Why repetition is so important when learning to swim

Remember that saying: once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget? It’s the same with learning to swim as well – these are skills that you don’t forget and are lodged in muscle memory.

But what is muscle memory?

It sounds confusing because memory isn’t actually stored in the muscles. Like all memory, it’s stored in the brain. When we practise a skill over and over again, the brain passes messages to the spinal cord so that the repetitive pattern becomes fixed in our muscle memory. This allows our bodies to perform the motor skill without having to think about it.

For your child, the foundations of kicking feet, paddling with their arms and floating on their backs are actions that they learn separately, gradually committing each one to muscle memory. After a time, these actions begin to join together into the full stroke movement and eventually become second nature.

Each time we learn a new skill, muscle memory is triggered which makes it so important to teach and practise a swimming skill correctly from the get-go. When children don’t have good coaching, they can often pick up bad habits and poor techniques. These are then committed to their muscle memory and are harder – and take longer – to undo.

For example, a child that becomes accustomed to propelling themselves forward in the water in a vertical position rather than in a streamlined, horizontal position may struggle to breathe correctly. Similarly, incorrect stroke techniques such as kicking with feet rather than the whole leg, can quickly exhaust a child and make them feel frustrated as they’re not moving through the water efficiently. A good instructor can spot and fix poor techniques early on.

Our AquaBuddies swim teachers help children do this, particularly in the early stages, through manipulating their arms and legs and teaching them how to breathe correctly in water, from blowing bubbles to taking breaths when in the ‘superhero’ position.

By repeatedly practising basic techniques such as good kicking skills and correct breathing techniques, muscle memory is cemented in, so when they move to different water environments, at the beach or at a different pool, they will still be able to swim because they have learnt what they need to do.

Repeat, repeat, repeat

Watching your child at swim school, it may seem that they are doing the same thing over and over again. Be assured that by repeating skills, they are building their muscle memory and you will see your child progress.

Repetition also helps to identify which skills a child is good at, and which they need to work on. Through praise and encouragement, our teachers aim to give each child a new challenge every time they get in the water, which helps make learning to swim fun.

Swimming is such an important life skill and it is vital for a child’s safety that they can use aquatic survival skills instinctively when they need them most. That’s why muscle memory is so important. That instinctive knowledge kicks in – and can save a child’s life.