A Balanced Body
Ever wonder about what some of the details are that the SwimJim staff is teaching your children? This post will give you an insight to the MO of the Swim Jim program…
Balance in the water is a tricky endeavor. Especially balancing in a horizontal position either face down (prone), or face up (supine). All who have tried can agree it’s not as easy as it looks. The importance of a stable supine float is the foundation SwimJim utilizes to teach safer children. We teach children to stay calm, go to the surface and locomote back to the wall on their backs. The second reason for a stable horizontal float drastically improves a competitive swimmer. As a United States national team swimmer and two time Olympic gold medalist, I believe horizontal balance to be perhaps the most important skill I have developed to improve my technique. Floating on the surface with as little effort as possible, all strength and power is utilized for propultion and forward velocity.
Now how does one examine the human body and how to float on top of the water? First off a balanced body in the water is off set by two large hindrances. One, the lungs skewed to one side, and two, the center of mass skewed to the opposing side. Comparing the body to a see-saw the man on the right weighs much more than the man on the left especially when the man on the left acts like a giant balloon in the water (lungs). Now how do you balance that horizontally in the water? Well, with a very slight “flexsion” of the abs, like a gentle sit up, with absolutely no bending in the hips, one can “push” their lungs or center of buoyancy down into the water and transfer that energy to their feet keeping the legs afloat. It’s like pushing a ball down into the water, the ball wants to push back to the surface. Transfer that energy through a straight body down to the legs. Wrap your mind around that. Now try explaining that to a two or three year-old. Or even an infant. ???
SwimJim with their fun loving, kind, and relaxed instructors, we guide children to discover these skills themselves through patience, practice, fun songs and games. As a parent you can feel confident your child is getting the best and most advanced techniques in the swimming community. We put an enormous emphasis to quality and care.
Two time Olympic Gold Medalist and a co-author of the SwimJim curriculum-
Catherine Fox
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