Going in for sports is one of the most important components of the correct full-fledged physical and spiritual development of the individual.

And in the life of almost every inhabitant of our planet there was such a moment when he firmly decided to start leading a healthy lifestyle, give up habits that destroy health and life and start playing sports.

And here a slightly strange, but rather important and tricky question arises – what exactly to do, where to direct most of your efforts?

It would be ideal to do a little of everything – this would lead to the emergence of a truly harmoniously developed personality, but in reality this is almost impossible.
In this case, swimming is the ideal solution. Why is it? Yes, because everyone loves to swim, like water in general. In addition, swimming is a unique sport: it develops almost all muscle groups, because to overcome the resistance of water you need to make great efforts, which means that the intensity is higher than that of outdoor sports.

And from this it follows that swimming is an effective way to get rid of extra calories, burn extra pounds, make your figure slim and muscular. Swimming improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system of the body, improves oxygenation of the body, prevents premature aging of the skin, increasing its firmness and elasticity, and helps fight stress and depression. And, most importantly, swimming is a great pleasure and has practically no contraindications, that is, anyone can do it.

So, swimming is a special and unique sport associated with overcoming a water barrier in the shortest possible time.
If we talk about swimming as a professional sport, then it is divided into four main styles – front crawl, back crawl, butterfly and breaststroke. All styles differ from each other in the complexity of studying and mastering, energy consumption, speed and other nuances.

For example, front crawl or back crawl is considered one of the easiest swimming styles in terms of technique and learning. At the same time, it is the fastest. The butterfly is one of the most difficult to learn and the second fastest style after the front crawl. Breaststroke is the slowest and at the same time the most energy-intensive way to overcome water obstacles. Let’s talk about crawl as the easiest and fastest style swimming.

Crawl: swimming technique
The crawl is a way of swimming on the chest or back and has corresponding subspecies. When swimming in a crawl on the chest, the arms make alternate strokes, and the legs move and move apart rhythmically. If greatly simplified, then the hands will look like an impeller (or rather, its spokes) of a steamboat or the wings of a mill, and the legs will look like scissors.

Almost the same thing happens when swimming crawl on the back – the same mahi-strokes with the hands and “scissors” with the feet. The only difference: when swimming on the chest, the direction of movement of the hands is because of the head under oneself, when swimming on the back, the hands go in the opposite direction, since the swimmer lies on his back.

Breathing while crawling
Inhalation should be done through the mouth, turning the head towards the arm under water. A breath is taken at the very beginning of the swing, when a “triangle” appears: the shoulder, the water’s edge, the forearm, because at this moment the water around the head partes a little. You need to exhale through the mouth until the next breath.

The rules prescribe to take a breath for every third wave of the hand above the water. In this case, the breaths will alternate on the right and left.

Crawl Exercises
Of course, it is difficult, out of habit, to keep track of everything at once: arms, legs, head, breathing. Special swimming exercises designed to work out the technique of a particular style will help you feel more confident in the water. They improve movement, increase speed, help move on the machine.

Try these easy crawl exercises to start with:

Stroke with one hand, the second – straight – is in front of you. You seem to be catching up with one hand with the other. Alternate hands.
Догоняйте партнера, соблюдая дистанцию для swimming. Excellent training for speed. Don’t forget about technology!
You will need a partner with a stopwatch and a whistle. Your task is to swim as much as possible in 6 seconds. Ideal – world athletes swimming this distance in 6 seconds or less. The essence of the task is to try different strokes, change the position of the body a little – in general, try to swim in different ways. The partner will point out the mistakes and advise the best option, which you can then use in training.
For adults, it is recommended to swim with wide shoulder blades, which will force you to raise your elbow higher. Great exercise for those who forgets to raise the elbows above the water.
Swim with only one rowing arm, just straighten the other, but do not move it. Breathing is normal.
Try this energy-intensive exercise: push off the rail, stroke with one hand, carry it over the water without moving the other arm, and take another stroke. Now pull the rowing arm back and swim like this for a couple of seconds. Then change hands.
Do a variety of exercises on land. For example, the well-known “Mill” will help to consolidate the correct hand movements. Just sitting on a bench, imitate the movements of the legs when swimming – this will help develop muscles better. Combine the movements of the arms and legs, practicing them to automatism.
The most common crawl swimming mistakes.
The swimmer seems to be sitting in the water – the chin is pressed to the chest, the legs are bent. It is necessary to monitor the position of the body in the water, start moving with a straight leg – this will save you from making mistakes.
The knees do not come out of the water. It is necessary to monitor the position of the legs when swimming – they should be straight.

The head is thrown back. So water can flood your face, preventing you from breathing and swimming. It is recommended to tilt your head slightly to your chest – this way you will keep your head straight.

Strong body tilts from side to side. No need to row too deep.

Strokes with a straight hand. Они сильно снижают эффективность swimming.

Wrong breathing. There are many such mistakes: holding your breath, failing to breathe, etc. The breathing technique when swimming crawl should be considered separately.

Conclusion
As you can see, swimming crawl is not at all difficult. You need to accustom yourself to the correct position of the body in the water, monitor your breathing and enjoy the process, that’s all!

It will be good if someone can observe you and tell you about mistakes that you may not notice on your own. Otherwise, crawl is a wonderful swimming style, which is the easiest to learn. Good luck with your learning!