How to spot when someone is drowning (and it doesn't look like the drowning we see on TV and movies)

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The other week, my colleagues and I were discussing about swimming.  I was telling them that I learned how to swim for survival, and secondary to be able to help during emergencies, except that later on, I learned that it's almost impossible to save another life if you're not a trained lifeguard (or if you don't have a lifesaver with you) coz a drowning person who's in panic usually drags down the rescuer down into the water with his weight. That's why we've heard of stories of good swimmers who have drowned too while trying to rescue someone. 😢💔

Then one of my colleagues told us about her experience in high school when she tried to save a drowning classmate in the pool.  When she got hold of her classmate in the water, the drowning classmate gripped her neck.  The grip choked her, and her classmate's weight started pulling her down into the water.  My colleague said she could barely breathe. She thought that she was going to die that day. To make things worse, all their classmates were actually watching them and they were all laughing at them coz they thought the two of them were just playing and joking.  😨😭

It's so timely that I read a very educational article related to this topic entitled "Drowning doesn't look like Drowning".  The information was very eye-opening for me.

Our idea of how drowning looks like is based on what we've seen on TV and the movies, right?  A drowning person on TV and movies looks like this - he/she makes violent splashes on water, waves for help and even cries for help.

Apparently, in real life, drowning does not look at all like that.  When a person is drowning in real life, there is little splashing, there is no waving, there is no yelling and there is no calling for help of any kind.  It's very silent.  😨

Because true drowning doesn't look like the drowning we see on TV and movies, unfortunately, it's the second cause of accidental death for children 15 years and below (just after vehicular accidents).  And sadly, about 50% of children who drown annually, drown within 25 yards of a parent or adult. 😭💔 But the most heartbreaking statistics is that about 10% of these children who drown, were watched by a parent or adult while they were drowning - except that the parent or adult don't realize that they were drowning. 😭💔💔💔

Why can't a drowning person call or wave for help?

When a person is drowning, his/her mouth is not above the surface of the water long enough for the person to breathe or call out for help.  If he/she does get a chance to get his/her mouth above the surface, the instinct is to gasp for air (not call for help), then the head starts to sink below the water again. This is the reason why a drowning person cannot even call for help.

A drowning person cannot think of waving for help either because instinctively, a drowning person would extend his/her arms and press down on the water’s surface so he/she can lift his/her mouth out of the water to breathe.   The struggle on the surface of the water is usually from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.

Here are some other signs to watch out for to determine if a person is drowning based on the article:

• Head low in the water, mouth at water level
• Head tilted back with mouth open
• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
• Eyes closed
• Hair over forehead or eyes
• Not using legs / no kicking of legs
• Hyperventilating or gasping
• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
• Trying to roll over onto the back
• Appears to be climbing an invisible ladder

So next time, if you see someone in the water who looks like he's ok such as he's just treading water and looking up the deck, he may not necessarily be ok but is actually drowning.  To be sure, call out if he is ok and if he's able to answer, then he's good.  But if he isn't able to answer or he returns a blank stare, then he may be drowning.

The same goes for kids or adults in pairs or group (like my colleague's experience)  - even if they look like they are playing, when they cannot answer your question if they're ok, maybe they are in trouble too.   And we've only about 30 seconds to save them.  But since most of us are not trained lifeguards (and may end up drowning too), I think the first thing we need to do every time we are in a pool area or the beach is to spot where the lifeguards and lifesavers are so we know where to find them in case of an emergency.  

P.S. If you think your family and friends' idea of drowning is still based on tv and movies, please share this information with them.  It could save lives.   

Determine your optimal number of swim strokes + swimming tips for newbies

I learned how to swim only last year.  I had zero skill on swimming and I was scared of any pool beyond 4 feet deep.  Shhh... 😅😂   But I did it.  So yes, there's hope for adults like me to learn how to swim.  You just have to take the first step and take lessons.

Anyway, this year, I decided to take another set of lessons with a new coach to check if my form is correct or if it needs improvement.   Surprise, surprise, I learned a lot of new things and I need a lot of improvement. :)

Here are the top 5 new things I learned:

1.  The basic requirement of effortless swimming is to be as relaxed as possible. The most effective technique for me on how to get myself relaxed is by swimming with closed eyes - provided that there aren't a lot of other people on the pool, otherwise, you'll be more tense in anticipation of possibly hitting someone.  😬

And being relaxed was the key to surviving a set of exercises which my coach asked me to do.  What exercises?
He asked me to swim 25 meters.
Then 50 meters, no rest.
Then 100 meters, no rest.
Then 150 meters, no rest.
Then 200 meters, no rest.
Then 250 meters, no rest.

