Building Swim Stroke Endurance – Steve Wallen Swim School in Roseville and El Dorado Hills

Swimming is primarily an endurance sport; the greater distances you can swim, the better the workout and the fun! So, once basic skills such as comfort in the water, floats, glides, arm circles, breathing, and kicking (whew!) have been mastered, the next challenge is to build endurance!

As your child learns to swim with Steve Wallen Swim School, each of the essential skills will continue to be perfected, and when your child is ready, advanced modifications will be introduced to perfect the complete swim stroke. Meanwhile, their muscular and cardiovascular endurance will be improved as they swim longer distances. 

Your child’s ability to meet the challenge of swimming longer distances is dependent on many factors. To enhance your child’s learning at our swim school, we encourage children to arrive at their lessons well-rested and having solid nutrition throughout their day. Do try to avoid having a large meal an hour or so before swimming; it’s not dangerous, but it can become uncomfortable for your little fish. 

Swimming is thirsty work, despite being in the water, so having plain drinking water available for them is recommended! If your child is not feeling well, let us know well in advance, and we can look at rescheduling to a time when they are feeling better. If your child has any aches and pains, be sure to let their highly trained swim instructor know so that they can avoid worsening the issue. 

Every child can learn to swim at their own pace…

Typically, as your child swims a longer distance, their little bodies get worn out. Fatigue will set in, and when and how severe this fatigue is will depend on your child’s muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Do not worry; we never push our learners anywhere near a dangerous point. Endurance is built over time and requires patience, which we have in abundance.

When fatigue does set in, the hard-won stroke techniques your child has been practicing will likely deteriorate. This loss of technique while building endurance is perfectly normal and expected. Our expert instructors are well prepared to manage these growing pains! As your child’s endurance improves, their instructor will gently and gradually remind them of the finer points of the stroke. Before you know it, your little fish will be swimming laps and laps of beautiful strokes!

Our very own Milestone Ribbon program will mark your child’s growth as an endurance swimmer. Our light blue ribbon celebrates your child’s ability to swim a full lap of backstroke, while a navy blue ribbon commemorates their ability to swim a full lap of butterfly, and an orange ribbon is for breaststroke!  

You may wonder why building endurance is an integral part of our focus. The ability to swim any distance is part of being water-safe. Many people get into serious trouble in the water because they simply get worn out. Drownings often occur because swimmers misjudge the distance, for example, from the beach to that swim dock or from a canoe to the shore. It’s easy to miscalculate how much open water exists between you and safety, so it’s a common but dangerous mistake.

Get Started With Swim Lessons Today!

Another critical reason for swimming longer distances is the doors it will open for your little swimmer! Many of our students move on to competitive swimming, further building their fitness, confidence, and experiences! We also offer amazing competitive swimming lessons! Give your competitor that extra edge by having one of our highly trained swim instructors tailor lessons to their exact swimming needs!