Navy swim test | I can’t swim | Tips for passing 2020

[Music] hi guys welcome back to my channel um today's video will be a navy video as you can tell by the title it will be basically everything you need to know um as to how to pass the swim test um i want to jump right into the video but before i do i want to make sure i remind you guys to subscribe to my channel of course like the video and if you have any questions comment down in the box below without further ado here is my personal experience with taking the navy swim test some tips on how to pass what to expect just the whole rundown so here we go all right so as you guys can see i did come with notes but i'm gonna make sure this is a short video i'm just gonna get straight to the point i highlighted a couple of a couple of important parts that i thought you guys should know i do want to start by saying i am a non-swimmer i would definitely classify myself as a non-swimmer um i had like a traumatic experience when i was younger where the lifeguards had to get involved and it still haunts me to this day and i'm 28 but i will say that thanks to boot camp i did learn how to swim and i feel comfortable in the water which is the point i would never put myself in a category as a swimmer but i do know how to swim if need be okay so this is what's gonna happen when you on swim day you're going you and your division are going to march to the pool you are going to enter into the classroom and you're going to get a safety briefing and they're going to give you everything that you need to like what's expected when you um enter into the pool area that's the first part then you're going to go to the locker rooms males females you are going to dress down for females you're going to wear your black bathing suit that was issued to you it's a one piece that was issued to you on on week one and then you're going to put your blue pt shorts over that mills just wear your pc shorts you remove your jewelry um well no people not wearing jewelry anyway but i'm in like your um like your dog tag that you have your key to lock your andy drawer you're going to take that off um if you can see without your glasses you're going to want to take that off but i did see some individuals like tape their glasses i guess i guess the purpose of that is like if your glasses get lost um when you go underwater like it had like your initials on it so basically you stenciled your glasses after you get dressed you are going to walk out of the um the locker rooms and you're going to use the shower it's just like a little just like an outdoor shower not outdoor but there's gonna be like shower heads in the pool and that's just to like get i guess to get all whatever is on you get it off and then you're gonna sit in the bleachers and you're going to sit like this until you are told um otherwise you're gonna sit there and you're gonna receive instructions now i will say while they are giving you instructions definitely make sure you listen to what they are saying um no that is not the time to use the head um you should have already done that and i'm speaking from experience because i got so nervous that i worked myself up and i needed to use the restroom at that point but they're going to say no they're going to say take your hard card and you can leave you're not going to do that so make sure you handle your business in the locker room before you come out after the safety instructions are given the first um part is to go and do the initial swim so you're going to stand to a breast which is stamped stand by look side by side and then um you're going to walk up to the ladder walk up the stairs and don't quote me on this but i think the light is a 10 foot um tower and you're going to jump into an sized pool which is about 12 feet it might be it might be deeper but um it's it's a big deal like it's it's no joke um don't let anyone down play it because this is coming from someone that is a non-swimmer the tower is very high and the the pool is deep like it's deep also want to mention this is something that i i didn't know going into it maybe call me naive but um just be prepared when you take the swim test ladies you you're not going to be wearing a swim cap i don't know why i thought i was going to be giving a swim cap and goggles and i was in for a surprise so just just putting that out there maybe you guys knew it and i didn't but yeah no so once you walk up the ladder you are going to be standing again still to a breast and there's going to be an instructor up at the top he's going to tell you to pinch your nose and then cover your arm like this so you're going to look like this then he's gonna give you a two-step command the first is edge edge is where you take your toes and basically place them at the toe line if you will of the tower the second command is step you're gonna extend your leg and then you're gonna jump into the pool so edge step and you're gonna jump to the pool now what i will say is the instructor will give you a guide off of the tower and that is solely for safety purposes it is not a push although it may feel like it especially to someone that has anxiety like myself or anyone else that's a non-swimmer that's terrified it will feel like a push but it's not it's for safety purposes because you know you are on a tower it's not like it's a diving board so if god forbid if you were to like lean back or if you don't jump off far enough you can hit your head on that tower and i only assume there's rules because something has happened so now here's my tip to all my non-swimmers listen up okay this is how you pass now i'm not saying you're gonna pass the first time because as a non-swimmer you're gonna have to get comfortable with the water but by the second or third time after doing this you're gonna be good so first step when you put your feet on the edge and before they say step this is what i need you to do i need you to fixate on the back wall it's like the back wall where the showers were when you when you headed out the um the locker rooms and you made that right