Every time I was able to do a certain distance, I had to make sure I was more relaxed in the next one in order to make it farther.  😅  But nope, I don't have any intention of becoming a competitive swimmer.  I only learned how to swim for survival. 😂

2.  When you're a newbie, there's still poor muscle memory so it requires conscious effort to do all the coordinated movements.  However, sometimes, when you're on your own practicing or you haven't swum for a long period, there are times when you don't feel like your movements are well-coordinated.  The best technique to deal with this is do the individual drills first - yes, one at a time e.g. if you're working on achieving a relaxed head, don't worry too much if your arm or leg movements aren't precise, just make sure you achieve a relaxed head.  So one drill at a time until you're able to do everything at the same time and it feels like it's all in sync.

3.  If you want sharper focus to assess if you are correctly doing the drills, close your eyes while you do the drills.   It's amazing what you discover when you swim with closed eyes.    The reason why my coach started asking me to close my eyes during drills is because every time he asked for self-assessment e.g. if my hands entered the water at the right time, my answer was I wasn't sure!  Haha...  Because honestly, I wasn't just thinking about my hands but my breathing, head, hips, legs...😂  But when your eyes are closed, you're able to isolate your attention to one area and zone out on the rest.

Another time, he asked us to swim as quietly as possible.  I thought I was so quiet, I thought I wasn't even kicking coz all I could hear are the voices of other people in the pool.   But the moment he asked us to swim with eyes closed, I could hear water splashes produced by my feet and hands and I could even hear my breathing.   Big discrepancy of perception vs reality.  😂

4.  Your optimal number of swim strokes depends on your height.  Just refer to the tables below to find out what's yours.   But this table assumes you take a 5 meter from push-off to first stroke.

Your optimal # of strokes for a 25-meter pool.

Your optimal # of strokes for a 50-meter pool. 

My optimal number is between 17 to 22 strokes for 25 meters, and 39 to 49 strokes for 50 meters.  Honestly, I can't even get myself to count my strokes while swimming - I forget to count along the way. I think my muscle memory is still so poor that I can't afford to multi-task while swimming. 😂  But one time, when my coach counted for me, he said I did 21 strokes but I don't think I do 5 meters from push -off so maybe I can work on that to cut a couple of more strokes.  Haha...

5.  Here's the last and most important lesson - the best way to assess yourself and rule out perception vs reality when it comes to your physical form is via video proof.   In my head, I had a clear picture of what my form was while swimming but when I saw my video footage, perception vs reality was so far-off! 😱😳😂   Needs a lot more improvement.  Tsk-tsk... 😂

What does "lap" mean in swimming?

About a year ago, I didn't know how to swim. Any pool that's deeper than 5 ft. scares me. Haha...  Then I mustered the courage to take up swimming lessons and learned.   I continued to practice and watched video tutorials until I could comfortably swim across 25 meters.

Recently, I made my first attempt to swim in an Olympic-size pool.   Could I swim across 50 meters? Guess what? I successfully did!  12 laps in total.  Yay!

50m Pool at the Makati Aqua Sports Arena (MASA)

Then as I was writing this, I thought of googling what does a "lap" mean in swimming coz I'm a newbie and I might be misusing the term.  I ended up reading several discussions among professional swimmers and long-time swimmers across the globe.  Ironically, the definition of lap is an open debate.

Here are the various definitions of lap being debated in forums:

• A lap is 1-way - getting across the pool.  (This is also how one Olympic swimmer defined it in an interview.) 
• A lap is 2-way - up and back.  If you swim 1-way only, it's called a length. Thus, 2 lengths is equal to 1 lap.
• A lap is swimming around the perimeter of the pool. 
• A lap is 50 yards.
• A lap is 50 meters.
• Lap and length can be used interchangeably to mean swimming across the pool 1-way.
• Never use lap for swimming, only use length. 

Crazy, right?!  Sadly, I couldn't find a source where the definition of lap in swimming was made official.  :(

But wait, before you conclude I swam 1.2 kilometers (if your definition of a lap is 2-way), that's not what I meant!  Wahaha....   When I wrote it, my definition of a lap was 1-way.   Haha....  And I wasn't really tired yet but my friend and I were starving already so we decided to have all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu right after.   Haha....

I guess when you're using the word lap in swimming, it's better to qualify it by declaring the length of the pool coz the difference in the conflicting definitions is big -  one person could easily interpret it as half or twice the actual distance swam.  :) 

Learning how to swim - as an adult

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When I was a kid, I never learned how to swim.  The only thing I learned on my own was how to float on my back.  Take note, it's just floating on my back, not backstroke.  Wahaha...

The reason?  I'm scared of deep water.   When I was a kid, I was scared that my floater would suddenly get punctured while in a deep pool.  Now as an adult, even when I am wearing a life vest in open water, I am scared that a strap might suddenly snap out.  Wahaha... 

