How to Tread Water for Survival
Learn how to tread water for survival in water. Treading water is the most energy-efficient way to stay in one spot.
Learn to tread water before doing any other water-based training. This is so if you need to you can tread water until you either create a plan for self-rescue or help arrives.
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The information in this post is from the book “Swim Workouts and Water Rescue Skills” by Sam Fury.
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How to Tread Water for Survival
When first learning to tread water, do so in shallow water and with a lifeguard present. Progress to deep water when confident.
While treading water your body is vertical in the water and your head is above the surface. Your arms and legs work to keep you afloat. Torso movement is minimal.
There are a few ways to tread water. The following method is a little harder to get the hang of but it is the most energy efficient. It combines vertical sculling with your arms and the eggbeater kick.
Sculling
To skull, move your arms horizontal in the water, back and forth — not up and down.
Turn your palms in the direction that your arms are moving. Angle your thumbs a little up on the way in, and your pinky fingers a little up on the way out.
Keep your back straight. Don’t lean forward or backward.
Vary the width of your stroke. Sometimes your hands remain far apart, and sometimes they almost come together.
You can start by practicing this in shallow water. Find a depth where you can keep your head above water whilst you kneel down.
Begin the sculling action with your hands, enough to raise your knees off the bottom.
When you are ready, move into deeper water. Have your feet directly underneath you, toes pointing straight down.
Eggbeater Kick (Rotary Kick)
The egg-beater kick can be tricky to learn but it is worth going through the trouble. In comparison to the alternatives (such as the flutter kick), it is the most energy efficient.
Move your legs like an eggbeater, each leg rotating a different direction. It is like a breast-stroke kick done one leg at a time. When one leg kicks out, the other should be coming in.
To begin learning the egg-beater kick do it on dry land by sitting on the edge of a chair. Sit up straight and move only your right leg in a counter-clockwise circle.
Next, move only your left leg in a clockwise circle.
When you are ready, join these two leg movements together. As your right leg goes out, your left leg comes in. At all times one leg comes in while the other goes out.
Once you have the coordination, practice the egg-beater kick in the water.
Lift your toes as you press down, so that your flat foot pushes down on the water, helping to propel you up.
Also, point your toes as you bring your foot up so that you have less resistance.
Do not extend your legs completely. If they become straight you will lose upwards propulsion.
Treading Water
Once proficient at sculling and the eggbeater kick you can stay afloat by doing ONLY one or the other. You can perform tasks with your hands while staying afloat in one spot, and/or you can stay afloat in case of a leg injury.
By putting the two actions together you conserve energy in both your arms and legs. This is ideal for a survival situation when you need to stay in one spot for long periods of time.
When treading water, stay calm and slow down your breathing rhythm. This will maximize your conservation of energy.
Photo Credit: Master Sgt. Christopher A. Campbell.
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The post How to Tread Water for Survival appeared first on Survival Fitness Plan.
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