Swimming may seem scary when you first start out. It is important not to let fear overwhelm your drive to learn it. Believe it or not, once you get a handle on the basics of swimming, you won’t feel scared at all.

In this article, we’ll give you some beginners tips for open water swimming. You’ll learn a few things that will help you stay calm and swim well in open waters.

If you would like to know how to handle yourself in the water a little bit easier, take a look!

Take Your Time and Practice Hard

No one can learn how to swim in a day. You shouldn’t expect yourself to get used to swimming just like that. Take your time and continue trying until you’ve got it right.

Obviously, you should practice swimming in a safe swimming environment first. Swimming in open water without a basic understanding of how to swim is not a good idea. However, if you do find yourself in open water, try to remain as calm as possible and perform the strokes as you recall them.

The most important thing is keeping yourself afloat and moving toward land, should you need to.

Utilize a Wetsuit

Some people refrain from using a wetsuit because they think it is a poor fashion choice. However, a wetsuit has more use than just to cover your body from the sun.

A wetsuit also improves your overall buoyancy. If you want to ensure that you remain afloat as best as possible, a wetsuit is the way to do it. While you will still need to swim well and provide yourself with the means to breath every now and then, the wetsuit will improve your chances of remaining on the surface of the water. Also, if you’re wondering where you can find the best swimming lessons/coaches to learn open water swimming, check out felixswimschools.com

Make Sure to Use Comfortable Goggles

You should practice opening your eyes while underwater. However, goggles are incredibly helpful when looking at your surroundings without injuring your eyes. When you choose your goggles, you need to account for head-size and eye-fit. If the goggles don’t fit your eyes perfectly, it might cause you some discomfort or even allow water in.

Perform Routine Warm Ups and Downs Whenever You Swim

Before you even get into the water, it is important that you take a fifteen-twenty minute warm up. Make sure you warm up every part of your body. When you swim, almost every muscle in your body will be used.

Because of this, cramps are very common. Without a proper warm up, you may find your arm or leg clamping up on you. This kind of issue can be deadly in the wrong situation, so do not take your warm up for granted!

On top of that, you should also warm down after you’re done swimming. While you won’t be in danger anymore, failing to warm down your muscles can easily result in cramps and severe muscle pain.

Recover from Mistakes with a Quick Backstroke

If you should find yourself swimming in open water and you panic or mess up your stroke, turn onto your back and take a quick break. While on your back, you can breathe without effort and perform simple kicks to keep yourself afloat.

Do this for as long as you need to. Once you start to calm down and you feel that you’re ready to continue swimming, turn over again and do a simple breaststroke to get yourself going. Once you’re truly back into it, carry on with whatever stroke you feel most comfortable using.

Swimming in the open water can be scary and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Swimming skills or not, the water is a perilous place. However, so long as one is aware of their surroundings and remains calm in the water, you can enjoy yourself to the fullest. Good luck and happy swimming!