face and then those showers are right there i need you to focus on that that's number one number two what i need you to do don't don't automatically hold your breath don't go edged up do that okay you gotta see how to save that breath and that oxygen for when you're just about you're like you're almost about to touch the water okay so we're fixating on something we're focusing on something and while we're doing all of this we have to keep our eyes open okay that was something that you know no one told me and also i had a little bit of anxiety about it but you have to keep your eyes open and that just that just gives you something to anticipate so we're going to keep our eyes open fixating on the back wall we're going to save our breath until we're like almost about to submerge into the water and then when you're about so you take a deep breath jump into the water keep your eyes open i know it's easier said than done but you have to get comfortable in the water because when your eyes are open you're able to see the surface and it gives you motivation trust me i'm telling you because these are all things that i did on my 16th time by the time i was almost about to graduate and i wasn't getting ready to get asthma i finally incorporated all these steps so i want to tell you guys this so that you don't have to wait until you know you're getting ready to potentially get set back i want you all to pass the first time or at least the second or third time so we're in the water at this point we've already separated from this position now we're going to go to a different position with our legs kicking like this you have to it's like you're parting the the parting the red seas okay do one of these so that way you can float to the top okay your eyes are open so you can see you're almost there you're almost there bam you're at the top eyes are still open this is when you catch your breath don't don't panic though it's just a quick gasp for air and just relax just make it just this should be like let this just be your relax but just hear calming music just just chilling everyone just tune the instructors because you're gonna hear the instructors yelling at other people just pretend they're not there just they're not even there you're breathing because as long as you're breathing you're fine so we're focusing on one thing at a time we have our breathing now here's the emotions that you're gonna do do get on your back because they're gonna tell you when you go to that safety brief briefing there's like four swim styles that they approve of and you cannot switch them up that's the thing that gets people like um pulled out the pool you can't go from front stroke to backstroke to whatever i'm not a swimmer so i don't know you can't switch it up they want you to do one style of swim treading water and then back and then that's it that's they don't want you to switch it up okay so i'm telling you just stick to on your sticks on your back that way your eyes are open and you can see the ceiling um of the of the swim area what you're gonna do while you're lit your legs are kicking your legs are kicking the entire time once they hit the water they're kicking to get you back up and then once you're up they're kicking to back you up so that you can tread water um to the pool like to wherever they want you to go because i noticed on certain days and this is just coming from someone that failed so many times sometimes they wanted you to go all the way from one end to the other some days they had the little i don't know what they're called the little cones and you stop there and then you make a circle back and then you go but whatever um i said that to say you know you swimming is exhausting and um you need to savor your energy because you know the initial swim is just the first part there's other parts of the entire swim test so just save your energy okay so we're on our backs we're kicking our feet now this is this is this is how you're gonna get it i'm gonna stand up for this okay so pretend my legs are kicking like this they're kicking kicking kicking you know at a reasonable pace this is what your arms do your arms don't do this it's not not this okay this is for swimmers we haven't gotten there yet we're still non-swimmers just trying to pass this is what you do okay your arms are gonna be to your side bring them up to your armpits out like an airplane and slap them together when you're slapping you're gonna go places like because it's like this you're like and you're gonna literally like fly back and clap and in the armpits extend clap in the armpits i'm telling you that is how you're going to get back that's how you're going to like move now when it's time to turn around this is how i pass because the guy told me he said pretend like you're sucking on the phone so you know if you're talking on the phone it is you pretend like you're talking on the phone i don't know what type of science is behind this but this literally will turn you and then you then you continue so just extend whoosh in the armpits extend whoosh and here i'm telling you you're going to be like and then by the time you know it you're going to be all you're going to trade water through the pool make your little turn and back and you're out and they're like female get out mail get out you pass that's all you need to hear so you're done so as i stated you you may not i'm gonna be positive you may pass on the first and if you do that is wonderful i'm very happy but if you don't there is remedial swim because before you move on to the next stages you have to pass once move on to the next okay now again the remedial class is where i did learn how to swim i'm going to be honest um because they are a lot more hands-on there's there's normally like two instructors depending on how many people need remedial um instruction but there's normally like two or three people over there giving you not one-on-one that's why it's important to you know kind of learn how to swim before you get there kind of get get the concept and get comfortable um but um it it's