GUYS - READ. If you are floating up and you are not overweight it is likely your body position. If your head is UP / feet down and you are moving forward you will swim at an UP angle. If you swim head down - feet up or perfectly even you will swim down or flat. Focus on body position and MOVE - you have to be moving forward in order to stay down. If you are SLOWLY moving or not at all you will likely float up.
@underwaterjustin I'm on my school's swim team and I know a drill that could help. They call it "Over-Unders": - swim 25 yards easy surface swim (freestyle) - swim back underwater (breathe if you need to, but do not swim on the surface) Try that for a few hundred yards. Focus on technique first, don't worry about distance until you have technique down. Train safely. Good luck, I hope this helps.
You have to practice treading as you will be doing a ton of treading at PJ training. Do some RUclips searches for "egg beater kick", "breast stroke pullout" to help you SEE how to do it. Then go practice it. PS - go deeper on the underwater swims. Usually you need about 4-5 ft deep to stay down.
Wow, I was on the swim team while growing up, but I had no idea about the technique used here. Thank you for the tip, and hopefully I'll be able to put it towards good use in the very near future.
i just discovered this whole video series. VERY useful information. Particularly this one. Ive been trying this 50 meter underwater swim and it seemed near impossible. Again, much appreciated video. Thank you.
Thanks for the tip stew. I have been having trouble with this one. Can you make a video on the detail of the stroke? I got around 3/4s of the way and I had to do 7 strokes to hit 25 meters.
Stew, do they teach you this and give you time to practice this at buds? and do you have any techniques for extending the time a person can hold their breath? I have done over two minutes once, but I was sitting in a chair and not moving, I have realized that it is much harder to do that when walking or swimming...
I've been doing personal training sessions once a week and master swims twice a week. The problem is that the instructors are use to coaching experienced swimmers. Which hasn't helped me learn the fundimentals such as treading. But it definately has helped in my freestyle. Thanks for the feedback.
@micthong Also the closer you are to the bottom of the pool the longer you can stay under on a single breath hold. I forgot the reason but I believe it has something to do with the water pressure vs the volume of air in the lungs or something.. but don't quote me on that last part
@NavySealO3 the deeper you are actually, the higher the surrounding water pressure. the higher pressure condenses the air in your lungs and reduces the capacity of your lungs to hold air. For example, if just under the surface you can hold your breath for one minute, if you descended to ten feet and tried again, you probably would not make it to one minute.
Thanks for the reply. I'm not over weight at all...but I don't know what my body fat percentage is. I'm very athletic and hit the gym 5 days aweek doing alot of core and cardio exercises. I'm going for my PAST test. I'm just new to swimming. I can freestyle like no one business, but thats about it...I don't know how to tread or breast stroke kick. My legs just don't produce enough force to push me forward. It's definately my technique that sucks.
I am a beginner at swimming, I learned the freestyle, back stroke, but i cannot seem to stay underwater.I float back up and i'm force to freestyle. I will keep practicing until I get it
I have 2 questions. How deep is the pool? And 2, how do you stay the same depth while swimming? because i find myself closer to the bottom of the pool rather than the top. Any tips would be greatly appreciated
I have a question for you. Did you do any water sports in high school? because I as well am doing football and feel that I should be doing something to prepare. But the other day I did a 25m underwater with very little technique
Hey Stew, Currently I have been practicing for the PST for SWCC. Can you give me any tips about how to do the under water swim. I can't seem to hold my breath for longer than 25 seconds.
i am learning how do swim underwater.however, my head and my body keep floating up.how do swim then my head will be in the swimming pool??????? can you give me some tips. thanks
This helped me so much! I can make a little over 25 yards but I struggle at it. I use way more than 4 strokes which is amazing btw! The dolphin kicks are so smart, I never thought of that. THANK YOU! I'm training for ParaRescue so this will help so much. Do you have workout tips for push-ups, and pull-ups?
Hey stew, big follower of your channel. I have a question about underwater swims. Is it better to implement the dolphin kick after each stroke since that it using more oxygen but you are going faster or just sticking to frog kick to double arm pull.
Only use a dolphin kick if you know it actually works. Test it. Then the way I do it is to dolphin kick right before/during the pull of the double arm pull (breast stroke pullout - search that term).
