Why everyone should relearn the front crawl

Most of us can swim. But can you really swim? Could you do 20 lengths of front crawl or be confident swimming out to sea to save someone in trouble?

For the majority of us, swimming lessons stopped the minute we passed those school tests – you know, the ones where you’re chucked in, wearing your pyjamas, in the local pool. Many of us are therefore the same standard as we were as an eight-yearold, which, to be blunt, may not be good enough to escape a rip tide.

I relearned to swim by default. One night a few years back, after one too many G&TS, I signed myself up for a triathlon. Problem was, my front crawl was hopeless. I had nailed the art of keeping my hair dry with the classic ‘extended neck breaststroke’, and I could deliver a mean backstroke (unfortunately illegal in a triathlon), but I needed front crawl lessons. ‘I can only do a length before I’m dying,’ I wailed at Sibylle the teacher, after battling my way to the deep end like a beetle trying to survive its fate. In a triathlon I would have to do the equivalent of 30 lengths, in an ice-cold lake, without putting my feet down.

Sibylle taught me to stop kicking so hard, that kicking should only represent 20% of my energy output. She taught me how to breathe every three strokes and how to blow out in the water. Most importantly, she taught me not to fight the water; swimming should be a smooth, gliding action, not a thrashing, desperate attempt to get to the other end. Equipped with the right skills, I found I could keep going, and after just two lessons I was doing 20 lengths. It was an ‘Aha!’ moment and I survived the triathlon.

Learning to swim correctly has been incredibly liberating. It’s so satisfying adding another option to my fitness training, and there’s also something quite magical and meditative about swimming – just me, the water, my body rhythm and my breath. On holiday recently I thought nothing of diving off a boat and swimming to shore and back again. I won’t lie, drying my hair is a pain (sounds puerile but I think this puts more women off swimming than anyone knows). But I know that I could help my children if they were in trouble and I can beat most men to the deep end, which is way more confidence boosting than perfectly glossy ends. @susannahtaylor_

MY TOP FRONT CRAWL TIPS:

1. Go on, get your face wet

Steven Shaw is a former competitive swimmer who teaches adults to swim. ‘You must get good goggles and get your head in the water,’ he says. ‘If you lift your head one inch, your hips will drop by two.’

2. Stop kicking so hard

Your glutes are the biggest muscle in your body – work them hard and they will leave you gasping. ‘Your kick is really there for stability.’

3. Pole position to glide through the water

Olympic swimmer Keri-anne Payne says to imagine your body twisting around a pole with each stroke.

4. Learn to breathe out in the water

Don’t hold your breath!