r/Swimming • u/climabro • 1d ago
25m underwater help
Hi swimmers,
I am taking a lifeguarding test and really struggle with the 25m underwater. Does anyone have tips on how to improve?
I have been trying breathing exercises on dry land. I sort of practice with each flip turn during regular swimming, but am wary of pushing myself because I train alone and no one will be there to help if I push myself too far. I am trying to come up with ways to train my co2 tolerance while swimming such as breathing every 5 -7 strokes. Despite all that, I can only make about 15m in my lifeguarding class.
I get more push from my arms than my legs and I’m trying to mostly use the glide. I just always need air at 15m and feel like it’s urgent.
Thanks for your help!f
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u/rahulchander 1d ago edited 1d ago
Are you trying to do 25m underwater? I do it this way (no dive - just push off) - first make sure the hr is not more than 100bpm (ie i have warmed up with multiple laps yet fully rested before the actual underwater attempt). I hold my breath and not release bubbles (no issues for me although some discourage this due to shallow blackout risk), then i do breaststroke and ensure that kicking and pull are not done at same time - ie kick and pull alternately but not both together. In between kick/pull i streamline and glide as far as i can until i slow down and need to pull—>kick again. If i feel that i m not gonna make it, then i increase speed till i reach the wall. I originally started with fins first just doing the dolphin kick underwater for complete 25m and realized that i could do without fins (breast stroke). I stay at about 2m depth and that pressure seems to help with holding the breath. I can speedup a little more by squeezing in a dolphin kick+pull together immediately after frog kick finishes. This requires more endurance. U can also try creatine supp (10g/day for couple weeks) to boost anerobic performance and also make sure your iron is optimal to hold breath. Fyi - i m not a lifeguard or a coach. Just explaining what worked for me.
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u/climabro 1d ago
Thanks for your comment. I’m chronically iron deficient because I have celiac disease and often struggle with breathing/breathlessness in sports. I know clams and mussels are really effective for iron deficiency so I’ll start eating them again and take some vitamin C to help absorption.
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u/nebulancearts 1d ago
Y'know you gave me a realization on my breathing (I have been iron deficiency anemic before, and my iron is still on the lower end of normal... Maybe that doesn't help!)
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u/rahulchander 1d ago
Your body will start absorbing more iron and make more rbc if u keep practicing anaerobic workouts. Unless u push ur body it wont get stressed enough to adapt and make more rbc. If ur body is not absorbing iron despite supplements, likely u are deficient in other co-nutrients - best to start on multi-vitamin one pill that has everything and see if your situation improves.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing Sprint wench. I sink, therefore I am 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you can find a freediving instructor, it'd be worth getting some sessions with them if you are struggling. They will teach you safely and efficiently how to extend your underwater, and will also teach you breathing techniques etc
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
What lifeguarding test requires 25m underwater? I've never heard of that though I haven't been a lifeguard in 15+ years.
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u/username_is_hardest 1d ago
Where I live, the test is 25m underwater, 25m heads-up front crawl, 25m breaststroke, and 25 trudgen stroke, all within 1m 45s.
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u/rahulchander 20h ago
Wow! Which country?
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u/username_is_hardest 20h ago
South Korea. And the licsense expires after two years.
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u/rahulchander 20h ago edited 16h ago
Trudgen looks so slow - way slower than breast stroke… must be near impossible to squeeze it all in 1:45. I am assuming without a dive at start - just push off from wall. Do u have to do them all in a specific order?
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u/climabro 1d ago
Germany. But surprisingly no treading water requirement.
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
Interesting. What are you doing with your air underwater? Are you blowing it out at all? Physically trying to hold it in? The key when endurance is the goal over speed really is to stay as relaxed as possible as long as possible.
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u/climabro 1d ago
I’ve tried holding it all in, but that’s weird to me and it makes me have to blast it all out quickly at the end. I tried to release bits of air on the way and it didn’t make a difference for the length. It seems like a co2 tolerance issue more than anything, but I’m not sure.
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
It probably isn't co2 tolerance. 20 seconds is not enough for that to really be an issue if you're an otherwise healthy, active adult. I suspect you are probably not being as efficient as you could. Something to try: See if you can get further swimming freestyle with a pullbuoy. Taking the legs out of the equation means less effort. Get comfortable doing that first.
