SO cannot swim – not frightened of water but just never learnt. Doesn’t want to join a club so I’ve offered so would appreciate any helpful suggestions – many thanks

never has the phrase “chuck em in at the deep end” been so appropriate 8)

Get a copy of total immersion. Maybe some floats too.

Take your foot off her head?

Surely adult swimming lessons are the answer here? Not a swimming club (they are mostly about competing), just lessons down the local leisure centre.

You don’t have to join a club, but just get signed up for some swimming lessons at your local pool.

I learnt to swim aged about 24 and was pretty scared of water up until then. I quickly gained confidence and was swimming widths of the pool in perhaps 4 lessons.
By the end of the lessons we’d covered breast stroke, basic front crawl, diving in, getting to the bottom of the pool and retrieving stuff.
It was great fun.

everywhere does adult swimming lessions, small groups or 1 to 1.

I know nothing about the proper way to teach swimming but I did teach my kids by getting them relaxed in the water and used to putting their face in the water, going under, floating unaided, that sort of thing. Then when they got used to that it was basicly swim from wall to me for 1 meter, 2, meter ,3, 4, etc etc. Used a kick board a little. My perspective is the body floats in its natural relaxed state so its not that difficult.

Once they could do a 5 meters doggy paddle I taught them breast stroke. Getting the stroke right was harder than all the other bits put together. After that I taught them a bit of frontcrawl, then it was the swimming club.

One of them is national standard now 🙂

Book a Total Immersion course. I got the book and have been trying the drills, and already I feel like I’m improving – less about effort, more about technique and making the swim effortless. I could breaststroke OK, but my crawl was 100% effort, 0 technique so I could only really thrash one length out before being knackered.

I reckon the lessons (around £200 last time I looked) would be well worth it as an investment. If you can’t swim at all it’s probably even better. I intend to get on one when one runs locally myself.

+100 lessons

The group in the class in the lane next to mine includes a very large lady of advanced years who has gone from nothing to reasonably competent in less than two months. Mind you, she does have a certain built-in advantage when it comes to floating.

Art of Swimming or Total Immersion lessons. I was a competent swimmer – I only do front crawl due back probs, and got half a dozen Art of Swimming 121 lessons. Not cheap but what a revelation. I knocked 5 strokes off each length and now swim faster with less effort and no thrashing or splashing – stealth swimming 🙂

I knocked 5 strokes off each length

One of THOSE parties was it? 😀

I knocked 5 strokes off a 25m length by spending an afternoon on the internet (seriously) although I was a reasonable swimmer to begin with, but not in crawl.