@@StewSmith182 I saw some great videos on it and will try it both ways next week is there a way I could send you both and see if I can critique anything on it.
@micthong Hey I'm still practicing this too. My problem is my body does the exact opposite of what I want it to do in the water. If I try to stay afloat, it decides to sink. If I try to stay under water, I awkwardly float to the top.. lol. I learned though that it has a lot to do with how much air is in your lungs. It sounds crazy but when you're doing the underwater swim, let out very small bits of hair at a time and you'll notice that you become slightly more negative and will stay under...
@stew50smith when I attempt to swim underwater just like you did, i have a hard time submerging underwater because my body's tendency to float... what should i do? i want to learn to swim underwater just like you did in this video...
when I attempt to swim underwater just like you did, i have a hard time submerging underwater because my body's tendency to float... what should i do? i want to learn to swim underwater just like you did in this video...
How long did it take you to learn this stroke? I work at a pool and will practice this technique for preparation. Would you recommend a coach or is it just practice?
hey there, in Australia we have this in dpcu or dpnu also, but only 10m . with the drag you get from clothing what would the technique be with our test. I know its almost a red herring question but just wanted to know. thank you
@littledragon10011 try swimming a little bit down (a little diagonal) and if this doesn't hell you'll just need to let out a small amount of air at the start as you push off and you should float down. you probably wont be able to hold your breath as long but it should help :)
Stew, do you have any objection to using a scissor kick for underwaters? It has always felt more comfortable to me than the frog kick, but if it less efficient then I want to change it before I make bad habits. Thanks.
+TheNoratek I got an apnea trainer app to help my breath hold and it helped out on my underwater along with efficiency practice now I can do a 50m underwater
@mswoonc Im mentally strong, i just cant do the 25m. I do pull ups and all of that. I am phsycially fit. My cardio needs work though. But i have plenty of time. Im focusing on becoming a Marine First, Recon second.
I want to join the SEALs. Ive been swimming competitively for 10 years but I feel that counts for absolutely shit. Can you provide a swim workout for me?
@JDIC18 heres what you have to do wen u go under water dont kick ur feet make them go like a wave like this ~~~~~~~~~ and stroke and you will stay under water
How the hell does a grown man glide under water like that? It's like he's molecularly repelling it! I just swam for the first time today, and watching this was the motivation. I swam for an hour in a 25m lap pool. I guess I'll do this 3-4 a week? As a beginner I think I supposed to focus on buoyancy, and breathing? WOW breath management is hard for me. Anyway, beautiful technique and immaculate execution.
also lie aswsomeguy565 I play football n I'm a lineman,n I do swimming for a class I get tired but they say it's because a football players body is heavy n in Ayer that's bad because you sink any help?
I'm having the hardest time doing this...i've been training for my past for 6 months and I still can't get this stoke down at all...everytime I try I float to the top.
This technique is really useful. I'm practicing it myself, and I am doing my best to reduce the amount of strokes. One thing I always keep in mind when I underwater is: If I feel I need to take a breath, take a breath.
@@StewSmith182 Do you think that folks who brew up with say mild asthma in their childhood would have an argument that achieving the underwater 50m swim is physiologically unattainable or even with that hurdle will mastery of this technique work for ALL lung capacity ?
@@moviedude22 There are plenty of swimmers that have had severe to mild asthma and can still do this like Greg Lougais so yes this is possible if you have asthma but you're going have to work harder and carefully than if you didn't so talk to a doctor tell them what you want to do and see what they recommend and use that as a guideline for your training. There's probably never going to a argument for anything, with the exception of extreme cases and genetics, where someone is not going to be able to get close if not due what another human has done with training and effort In my opinion.
look… treading shouldn’t be a concern. You should be able to do that all day. with your hands out the water and not get tired. but this!? don’t do this. lung capacity come on its own. you can’t improve it unnaturally with good results. CG And other apraxia forces include tests and drills involving holding your breath b in do them there with certified instructors. Otherwise, Google Kyle Hurdle. One of america’s best swimmers, and a midshipman at the Navel Academy. also on their swim team. he tried, and it claimed his life. don’t be stupid
GUYS - READ. If you are floating up and you are not overweight it is likely your body position. If your head is UP / feet down and you are moving forward you will swim at an UP angle. If you swim head down - feet up or perfectly even you will swim down or flat. Focus on body position and MOVE - you have to be moving forward in order to stay down. If you are SLOWLY moving or not at all you will likely float up.