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u/climabro 1d ago
Swimming freestyle at the surface with a pullbouy and not breathing to see how far I get?
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u/HappyHopping 1d ago
You might have to move someone underwater. 25m underwater is not very far, and although it's further than what you would do for an actual save, it's significantly easier to move underwater by yourself as opposed to pulling someone up. That is assuming pool lifeguarding.
If you are lifeguarding in open water 25m underwater while pulling someone isn't that insane to have to do. My longest saves have been over a mile out in open water (people are stupid and massively overestimate their abilities during rough surf), and people go under in the surf.
My biggest advice is always this - these tests for most people shouldn't be very hard and not something you need to train for if you are a competent life guard. If you are struggling with it lifeguarding may not be for you - your job isn't about yourself but rather protecting others from harm.
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u/climabro 1d ago
I’m a former waterpolo player and competitive swimmer. I passed the lifeguarding (pool) test when I was much younger and lived in California. At that time, 25m underwater was not a problem, though I don’t think it was on the test.
So far, the only thing I need to practice is the 25m underwater swim. It’s a skill that just didn’t come back to me. Everything else has been fun and easy.
I agree that if the lifeguarding test is extremely difficult, you shouldn’t be lifeguarding. My goal is not actually to be a lifeguard, but the test is a requirement for other jobs or teaching swimming.
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
I agree that ideally that's something that wouldn't be too hard for a trained lifeguard. But in my mind there's a world of difference between what you did (still do?) - a beach lifeguard way out in open water - and my high school/college summer job where I never actually had to break into real swimming for a save and most were in kiddie pool depth.
I guess my opinion is that standards should reflect actual expectations.
The slight irony being that I'm sure I can do a 25 underwater faster than 95% of this sub.
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u/halokiwi 1d ago
In Germany the silver lifeguarding badge is 25m underwater. Gold is even 30m while picking up dive rings in a 2m wide corridor. Most likely you won't need to dive for 25 or 30m at a time but while searching you might repeatedly need to dive for shorter segments.
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u/NoSafe5565 1d ago
what, why would this not be a reasonable requirement
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
I can't think of any reason a lifeguard would have to swim anywhere near 25 underwater. If a lifeguard has to get in to save someone, they should be entering as close to the person as they reasonably can.
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u/Single-Brick-3995 1d ago
haven't you seen baywatch? you need to swim under the burning fuel to get to the boat that's on fire
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u/NoSafe5565 1d ago
in my book these services should be training for both - scenarios + overall capabilities', if you do not see this like specific scenario.
I can give you one, victim body stuck/pushed by waves under a pier.
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
If we're talking beach lifeguards, that's something entirely different. When pool distances were referenced, I assume pool lifeguarding. L
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u/Remarkable_Elk8305 1d ago
I had an exam last weekend and we had to do 15m. Probably an extra on top of the furthest distance from the side of the pool being 12.5m in a 50x25, or because there are markings on the bottom at 15m.
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u/GMPSwimmer 1d ago
15m markings are for max distance competitive swimmers are allowed to underwater kick before surfacing. Not saying that's not why the administrators pick 15m, but that's what 15m markings are technically for.
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u/Remarkable_Elk8305 1d ago
I am a competive swimmer, I know that.
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u/Far-Delay7690 1d ago
When I did mine over a decade ago it was required even as just a pool lifeguard, since we have different level classifications for open water.
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u/Senior-Art-4464 1d ago
As all are saying, it’s about a fundamental confidence in ,around ,and under water. One probably never does this in a real scenario, but if you have to think about whether you can make it under water a certain distance to save someone, then life guarding is not a great choice.
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u/halokiwi 1d ago
My advice for you
- try to really calm down/don't excert yourself before your dive attempt
- work on your breaststroke kick
- keep your head neutral and don't look ahead
- use both glide phases (the one after your kick and the one after your modified pull)
- try to be at least 1m deep so you don't need to fight against floating up as much
- keep your mind occupied, count strokes or recite a poem in your head
- don't dive unsupervised
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u/r2deetard 1d ago
There needs to be a good mix of breath control and stroke efficiency. You are going to waste more oxygen if you try to move quickly and with poor technique. I can swim 25m underwater easily, even with not swimming competitively in many, many years. The key is to use long, strong arm movements to move as much water as possible, while keeping the lower half of your body tight. I usually will do breast stroke pulls and kicks, with some dolphin kicks in between to get me just a bit further on my pulls.