But I love water and I like going to the beach.  So about 3 years ago, I added "learn how to swim" to my bucket list but as usual, I never got around doing it.   

Two months ago, I caught up with some ex-colleagues and for whatever reason,  we talked about swimming.   We decided to meet up one Saturday so they can teach me.   I couldn't control my arms and feet, I drank a lot of water from the pool (wahaha...) and water kept entering my ears.  But that attempt got me going so I googled for swim coaches and swimming lessons for adults nearby.  

Three weeks ago, I finally decided to enroll in a swimming class for adults.  During the first session, here's the conversation with my 2 classmates:

Me:  Why did you enroll?

Classmate 1:  I want to be more efficient with my strokes so I don't get easily tired in triathlons.

Me:  <Gulp!  He's a triathlete!>

Classmate 2:   I want to improve my form and just like him, my goal is not to tire easily.

Me:  <Cringe!  They both know how to swim!  Uh-oh...>

2 Classmates:  How about you?
Me:  Survival. I just want to learn how to swim. Wahaha...

We had twice a week sessions.  The coach would give us drills which we had to repeat until we got the correct movements, then the drill progresses.

In between our classes, I practiced on my own.  After class, my classmates and I also stayed behind to further practice.  

On our 4th session, I was able to swim freestyle for 12.5 meters straight.  Why 12.5 meters?  That's the middle of the pool - the exact spot before the pool's depth becomes 6 ft, then 8 ft!   Haha...  When I achieved that feat, even the lifeguard and the attendants cheered and clapped (because sometimes I would chat with them and they knew I started from zero skill).  Haha...

The weekend after my 4th session, I kept on practicing on my own and was able to successfully swim across a 25-meter lap pool - not just once but 4 successful attempts. Yay! But that pool is shallow so I was relaxed and there was no fear of deep water.

On our 6th session, my coach said it was time for me to try to swim across the 25meter pool - but as I mentioned earlier, the pool we use for class was half-shallow and half-deep - up to 8 ft deep!  Waaa....

My coach asked me to start from the deep end so that if I don't make the entire stretch, hopefully, I'll reach the shallow part.  But I was so scared that I held on tightly to a pole for the next 10 minutes and tried to negotiate with my coach to postpone it until the next session.  I am sure I looked stupid in the pool.  Wahaha... 

See, even if I knew my coach was there to save me if I drown and even if I knew there was a lifeguard on stand by, I was still so scared.  I couldn't detach myself from the wall!  The thought of deep water - in this case, 8ft. - paralyzed me. 

Another coach suggested that I try to stand at the bottom of the pool to get a feel at how deep the water is (while still holding on to the pole!).   I did that twice and it helped because when you reach the bottom, you do get pushed up to the surface.  So I thought - even if I fail and sink, I would get pushed up to the surface and maybe, when i reach the surface, I could hold on to the wall for safety. So with that, I was ready to overcome my fear and I finally let go of the wall. 

And guess what?  I made it across the full 25 meters. Yay!  

It's amazing how I made progress in just 3 weeks.  But there's still so much to learn like improving my form, strokes and breathing.  And for the record, I am still scared of deep water!  But at least, I've already started with baby steps.

Just some tips if you also plan to learn how to swim:

1.  It's ideal to enroll in a class or get a coach because they have a technique of teaching progressive drills and before you know it, you're able to swim already.   I've read a lot of reviews online and this is how most people describe the experience - regardless of the swim school or coach.

2.  You need to practice in between classes because swimming requires muscle memory.  

3.  It helps to watch video tutorials. One of my ex-colleagues shared that he learned the butterfly stroke just by following a Youtube video tutorial! Wow...  In my case, I downloaded the complete set of "Total Immersion's Perpetual Motion Freestyle" (USD19.95 from the TI website) since Total Immersion (TI) is the technique used by my coach.  I would watch the short videos every now and then so hopefully the movements get imprinted on my mind.

4.  After the session, if you feel there's water in your ear, just tilt your head sideways - the affected ear should be parallel to the ground.  If the water does not come out, you can create vacuum by placing your palm flat against the ear, then pressing against it for a few seconds.

5. After swimming, you'll feel super hungry! The first time I spent 2 hours in the pool, I ordered a pizza and pasta!  Wahaha.... Just drink water first after swimming because you're actually thirsty. Ok, you're really hungry too (but not as hungry as you think) after quenching your thirst.  

6.  Just have fun! Instead of being embarrassed that I don't know how to swim, I proudly shared with everyone that I had zero skill so they'll have high tolerance if I look stupid in the pool.  Haha...

So if you also don't know how to swim and you've always wished you knew how, stop wishing.  Just do it!:)  Google for a swim coach or swimming lessons for adults in your area.

It's never too late to learn something new.  In fact, I came across one video of a man who learned how to swim TI-style at age 93! :)