@underwaterjustin
I'm on my school's swim team and I know a drill that could help. They call it "Over-Unders":
- swim 25 yards easy surface swim (freestyle)
- swim back underwater (breathe if you need to, but do not swim on the surface)
Try that for a few hundred yards. Focus on technique first, don't worry about distance until you have technique down. Train safely.
Good luck, I hope this helps.
You have to practice treading as you will be doing a ton of treading at PJ training. Do some RUclips searches for "egg beater kick", "breast stroke pullout" to help you SEE how to do it. Then go practice it. PS - go deeper on the underwater swims. Usually you need about 4-5 ft deep to stay down.
Thanks Stew. You have really helped many of our dive team members. Bruce Page Ridgeland dive team, MS
Wow, I was on the swim team while growing up, but I had no idea about the technique used here. Thank you for the tip, and hopefully I'll be able to put it towards good use in the very near future.
i just discovered this whole video series. VERY useful information. Particularly this one. Ive been trying this 50 meter underwater swim and it seemed near impossible. Again, much appreciated video. Thank you.
That's a great tip. It's kinda like walking the length of the pool and holding your breath. Relaxing thought.
always knew there was a trick to that thanks for the lesson
Thanks for the tip stew. I have been having trouble with this one. Can you make a video on the detail of the stroke? I got around 3/4s of the way and I had to do 7 strokes to hit 25 meters.
You are awesome man!
@Bloo479
A yard is approximately 90 cms so you'd have to do another yard for every 10 yards you do to get to 50 metres :)
Stew, do they teach you this and give you time to practice this at buds? and do you have any techniques for extending the time a person can hold their breath?
I have done over two minutes once, but I was sitting in a chair and not moving, I have realized that it is much harder to do that when walking or swimming...
I've been doing personal training sessions once a week and master swims twice a week. The problem is that the instructors are use to coaching experienced swimmers. Which hasn't helped me learn the fundimentals such as treading. But it definately has helped in my freestyle. Thanks for the feedback.
Chuck Norris + Stew Smith = Undefined
@eaxcriminal you have to take a long smooth glide and let momentum carry you
Go deeper. You may need to lose some body fat. That causes you to float UP more than anything.
But for the 50m underwater swim you cannot kick off the first wall but you can on the turn around
@micthong Also the closer you are to the bottom of the pool the longer you can stay under on a single breath hold. I forgot the reason but I believe it has something to do with the water pressure vs the volume of air in the lungs or something.. but don't quote me on that last part
@NavySealO3 the deeper you are actually, the higher the surrounding water pressure. the higher pressure condenses the air in your lungs and reduces the capacity of your lungs to hold air. For example, if just under the surface you can hold your breath for one minute, if you descended to ten feet and tried again, you probably would not make it to one minute.
Thanks for the reply. I'm not over weight at all...but I don't know what my body fat percentage is. I'm very athletic and hit the gym 5 days aweek doing alot of core and cardio exercises. I'm going for my PAST test. I'm just new to swimming. I can freestyle like no one business, but thats about it...I don't know how to tread or breast stroke kick. My legs just don't produce enough force to push me forward. It's definately my technique that sucks.
I am a beginner at swimming, I learned the freestyle, back stroke, but i cannot seem to stay underwater.I float back up and i'm force to freestyle. I will keep practicing until I get it
can this be done at the first try or is 25 meeter something u need to train urself to become good at?
