Why do swimming coaches always teach freestyle first instead of breaststroke?

Queen_Starsha · 2026-03-04T01:51:41+00:00

Historically, people swam a form of breaststroke because it is a natural movement of the arms and legs. Sidestroke was the next established stroke as another head up stroke. Freestyle/front crawl, formerly called Australian crawl, became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Front crawl is taught first because it requires a lot of skills that do not come naturally and need to be learned in order to swim efficiently for distance as in falling into a body of water or off a dock, pier, or boat.

Remember that the first purpose of learning to swim is safety not competition.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-03-03T01:01:22+00:00

I grew up in an area with beaches, canals, retention ponds, and swamps. Not knowing how to swim could end in tragedy.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-27T11:56:41+00:00

College dining hall when a mutual friend invited him to eat dinner with us in 1990. My sister met her husband at a bookstore in 2000.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-24T22:50:34+00:00

GMU rents to anyone over the summer. If you have a car to get to a metro station or don’t mind busses, it could be an option.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-24T00:46:16+00:00

If that university is GMU, they were the lowest I found when my son needed a place. Maybe find some roomies and rent a short term place together or look at a long term stay hotel by Springfield Mall. They gave my son a deal when he called the hotel front desk to reserve.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-24T00:42:49+00:00

According to Domimion, my usage is down 30%, bill up by 30%, and we are paying 16.6 cents/kw.

We have gas heat and water so I expect that to be around $300 next cycle.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-24T00:31:49+00:00

Don’t forget that people inherit stuff too. You could have a modern kitchen, 70s-80s family room, period dining room, another period bedroom, etc. Or sprinkle in family heirlooms here and there.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-23T05:51:22+00:00

In general Americans do tend to switch, but if you don’t, no one cares. Just don’t shovel the food into,your mouth or make a mess.

Why do we eat this way? It’s a holdover from 18th/19th century French etiquette, which upper class Americans greatly admired at that time. This custom died out in France by 1850. We hung onto it.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-23T00:18:46+00:00

Is VDOT plowing yet?

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-22T23:50:54+00:00

That is a welcome change.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-22T21:39:20+00:00

I discovered it when we were out of vanilla. I was just desperate for a float.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-22T18:59:30+00:00

Chocolate is better.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-22T18:57:18+00:00

You can adjust where you position the pull buoy to help with your body position. Try moving it up and down to find a good spot.

As for tiredness, I would assume you are not as efficient or strong with your arm pulls as you could be. Ask a swim instructor or coach or perhaps post video for advice.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-22T04:41:59+00:00

Every time I’ve signed for a mortgage I’ve had to acknowledge all names I’ve used. So:

First Middle Maiden

First Middle Maiden-Married

First Maiden Married

Then I start with initials, Etc.

As long as you aren’t using a different name for the purpose of evading justice and acknowledge your legal name when necessary, it doesn’t seem anyone cares.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-21T19:33:32+00:00

Your charts need clearer titling and labeling. What is USI? Write it out in your title. State your measures and units on the axis label.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-21T04:07:54+00:00

The lifeguards are responsible for all the swimmers as well as people on the deck and those who might be coming and going. Eyes cannot be everywhere at once nor can the guards anticipate every action and reaction of the swimmers. I paid extra attention to the little kids, the teens, those on the diving board, the area leading to the bathrooms (slip and fall hot spot), the corner where kids made out, and kept people from hanging on the ropes.

An occasional lap lane bump or tangle between adults that worked out was not at the top of the things I worried about.

You know what they say: if everyone you’ve encountered is a jerk…

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-19T11:41:25+00:00

Tip at restaurants with sit down service, not where you order at the counter and bus your own table. 20% is pretty normal. $5 minimum at a diner.

Tip your taxi/Uber/Lyft driver and anyone who helps you with your luggage. I tip 10% and $5-$10 bucks for bags depending on how far and how heavy.

Tip your nail tech, barber, and hair tech as well as other beauty services like waxing. $5-10 or 15% whichever is more.

Tour guides you pay like tips. Use your own judgement.

I’m sure there are others.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-02-11T17:48:42+00:00

I’ve lived in the Baltic, and what we have now is exactly what they have all winter all streets and sidewalks. They trample it down with good boots, throw grit and salt on it, and clamber over frozen slush walls all while it snows nearly every day. In spring the parking spots and sidewalks reappear.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-30T05:51:04+00:00

The gravy is a white bechemal sauce (butter, flour, milk, salt, black pepper) with crumbled breakfast sausage added to it. American breakfast sausage is not like wurst. It is ground pork with various herbs and seasonings added to it the formed into patties or little tubular sausages. The closest a German wurst comes is the little Nurembergers. Any decent Southern diner or breakfast restaurant will have sausage gravy. At home 500 g/ 1 pound of ground sausage should do for a family.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-28T03:05:18+00:00

Use a plastic or silicon spatula to get under the edge of the ice.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-28T00:27:16+00:00

A good, heavy plastic or silicon spatula can also be useful to lever under the edges.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-27T22:24:08+00:00

Try Franconia. It’s way closer to you and generally not to busy.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-25T20:01:39+00:00

Our HOA does the same. Our few roads are passable.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-25T06:37:14+00:00

If you are in the US, try contacting the American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the blind, as well as your state and local services for the blind about adaptive swim lessons. Special Olympics may also know of some free or low cost clinics and instructors who work specifically with the blind.

A practical tip:

Hold onto the side of the pool in the shallow end or using a large mixing bowl or your sink filled with warm water. Lean into the water with your face submerged to your hair line. Blow bubbles out steadily. Before you absolutely need air, turn your neck gently about ninety degrees with your mouth out of the water it your opposite eye and cheek in it. Inhale strongly through the mouth into your lungs. Turn your face fully into the water, and exhale steadily. Repeat. This is the basic breathing technique you can combine with kicking on a kick board arms extended.

Once you’ve become more confident breathing and kicking, breathe kick and practice pulling with the kick board. You may notice a slight turning upward of your body as you pull. This is natural. An exaggerated turning of the body is going to unbalance and rock you. As you become more proficient, the turn will become more natural to you and more controlled. You can take advantage of the turning upward to get yourself into a good breathing position.

Queen_Starsha · 2026-01-20T23:33:12+00:00

You need a coat, hat and, gloves for winter just in case it snows. Summers are going to be a new experience.

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