Swimming for beginners: where to start

Learning to swim as an adult is completely possible and more common than you think. The first goal isn't technique — it's comfort: getting your face used to the water and learning to exhale below the surface.

In our adult classes we dedicate the first two weeks to breathing and floating. Mastering the continuous bubble — inhale above, exhale below — removes 80% of the initial anxiety.

Next come the horizontal position and kicking with a board. Only then do we introduce the freestyle stroke, which for an average beginner takes 8 to 12 weeks to become fluid.

Our advice: two 45-minute sessions per week beats one long session. The club's heated pool is open for free practice all day.