I have 2 questions. How deep is the pool? And 2, how do you stay the same depth while swimming? because i find myself closer to the bottom of the pool rather than the top. Any tips would be greatly appreciated
is this a 25m? if so, doing it in 4 plus kick off the wall is pretty good. I dont dolphin kick, just traditional arms and frog stroke and avg 25m in 7
simunator 25yds
I have a question for you. Did you do any water sports in high school? because I as well am doing football and feel that I should be doing something to prepare. But the other day I did a 25m underwater with very little technique
Hey Stew, Currently I have been practicing for the PST for SWCC. Can you give me any tips about how to do the under water swim. I can't seem to hold my breath for longer than 25 seconds.
i am learning how do swim underwater.however, my head and my body keep floating up.how do swim then my head will be in the swimming pool??????? can you give me some tips. thanks
How did you stay under water without weight belt? 🤔
This helped me so much! I can make a little over 25 yards but I struggle at it. I use way more than 4 strokes which is amazing btw! The dolphin kicks are so smart, I never thought of that. THANK YOU! I'm training for ParaRescue so this will help so much. Do you have workout tips for push-ups, and pull-ups?
Hey stew, big follower of your channel. I have a question about underwater swims. Is it better to implement the dolphin kick after each stroke since that it using more oxygen but you are going faster or just sticking to frog kick to double arm pull.
Only use a dolphin kick if you know it actually works. Test it. Then the way I do it is to dolphin kick right before/during the pull of the double arm pull (breast stroke pullout - search that term).
@@StewSmith182 I saw some great videos on it and will try it both ways next week is there a way I could send you both and see if I can critique anything on it.
@@carterkirkland Sure - send it to stew@stewsmith.com or my instagram DMs (@stewsmith50)
@micthong Hey I'm still practicing this too. My problem is my body does the exact opposite of what I want it to do in the water. If I try to stay afloat, it decides to sink. If I try to stay under water, I awkwardly float to the top.. lol. I learned though that it has a lot to do with how much air is in your lungs. It sounds crazy but when you're doing the underwater swim, let out very small bits of hair at a time and you'll notice that you become slightly more negative and will stay under...
Im training for pararescue indoc and my lungs can go for 10 seconds and thats not good enough,any things i should do?
@stew50smith when I attempt to swim underwater just like you did, i have a hard time submerging underwater because my body's tendency to float... what should i do? i want to learn to swim underwater just like you did in this video...
Usually depends on your body fat percentage. Or you may have to exhale a bit to sink
Quick question, how tight should be the dolphin kick be underwater be after the pulldown?
How do you get under water I can't dive down I just stay at the top please help
when I attempt to swim underwater just like you did, i have a hard time submerging underwater because my body's tendency to float... what should i do? i want to learn to swim underwater just like you did in this video...
How long did it take you to learn this stroke? I work at a pool and will practice this technique for preparation. Would you recommend a coach or is it just practice?
stew smith is awesome
Thanks
hey there,
in Australia we have this in dpcu or dpnu also, but only 10m . with the drag you get from clothing what would the technique be with our test.
I know its almost a red herring question but just wanted to know.
thank you
We were taught at INDOC to stay as close to the bottom as humanly possibly without touching it to increase the glide.
@littledragon10011 try swimming a little bit down (a little diagonal) and if this doesn't hell you'll just need to let out a small amount of air at the start as you push off and you should float down. you probably wont be able to hold your breath as long but it should help :)
A really good video!
@TheJoshter6 I see, well I will take the advice thank you.
Stew, do you have any objection to using a scissor kick for underwaters? It has always felt more comfortable to me than the frog kick, but if it less efficient then I want to change it before I make bad habits. Thanks.
I prefer the scissor kick over the breast stroke kick BUT that is just me.
try it...it gets you gliding more, which translates to more distance covered in less time, which equals to holding your breath less
May i ask if you have a technique to increase your lung volume or is that the wrong approach?
Efficiency over lung volume?
Focus on efficiency. The breath hold for this is just 50 seconds max - usually faster. The less effort you do the 50m in the easier it will be.
Stew Smith
Thank you.
+TheNoratek I got an apnea trainer app to help my breath hold and it helped out on my underwater along with efficiency practice now I can do a 50m underwater
I go with technique over long breath hold training. It only takes 45-50 seconds to swim 50m. Lung volume is not the issue.
I can do a 25 but bye the time I hit the wall and push of I have to come up for are
@mswoonc Im mentally strong, i just cant do the 25m. I do pull ups and all of that. I am phsycially fit. My cardio needs work though. But i have plenty of time. Im focusing on becoming a Marine First, Recon second.
How did that go? Ever get recon?
Excellent!
