How Long To Learn To Swim - Professional Swim Coach Explains

Hi, I am Dan — a private certified swim instructor & NYC-based swim school owner. I've been sharing swimming tips for beginners for over a decade. Today, I'll answer one of the most popular questions: how long does it take to learn to swim for adults and kids?

If you want to gain basic swimming skills and wonder how long it will take, this article is for you.

Let's dive in!

The learning process depends heavily on individual factors, including, but not limited to, developmental preparedness, physical fitness, quality instruction, pre-existent factors (i.e., fear of water), and many more. Recent research suggests that in order to learn to swim & feel comfortable on the water, a person has to go through 8 to 12 weeks of formal swim lessons.

Adults can learn the basics of swimming within a month or two. Obtaining intermediate and advanced skills in swimming takes longer. Being able to swim a mile or two can take months or years. Multiple variables are causing such a broad range.

You don't have to be an intermediate or advanced level swimmer to make swimming your daily or weakly routine. Even with a minimum set of skills, you can swim and make swimming your fitness. The more you swim, the faster you climb the leader to the next swim level.

Check out training programs for beginner swimmers here.

Everyone learns how to swim at a different pace. What works for someone might not work for you, and vice versa. Your body complexity, physical fitness, age, and daily routine will significantly affect your ability to progress quickly.

There are 4 Olympic strokes, some of which will be easier to adapt, and that is normal to be better at one stroke than another. Even if you are struggling with one of the swimming styles, it is not a reason to give up on it yet. Be patient and continue improving it while working on all the strokes simultaneously.

There are 4 Olympic strokes, some of which will be easier to adapt, and that is normal to be better at one stroke than another. Even if you are struggling with one of the swimming styles, it is not a reason to give up on it yet. Be patient and continue improving it while working on all the strokes simultaneously.

Consider hiring a professional instructor to gain some advice and help. The experienced swim instructor will help you to improve your technique, which should help you to improve your swimming efficiency and help you to learn more about your form in the water.

If you are in NYC, we offer private lessons for adults and kids of all ages and abilities. We would be more than happy to offer you help in gaining water confidence & learning an important life skill of swimming under our guidance.

45-60 min 2-3 times swimming per week will set you on the right path to mastering swimming. Make sure you spend 5-10 minutes warming up in the water with a low pulse, low-intensity swimming. As a beginner, you should spend 20-30 minutes focusing on your technique and doing various swimming drills.

Keep track of your progress and record videos of yourself. It helps to work on the weak areas of your swim technique, improve it, and observe the progress.

If you are on the journey to master swimming and all the strokes, consider utilizing our free online tool. You'll get a free zoom consultation and technique breakdown with our head coach.

It certainly takes longer for kids to learn to swim than adults because of their cognitive and physical preparedness. However, kids have many advantages over adult students.

Their brain is still developing, making kids prone to absorb & learn new information faster. That's why we, sometimes, see kids learning to swim faster than adults.

Some kids learn faster, and some kids take longer to understand swimming.

It depends on factors such as age, coordination, fitness level, and the child's desire to be in the pool. It ranges anywhere from 6 lessons to years and months of learning before your kid can fully swim.

It's worth mentioning that your child's success in the pool may depend on how good the instructor is. A high-quality swimming instruction can make or break your child's swimming journey, so always check your future instructor's certifications and references.

My best advice: try a new instructor if your child doesn't improve for a long time. Or consider switching from group lessons to private instead.