You might have come across the term advanced swimming programs while going through the internet or even just by word of mouth from a friend. Perhaps you are puzzled about whether what you do at your local community or gym pool qualifies to be referred to as an advanced swimming program. If you are interested in learning how advanced that advanced program you are considering is, then this is for you!
First, we need to make sure that we are on the same page in terms of terminology. You already know that the word advanced to an extent implies a higher level of difficulty. Drawing on this, we define advanced swimming as the possession of swimming skills whose difficulty level is beyond the usual jumping into the pool, floating and fluttering some kicks. Therefore, an advanced swimming program is designed to offer a combination of enhanced skill sets that are beyond the usual beginner and intermediate skills.
You might wonder whether advanced swimming is for everyone. The answer is no and yes. No, because if you have never been to a pool or tried out swimming anywhere else to cover the basics, then advanced swimming is not for you.
But if you know the basics of swimming and want to level up your skills, then yes, you can join an advanced swimming program. Advanced swimming will take you out of the pool and into open water swimming where you could even earn a lifeguard certification.
So, what does an advanced swimming program look like? Even though advanced swimming has a lot to do with water, an advanced swimming program will go beyond perfecting your freestyling and butterflying skills. It will be about developing you, physically and emotionally, on and off the waters. You will probably get some skills about being aware of yourself in space i.e. spatial awareness. After achieving this, you should be
introduced to the breaststroke for a start even as you continue to perfect the basic skills and techniques.
The physics of body position, balance coordination, controlling and optimizing swimming speeds and buoyancy to help you advance your swimming efficiency and perfect your hydrodynamics will be the focus of advanced training. You will be introduced to advanced diving skills, proper breathing techniques and even how to make proper turns, as you swim. You can expect that your trainer will demand more deadlifts in
the gym, proper stretching, and other swimming strength training techniques outside water.
Now that you know all this, you are probably wondering how many lessons you will need to take to become an advanced swimmer.
Well, before you think about that, it is important to remind you that swimming is a skill and all skills require honing through constant practice. With that out of the way, you will probably need to invest about 18 weeks into the program if some of the advanced swimming programs like this one are anything to go by. Don’t worry, training properly for 3 days a week is recommended so that you rest well enough and give your muscles time to recover.
If you’re still unsure about whether you’re fit for advanced swimming programs, check out Felix Swim Schools for complete guidance.