The Winter is a great time to practice what we call 'dry-land' activities in the sport of swimming. On the swim team this would mean a variety of strength and cardio exercises that help to make your body stronger and more capable of competing as a swimmer to your highest potential. In Swim School, our dry-land activities help us to retain the skills that we learn while we are still practicing the components of learning how to swim. Below, you can find a 'dry-land' activity for each level at our Swim School:

Beginner 1: Practice 'blowing out' with your mouth and then taking a big breath of air in. Hold that for 5-10 seconds and exhale. The second time you do this, pretend you are going under water as you begin to hold your breath!

Beginner 2: Lay on your back on a soft floor somewhere in your house. Practice putting your chin up, eyes toward the sky, relax your legs and take a big breath in. Repeat this a few times and make sure you are feeling relaxed... you will be floating all by yourself in the water in no time!

Intermediate 1: Kicking is a HUGE part of this level. When you are sitting watching TV or hanging out at your house, practice the elements of a 'good' kick; relax your legs and kick from the hip! Remember, no crazy bending knees or you will start to sink in no time!

Intermediate 2: When you have some free time, practice your 1,2,3 breathing pattern. 1,2,3 arm strokes then turn your head and take a breath. Repeat this over and over; your breath should be taken on the right the first time, then the left, then back to the right and so on!

Advanced 1: Laying on your stomach, practice your breaststroke and butterfly kicks—the more you practice these, the quicker you will have them down when you are in the water and we can begin to teach you the arm strokes that go along with them!

Advanced 2: Visualize yourself swimming the 4 strokes; remember all of the small things that your instructor says to help you do all of the small things correctly that result in a ‘technically’ correct stroke… you will be on the Novice Team in no time!

*Always remember that you can ask your instructor for Homework at any time! If you are wanting to ring that bell and keep moving through the levels, it is important to get as much practice as you can—and you can practice little parts of your swimming anywhere—even on ‘dry’ land!