Bodyweight Exercises The weight of your body serves as resistance throughout these activities. They often work a variety of muscles and promote strength and stability. You can perform them almost...
Learning To Swim Star Float – Basic Essentials
Learning to float face-down—the star float on the front—is an essential swimming core ability. This is because it prepares the swimmer’s body position for the more sophisticated strokes they’ll learn later!
Standing up, find a spot in the pool and form a ‘Star’ shape with your feet flat on the floor and your arms and legs wide apart to form an ‘X.’ Next, tuck a noodle under your arms, keeping the curve in front and a gap between your body and the curve.
Lean forward with your chin on the water and allow your feet to rise behind you, so you lie flat on your stomach.
Make a ‘Star’ shape and keep your arms and legs still. If they can float on their front without assistance, move on to pencil and mushroom floats.
If you can complete all these, request sequences, such as star float to pencil float or mushroom float to star float.
For a swimmer to try it, they should be able to:
- Put their entire face under the water.
- Stretch your arms and legs apart from your body.
- For a few seconds, hold a position.
- Keeping arms and legs out wide aids in maintaining balance and buoyancy, allowing the swimmer to stay on top of the water!
Our Star Float on the Front Guide
- Face the wall with your feet on the floor.
- Hold onto the wall for support while stretching your arms out wide and straight.
- Place your face in the water between your arms and allow your legs to float up behind you.
- Let yourself float for a few seconds, arms and legs spread wide. Relaxing!
- Instead, instead of the wall, use a noodle float to get into position.
- Floating on my stomach with my eyes on the pool floor
- Still and straight, arms and legs
- Hold your breath to help you float. If the water is too deep for the kids to stand up, show them from the side of the pool what shape they should be making.
If swimmers bend in the middle, tell them to show you their “banana tummies,” which means to push their stomachs out in front of them. When they are in the star float, remind them to do a “banana tummy,” which helps them push their bellies up to the surface.
Those who are comfortable in the water can try floating without the noodle if they are already in the water or have a helper in the water. Help them get in the right place by holding them under the shoulders. Make sure they take a deep breath and hold it, which will help them float.
How To Stop?
Place your hands in the water and raise your head at the same time…
- Bring your knees to your chest.
- Feet on the ground
- Give yourself a pat on the back; you did great!
Are you practicing with children?
Set up side by side at the wall to demonstrate how to accomplish it.
Make it enjoyable: Assume you’re paratroopers who just leaped out of an airplane!
During the first few trips out of the floating posture, children may require assistance. Urge them to tuck their knees into their thighs while also supporting them.
Have you mastered the Front Star Float? Why not give the Push and Glide a shot? Do you find this skill difficult? Try your hand at blowing bubbles and kicking your legs.
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