Hi Stew, for the PAST, is it a requirement to do underwater swim for 50 meters? Or is it in 25 meter increments?
PAST- 25mx2, you swim 25 under, swim back to the starting point using whatever stroke, take a breath and go subsurface again for the final one.
Thanks George!!
PAST?
I want to join the SEALs. Ive been swimming competitively for 10 years but I feel that counts for absolutely shit. Can you provide a swim workout for me?
@freaknbigpanda Yea that's like telling Chuck Norris he can't do a roundhouse kick, lol.
Honestly, this is what I'm worried about the most in training.
Did you make it
I do check out either my articles at stewsmith . com or see some of the videos on the tips to increase pullups and pushups..
@mswoonc I cant make it to 25m! I stroke too much. I want to go Recon later in my Marine Corps Career so i need to learn! lol
Did you do it?
@eaxcriminal hes pretty much gliding through the water
I think I saw Stew on Shark week videos wrestling sharks.
@JDIC18 heres what you have to do wen u go under water dont kick ur feet make them go like a wave like this
~~~~~~~~~ and stroke and you will stay under water
@JDIC18 sure i like to help
How the hell does a grown man glide under water like that? It's like he's molecularly repelling it! I just swam for the first time today, and watching this was the motivation. I swam for an hour in a 25m lap pool. I guess I'll do this 3-4 a week? As a beginner I think I supposed to focus on buoyancy, and breathing? WOW breath management is hard for me. Anyway, beautiful technique and immaculate execution.
It takes me like three breathes just to make it 25! I just can't seem to hold my breath at all
is he treading water while talking?
also lie aswsomeguy565
I play football n I'm a lineman,n I do swimming for a class I get tired but they say it's because a football players body is heavy n in Ayer that's bad because you sink any help?
I'm having the hardest time doing this...i've been training for my past for 6 months and I still can't get this stoke down at all...everytime I try I float to the top.
@darkblaze568 thank you =)
I am good at swimming and naturally i float, how can i stay under water for tht long without floating up
And?my friend is 14 years old and he can does it too.You better try more longer distance...
This technique is really useful. I'm practicing it myself, and I am doing my best to reduce the amount of strokes.
One thing I always keep in mind when I underwater is: If I feel I need to take a breath, take a breath.
Who's going to tell Stew Smith at the pool he can't do 50m underwater swims..
Sure you can...but that is just for the 500yd test. After that you will swim nearly 100% with fins in the ocean.
You swim very fast and I swim kinda slow I might do this technique
real tight
???
i honestly think its easy to swim underwater
It is if you know how to do it. A 50m test is not difficult - just need technique
It is a technique - learn it and it is easy
How could it possibly be easier to swim underwater? haha
@@StewSmith182 Do you think that folks who brew up with say mild asthma in their childhood would have an argument that achieving the underwater 50m swim is physiologically unattainable or even with that hurdle will mastery of this technique work for ALL lung capacity ?
@@moviedude22 There are plenty of swimmers that have had severe to mild asthma and can still do this like Greg Lougais so yes this is possible if you have asthma but you're going have to work harder and carefully than if you didn't so talk to a doctor tell them what you want to do and see what they recommend and use that as a guideline for your training. There's probably never going to a argument for anything, with the exception of extreme cases and genetics, where someone is not going to be able to get close if not due what another human has done with training and effort In my opinion.
does this guy even know what we have to go through at swim practice.
Who cares? He still looks better doing it than 99% of most men.
im so damn positive in the water i always float to the top
1:44 dead man float
by the way people the video starts at 0:36
look… treading shouldn’t be a concern. You should be able to do that all day. with your hands out the water and not get tired.
but this!? don’t do this. lung capacity come on its own. you can’t improve it unnaturally with good results. CG And other apraxia forces include tests and drills involving holding your breath b in do them there with certified instructors.
Otherwise, Google Kyle Hurdle. One of america’s best swimmers, and a midshipman at the Navel Academy. also on their swim team. he tried, and it claimed his life. don’t be stupid
Yes I would agree - I write about it often: www.military.com/military-fitness/fitness-test-prep/dangers-of-underwater-swimming
It's really not that difficult when you're part fish.
its basic physics there champ
I can do 25M underwater but no more than that
skip to 0:36 for the video :(