that you will train your body to take the only correct position in the water, in which the resistance in the water will be minimal. These exercises have “telling” names: “Sausage” “Arrow” With the help of the first exercise – “Sausage” – we will learn to relax in the water, merge with it, lean on it. The “Arrow” exercise will help you develop the skill of taking the only correct body position in the water when swimming crawl, breaststroke or butterfly.

Exercise "Sausage". Standing in waist-deep water, you need to inhale, relax and plunge into the water face down. And then hang in the water while holding your breath. At the same time, it is important that your whole body relaxes completely!!! Your legs should hang in the water like whips; under no circumstances lean on them! But it is especially important to keep your neck and head relaxed! After hanging like a “sausage” in the water, after 20-30 seconds, gently rise to your feet and lift your head out of the water. The point of this exercise: You must get two points of support (attention!) in the water: the first point is your face, the second is your chest. With these two points of support, you will be comfortable making movements with your arms and legs, no matter what style you swim in the future. Because these two points of support are stability, your “foundation” is in the water! And don’t think just yet, how will I inhale?! We'll look at breathing while swimming later!! Common mistake an adult learning to swim: inability to relax the head the first time when immersed in water. What is the reason? Working day at the computer, regular long-term stress, fear of water since childhood. Therefore, devote as much time to this exercise as it takes to successfully complete it. When performing “Sausages”, the neck, arms, head, eyes and even eyebrows should be relaxed. Another important point: eyes must be open. It has been empirically tested many times: with closed eyes the exercise is performed much worse than with open ones.

Exercise "Arrow". Important! The swimmer's position in Strelka is the basic body position in the water when swimming crawl, breaststroke or butterfly! There is no point in learning any other elements from these styles if you have not learned how to perform the “Arrow” correctly. All other movements from the listed swimming styles seem to be “glued” to this basic position. So, to perform this exercise you need to stretch your arms in front of you. It is better if the arms are spread parallel to each other, especially if the exercise is performed by a beginner. In this position, both hands rest on the water. You can imagine your hands as a pair of skis, parallel to each other and resting on the track, in our case, on the water. Hands must be kept on the surface of the water, without lowering them under the water and without lifting them completely out of the water. In this case, one leg is initially bent and rests on the side. Take a breath, lower your head into the water “sausage-wise”, look at the bottom. And only after we lie with our chest and head on the water, pull the other leg to the side and make a soft, elastic push. And then slide like this until you come to a complete stop. What is the point of this exercise? This position of the body in the water causes the least resistance! This means that the more often you bring your body to such a reference position while sliding when swimming breaststroke, crawl or butterfly, the more energy you will save! But if you begin to strain your neck and raise your face, your body will immediately begin to sink into the water and settle “astern.” And in such a semi-vertical position it is much more difficult to swim. If the head not only sinks into the water, but also relaxes, it begins to float rib cage. With a relaxed face, we lean on it. In this horizontal position, which is the basic position, it is much easier to swim. And this is what we need!

Three mistakes when performing the “arrow” Often, after mastering the “arrow”, beginners, especially children, make the mistake of jumping while diving. What is the risk of such a mistake? After such a jump, the head immediately goes under the water. And at the same time, firstly, water can get into the nose, and secondly, having fallen through after jumping under water, the beginner instinctively wants to raise his head up. But swimming in Strelka with your head tensely raised is wrong for the reason that we described above! At the right approach you need to inhale, gently place your face on the water, without jumping, and then push off with your second leg, first pulling it to the side. The second mistake is spreading your legs while sliding, because they will cling to the water and slow down your progress in the water. After pushing off the side, keep your feet together and point your toes. The third mistake is not very fundamental, but it is still worth paying attention to: a beginner often, when performing the Arrow, keeps his arms in front not straight, but half-bent. When learning front crawl, it is important that your arms are straight as you move them forward into a preparatory position for the stroke. And if, when learning the “Arrow”, your arms are not straight enough, then the same thing will happen when swimming the crawl: you will bring them forward half-bent, and this will make the length of the stroke short, insufficient for good and correct gliding. That is why the “skis” at the “arrow” must initially be straight. Keep your arms straight!!

Repetition is the mother of learning. If you have the opportunity to take your smartphone with you to the pool, and, having chosen a safe place for it, watch the materials of this video lesson online again, then the effect of the lessons will be even greater. And it will be very cool if, while you are doing the exercises, someone can make a video recording of them. After reviewing the recorded material, you will be able to eliminate mistakes much faster and learn how to correctly perform the Sausage and Arrow. Two main exercises when learning to swim. And then – move on! On to our next lessons!!