smimming skills

[violette]

I just started taking swimming lessons. I can swim but don't have any technique. I tried to dive, "Belly Flop Queen." Does anyone have a trick to do it wright. I tried everything...it feels like I'm aiming straight down in the water with my arms but I jump in and belly flop.

[Dianyla]

Oh man, this brought back memories. I used to be a horrible bellyflopper in high school. The first hell week of spring training I actually got big purple bruises all over the front of my thighs and belly.

Finally the coach took some pity on me and pulled me aside. She had me do this training-wheels exercise:
1. Instead of the usual standing bent over start position with your hips in the air and hands on your feet, kneel down with your knees right at the edge of the concrete.
2. Hold hands together and roll forward into the pool, as if you're doing a somersault. Think of that kind of curved tumbling action.
3. After doing this rolling action about 10x, get back into the normal start position and try to mimic the same forward rolling feeling.

Some mental stuff...
1. Don't think about jumping far, since that gets you into a more flat position. Think about rolling down into it. You're body is already at the edge of the pool - you've only got to move forward a few feet to be fully in the water. You're not going to catch your legs on the start block or the concrete.
2. Don't push off hard with your legs initially. Once you've got the motion down you can start thinking about pushing off with your legs and launching yourself into the water. But if you don't have the rolling curving shape to your dive, this just means you launch yourself into a flop.
3. If you've got mental hangups about the depth of the pool and you're worried about hitting your head, do this practice exercise at the deep end.

HTH.

[KSH]

Well, unless you are racing in a swim meet... you won't have to dive. I haven't had to dive in a triathlon.

Problem solved! Focus on swimming... not diving.

[mimitabby]

SMiMMING? that's pretty good!

if you insist on diving however, tuck your chin. put your chin on your chest
that should help too.

and... how to impress all your friends:
jump into the water with your arms straight out from your sides and your legs spread. As you hit the water, snap your arms and legs straight (to a normal standing position) and your head
will NOT go underwater.

[eclectic]

SMiMMING? that's pretty good!

if you insist on diving however, tuck your chin. put your chin on your chest
that should help too.

and... how to impress all your friends:
jump into the water with your arms straight out from your sides and your legs spread. As you hit the water, snap your arms and legs straight (to a normal standing position) and your head
will NOT go underwater.

Mimitabby hit it exactly. Your body follows your head positioning, if you raise your head you will do a belly flop everytime

think of it like they explain how to swim in total immersion "picture a laser on the top of your head, point it to the end of the pool and as you push off to enter the water keep looking straight down (tuck your chin but keep your back straight)

as KSH said you won't have to dive but it sure is fun to know how to do it. And who knows maybe someday you will want to enter a swim race

[violette]

Thanks for the tips... I practiced on the weekend and I think I finally got it. It was funny, my 6 year old daughter does exaclty the same thing as me.. wicked belly flops every time. So we stood side-by-side on the edge of the pool and dove and dove and dove and.... After about 5 tries we both finally got it. I just wanted to learn because when I was a teenager, everybody could except for me and it was embarassing.

Thanks for your help

[Dianyla]

violette, that's great news. Even if you never need to know how to dive, it's just fun to be able to isn't it?

and... how to impress all your friends:
jump into the water with your arms straight out from your sides and your legs spread. As you hit the water, snap your arms and legs straight (to a normal standing position) and your head
will NOT go underwater.

Wouldn't this... erm... cause an awful lot of water pressure in a particular place?