Swimming is one of the most beneficial exercises anyone can participate in. Whether you swim competitively or simply swim for the benefits of weight loss and muscle building, it is a perfect sport to learn to enjoy. If you are unsure about your swimming skills, there are various things you can do to perfect your skills even without a coach telling you what to do.

Focus on One Component

Rather than jumping in the water and trying to focus on all aspects of a stroke, such as freestyle, focus on one component. Use a kickboard to stabilize your upper body while you focus on your kick. Take the time to truly build up your endurance through the use of a kickboard, experimenting with your kicks to determine which method gives you the best times and least exhaustive workout. You want to make sure your muscles do not tire prematurely, but you also want to swim lengths in the shortest amount of time. Once you perfect your kick, you can use pull buoys to stabilize your legs while you perfect your arm movements. This will allow you to slowly put all the pieces together to achieve one fluid freestyle stroke.

Build Endurance

A major component of perfect swimming is endurance. Swimming a couple of laps is fine, but if you want to truly feel the benefits of swimming, you will need to be able to swim a large number of laps comfortably. Through the use of exercise and the proper swimsuit, you will be able to build that endurance. Choosing to wear a competitive swimsuit, rather than a regular swimsuit, will reduce the amount of drag you experience in the water, allowing you to build your endurance without experiencing unnecessary exhaustion.

Time Yourself

Through the use of a waterproof lap counter and timer, you can time yourself on your laps. This allows you to push yourself harder each time, consistently trying to beat your own time. You can also count the number of strokes you use to complete each lap. Trying to reduce the number of strokes it takes to complete each lap will help you perfect your swimming even further.

If you wish to perfect your swimming skills, take it slow. Break your strokes down into individual components to truly understand how your strokes affect your swimming. By building up endurance and speed, you will find yourself perfecting your swimming and even gaining the ability to swim competitively in a short amount of time.