Be Cool, Look Cool, Be Cool Again

If you've kept up, you may recall one of my main premises is that many adults don't bother to learn to swim because the effort required can look very uncool - a real problem given that one of the unwritten protocols of going to any pool is to look like you were born to live in a swim suit. Continuing on from the last post, here's how to look cool and work on your technique. I mentioned hanging on the edge of the pool. Be sure you are in a depth you can stand with your shoulders extending out of the water about three - five inches. Now from a position with your back against the wall, in this order - remember, we're being cool here - take a breath and hold it, close your eyes, remove your sunglasses, step forward one-half step and lean your head back until the water behind you comes up over and covers your face. Stay under about five seconds and come back smoothly on the same track you dipped in. Wait another five seconds and if you are so endowed, push your hair straight back, put your sunglasses back on, and lean back against the wall again. If you've done this all this without inhaling any water up your nose or wiping your face, you are making great progress. Repeat this about a minute later until you have mastered it. If you have trouble with water going up your nose - it happens to the best of us - start out doing this dip face first and work your way up to dipping in backwards as suggested above. Congrats - and by the way, you did look cool!