Treading water with no hands..?

H

HERCULES.

Member
yeahh. sooo i just got this job as an ellis lifeguard so im stoked, but im uncapable of treading water with no hand movement for 20 seconds, let alone the reguired 2 mins to pass my lifeguarding test thats tomorow. Iv been to my local pool 4 times this week and i still cant do it. I've been trying to just kick my legs and keep alot of air in my lungs, but failed, and i tried for 2 hours to learn the goddamn eggbeater kick and failed also. So ns, how the fuck do you tread water with no hands and not sink? Itd be super nice to know how to do this before my test, but worse comes to worst theyl teach me at the test
 
i had to do that for my diving course, 1 min. with my hands above the water...
just take a very deep breath, also blow up your tummy so your body has as much volume as possibly, then hold your head back so most of your head is in the water, but your nose and mouth are still above the surface, dont hold your hands higher out of the water then required and gently kick as if you were swimming...
that's all i can say, i didn't have any problems with it....
 
It's mad easy. Maybe you shouldn't be a life guard. I have my boy scout and regular certification. I don't work with it though. It's a mad easy job. Pretty fun. I just don't want to have to be responsible for stupid little kids if they drown or od on heroin.
 
I'll give some legit advice.

Here. Trying to kick like crazy is very tiring, you probably won't make it the 2 minutes if you can't go 20 second.

Try the frog kick kind of thing swirl your legs in circles at the same time. Get a nice flow going and keep it up. It won't be nearly as tiring as kicking like crazy, so 2 minutes shouldn't kill you
 
Inflate your stumache. That will make it so you float more. Just do gentle kicks as you feel yourself sinking. Another option would be to surgically web your feet.
 
exactly. you dont want to be doing the same type of kicking you do when you swim normally. just keep moving each of your legs in their own circle and itll be so easy you can hold your hands above your head.
 
That's not a good idea, you'll get very tired since the recovery stage of the whip kick makes you sink. Practise you eggbeater kick, it's by far the best way of treading water. Once you have the eggbeater dialled, you're going to be able to do it without your hands.
 
I'm hoping by eggbeater you mean the circular movement of both your legs? It all depends how you beat your eggs. If you mean the thrashing then no, circular movement than yes
 
arch your back slightly so you have a bit more flotation due to your chest being almost parallel to the surface.

just remember that you can definitely do it, it's just a matter of having the will to. even if you start going under, just kick yourself back up and keep going.

last summer i managed to tread water for almost 2 hrs, switching between hands and feet. it was exhausting
 
Every time I post something stupid(which is a lot) my karma drops. But I actually do post legit things in threads and make an effort to help people. abortion isn't all about killing.

Good luck on your test
 
If you can't tread water without your hands for 20seconds, you probably can't tread water for 5 min with them.

I would start with just regular treading water, start at 2min.

2 min of treading water, take a quick break (30-60sec) then swim a lap and tread water for another two min. Repeat this, again and again and again. Then increase to 5 min of treading water. Then 7 min, then 10min. Your legs will figure out what to do.

 
I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use your hands like training wheels. They help you from eating shit or in this case drowning at first, but as you get better you don't need them. Just tread water and use your hands less and lees, or just go without hands as long as you can then keep treading with your hands, then repeat.

Pat-Morita_(Karate_Kid).jpg


one leg goes wax on while the other goes wax off. but there at the same point of orbit just on opposite sides.
 
If you're doing lifeguarding you should be doing the eggbeater kick. It might take a while to get it dialed but once you get it its easy. Its a very powerful kick that will allow you to carry people in the the water way more easily and let you thread water without using your hands.

Here's a video i found (yes no homo)

 
just cheat, get low in the water and tilt your head back. Keep as much of your body in the water as possible.

Hope you get the job, I was a lifeguard all through HS and into college. Greatest job EVER. Sessioned the diving board all day and blew little kids minds, and not to mention the constant supply of hot chicks.

I was a lifeguard for 4 years and I had 1 save. Unless you like jumping in the pool those kids will make it to the side 99.99% of the time and when they do they will have the fear of god in them and not be so fucking stupid again. Really the job title shouldn't be lifeguard it should be running police.
 
Eggbeater motion with your legs

My cousin is a waterpolo goalie and always tries to show me how but i never quite got it down. Its pretty damn hard
 
hahaha, as a certified lifeguard instructor and i used to do that shit thru highschool and college, i'd say you're spot on. ive only had two saves, and ironically i was saved once (pulled both calves on diving board at same time, felt like concrete, was like, hey wanna give me a hand here i cant really move :)
 
On my first day of lifeguard training I had to tread water while holding a brick over my head for three minutes. It was probably the most difficult thing I did in my two year lifeguard career. I finally quit because it was too boring and I was always struggling to stay awake on the lifeguard stand.

To the OP - cheat it. Lean on your back a little bit and hold as much air in your lungs as possible to stay more buoyant. And switch between eggbeater kick and frog kick if your legs get tired.
 
push your legss out and down. so your body starts to bob a litttle. kicking as hard as you can just mixes up the water and creats are which is no foundation to be kept aflot (bramuta triangle) the slower the better...to a point
 
why the fuck would someone want you as a lifeguard if you cannot swim?

i was able to do that shit before my age hit double digits.
 
i just tread water like i normally do. then i kick harder than usuall and take in some more air so my lungs fill up. if you dont tread just kick harder but make sure you dont make yourself be out of breath cuz that would not be good :) another trick is to kick like your trying to jump out of the water. i hope that can help
 
America really needs a system like nls like the rest of the world.

How do you expect to carry a person out of the water if you can't egg beat, really work on that. If you can't egg beat you really shouldn't be a life guard.
 
definitely this. Also make sure to keep your lungs as full as possible as it helps keep you afloat and make really large slow movements with your feet. I'm not in great shape and i did it for like 5 minutes once
 
It's pretty easy dude. Just kick your legs out in a wide circle. You don't have to do it quickly, but just make sure your kicks are strong and youll make it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top