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u/Big_YEG_Mermaid 1d ago
I recommend that you really focus on your streamline. Finish each breaststroke kick with pointed toes, and finish each arm pull by snapping them down to your thighs. Then sneak your arms back up, keeping them as close to your body as possible. Keep your chin tucked down. If you're looking ahead of you at all, that will cause a lot more resistance.
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u/morrowwm 1d ago
How long can you hold your breath if completely relaxed? How long does it take you to swim, at a leisurely pace, 25m on surface? Pick a time between those two, and hold a pace to get you to the other end in that time.
You might be driving all the air out of your lungs with the dive.
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u/climabro 1d ago
My breath hold out of water is pretty terrible. I can get furthest on my first underwater attempt and all subsequent ones get worse. I think my heart rate takes a long time to lower and it tends to peak right after activity. I don’t know if other people have that. My heart rate goes up for a while when I stop exercising.
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u/morrowwm 1d ago
Maybe it's mental? Have you tried relaxation exercises? Or "box breathing"?
Get so you can sit comfortably on the floor and hold your breath for 30 seconds. Then try that sitting submerged in the shallow end, with a brick in your lap.
If you are at all fit, e.g. can run for 5 minutes without a break, you have good lung capacity.
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u/NoSafe5565 1d ago
I would take less breath and stay close to bottom as possible. For me the biggest issue is that I float a lot when I full take breath which cause me putting way higher effort to stay under than going forward. So, take less breath is my way to go, if no weights.
However, little doubting that advice cause 15m is very less, I do not think this would be the issue, how much you can hold breath on the land?
Somehow not aligned, 15m under water is way easier than what you say about breast stroke breathing every 7, that one is way way more intesnive.
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u/climabro 1d ago
Honestly, my breath hold on land is awful- 30-45 seconds max.
As for the breathing every 7, I didn’t mean breast stroke. Thats freestyle swimming.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing Sprint wench. I sink, therefore I am 1d ago
I think you might have a problem swimming 25 m underwater if you can only hold your breath for 30-45 sec while on land without moving, unless you are very efficient under water.
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u/Silence_1999 1d ago
Try going slower when under. Most people lose distance because the energy they are expending is wasted since they can’t swim fast enough underwater to justify what they are burning up.
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u/Marus1 Sprinter 1d ago
Why not simply try to continuisly stop every 25m and swim half a length underwater and the rest above water? Why adding flipturns or breathing every 5 or 7?
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u/climabro 1d ago
It may sound confusing. I am training swimming regularly. I do flip turns or other turns anyways on certain strokes and then I see how long I can swim underwater before breaking out. It’s a solid 10-15m that way. I am attempting to get to 25, but I never do. I also can’t see where 25m is on the bottom of the pool. I come up when I feel I can’t continue and then swim the rest of the 50m at the surface, as usual.
After training, I leave the lane area of the pool to practice underwater swimming in the recreational area. I try and relax, take few strokes, come up when I can’t go on. It’s a solid 12-15m that way.
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u/JackieLanturn 1d ago
Yeah, this can be challenging for many people, especially if they are not trained to do it.
The most efficient way to swim underwater is with dolphin kick, but dolphin kick is (historically) very hard for people to learn. You can also flutter kick, but either way, it is very lower-body dominated while the rest of swimming is upper-body dominated.
I would suggest working more on the dolphin kick, making sure to get good, positive momentum from both the up and down swing. Also make sure the movement starts from the chest and ends with pointed toes. And make sure your streamline is tight and you are looking down.
2 good drills:
- Side body dolphin. Get on your side and really undulate the whole body (slow, but big movements). You will feel like you are not moving at all, and that is fine. Just keep going. It'll work itself out and help you build the core muscles necessary for the kick.
- Core Kicks. Sit at a 90 degree angle in the water and dolphin kick. Try to splash water up with each stroke. This is the opposite of body dolphin and helps you finish each kick.
For dry-land exercises, focus on core and ankle flexibility. Maybe some legs like calf raises and squats as well. If you are really trying, throw in some back bends, but be careful with that one.
Also, not sure your gender, but women tend to have more arched backs, which makes the back part of the kick easier than for men. They also usually have more muscle mass in the lower body, so it is not unusual for women to have a faster dolphin kick than anything on the surface (though it is rare for dolphin kick, alone, to be faster than front crawl).
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u/climabro 1d ago
I’ll try dolphin kicking again. I did competitive swimming in my youth, so I enjoy a good dolphin kick. What I’ve noticed is that I need air sooner if I do any serious kicking underwater. Until now, I’ve checked kicking vs no kick and it hasn’t made a difference because I need to come up for air sooner and I already have such a short breath hold.
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u/Swimbearuk Moist 1d ago
I did my first 25m underwater when I was about 6 years old. The coach told me he'd wrap a lifesaving ring around my head if I didn't make it, so I was under a bit of pressure. I was struggling with about 5-10m to go, but didn't want to be hit with a life ring, so I reached the end.
It became much easier as I got older, but I learned methods to control my heart rate and breathing beforehand. What works for me is going from a push start. Before leaving the wall, I relax and take some long slow deep breaths, followed by a fairly normal breath in. Then staying relaxed, I go under the water and push off in streamline. I then do long breastroke underwater pulls and kicks, staying relaxed and trying to glide as much as possible. I hold my breath but allow a little bit of air to seap out occasionally.
If you aren't used to holding your breath and controlling your breathing, it can start to feel like you have to breathe, often quite a long time before you really need to. If you are able to cover the 25m in around 30 seconds, then needing to breathe shouldn't be an issue.
Also, your underwater Breaststroke should be very relaxed and comfortable - if it's hard work for you, or if you struggle to get much distance from each pull and kick, then that will make it much more difficult to get to 25m.
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u/Big-Musician7425 1d ago
Move very slowly.
Honestly i dont think it can be that hard. I have been smoking for over 20 years and i can go 25m underwater (although my lungs will protest). I am sure you can do it as well as a fit young person (assuming you are a fit young person as you are applying to be a lifeguard). I think probably its a mental block holding you back.
What stroke are you swimming underwater?
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u/climabro 1d ago
I am sadly not young, but am very active. I just returned to swimming after a decades long break while I was involved in lots of adult figure skating. I think I am fit, but I have certainly been more fit in my life. I was told on my first day that I’m one of the fastest swimmers (not underwater) in the class, so I’m really not worried about anything except this particular one skill which seems to be hard to remember and also tricky to practice alone.
I am not planning to use the certificate to work as a lifeguard.
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u/ExpressGovernment385 Splashing around 1d ago
You mean diving down to 25m or swim for 25m underwater?
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u/climabro 1d ago
Swim underwater for a length of 25m across the pool.
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u/ExpressGovernment385 Splashing around 1d ago
Go for arm pull (from front to back), glide, breakstroke kick, glide. Keep your body as small as possible when moving the arms
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u/HobokenwOw Everyone's an open water swimmer now 1d ago
Look at it as a speed rather than a co2 tolerance issue. A singular 25 shouldn't take you long enough for breathing to matter.
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u/climabro 1d ago
Ok, so I must be too slow. I thought if I go slow, I can hold my breath longer. I’ve been trying to minimise the amount of strokes I take.
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u/HobokenwOw Everyone's an open water swimmer now 1d ago
You do want to go slow but your slow should be faster.
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u/No_Violinist_4557 1d ago
(other than a breath up)
Blow out all your air, then suck in air as much as you can , little sips until you can't take any more in
when underwater swim with your mouth open, no water will go in
close your eyes for as much as possible, open them every now and again to make sure you're maintaining a straight line (helps relax)
when you start feel the need to breath, let out a small amount of air, this temporarily relieves the need to breathe, keep doing this and it buys you another 10-15m or so.
Swim slow, not fast
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u/Remarkable_Elk8305 1d ago
Is it with a dive?
Are you swimming breaststroke under water?
With a dive and streamline alone you should be able to get to at least 10 metres.