it's a lot easier and the more and more i kept coming back to the pool again i did eventually learn how to swim so so as i've said before i finally passed like the week before graduation and i honestly feel it was a combination of me having so many remedial sunglasses and for whatever reason that particular day we instead of because when you come back for remedial swim you're gonna go straight to jumping out the tower again there's no getting the remedial like in the swim pool the small pool first and then jump no is you jump off the tower first and then you go through the motions and to me i felt like this one particular day when they allowed us to get into the pool first i think my body kind of got comfortable with the water which eventually which allowed me to pass i swear about that i literally feel like that's what made me get comfortable versus you know you get in the locker room you have anxiety you go into the shower you can rinse off in the shower then you're sitting on the bleachers it's like deja vu all over again but him switching up the pattern that one day where we got in the pool first and we practiced a little bit i mean it kind of makes sense like practice first and then you then we jumped off and then that particular day i passed good but i just i was just so happy because my division was getting ready to leave me behind and i was just frustrated with myself because you know you have to pass the swim to to graduate there's no way around it there's no waiver there's no i got high test scores can you look past this no you have to pass swim so after that i want to say i don't know if it was the same day no it wasn't it was not then i want to say it was i had to come back two days later to finish off the rest of it so i got my heart card documented stamped or whatever and when i went back to my ship everybody was so happy because it's like woo like yay like i didn't no one no one wants to get left behind especially if you make it that far so when i finally did come back i did the other portions which is abandoned ship the prone and and the part with the coveralls which i'll explain those two i feel like there's other great videos that explain it well but i'll explain it um the prone float you just float for about five minutes with your head underwater you come up for air and you go back down that was exaggerated because they actually want you it's more like a you can go back down if you're up for too long they will fail you i mean they want you they want you submerged in the water with your head like kind of like a dead man flow and then you come up for air and then that's for a total of five minutes when you're done you'll get tapped and then you exit the pool that's basically that portion when you're done with that you will take coveralls which are gonna be wet i like to give it like a visual because it's not gonna be dry coveralls they're gonna be wet coveralls that someone else has already put on um and you're going to put those on okay now this is just for visual purposes i know i'm out of eggs with this one but anyway um pretend like i have my swimsuit on you're going to put on your wet coveralls that were laid out for you you're going to get in the pool you're going to have your hand on the edge they're going to tell you to remove your hand you're going to take your coverall you're going to slap air inside and what it does is create a flotation device and that's what it's going to mimic you're going to then close it up which i can barely do that because i have on a sweatshirt and another shirt underneath this but pretend i can and you're going to be like this and it's going to be like really popped out it's actually kind of cool but um you're going to be like oh and you're going to float and i don't know how long you float but it's not like five minutes or anything but it's just to get the grass the concept of it then after you're done doing that okay so what's gonna happen is you're going to put your life jacket on and then you're going to climb to the top of the ladder you're not going to be worried at this point because you know you have a lifejacket on you've already passed your initial swim so don't even sweat this part this is the easiest part and the last part you are going to jump off um the tower you're going to come back up kick your feet whoever makes it like whoever's the first one is going to hold on to the um the like the raft on one side and then the other person is gonna hold on on the other side and then you're basically like gonna it's like one for one so whoever is the next person whoever's person number three they're gonna link ours there person number four number five number six it's like one person goes to one end and so everyone has jumped off the tower and everyone's like everyone's already like linked arms or whatever then the two people that were like the last to jump off they are going to link arms and now at this point you form like a u so then the people that are on the last two people that formed the you and connected us together are then going to let go and they're going to swim to the boat and again it's one for one so this person goes and this recruit goes and this recruitment is recruit and so everyone is on to the life raft and then after that you're going to abandon ship so you're going to jump off one by one once everyone is on then you're going to jump off one by one and then you're going to exit um the pool and then that's the end of that drill you're done so just to recap we did the initial swim test which we treaded water to one side and then back we did the prone you're gonna do the coverall exercise that creates and mimics this rotation device and then finally is the abandoned ship and that's all for the swim test once you pass all four of those exercises you you're done you're gonna get your hard heart stamps and you're good to go you're going to go back to your ship proud with your head high i do just want to say as far as remedial swim is concerned um you know yes the purpose is not for them to teach you how to swim but i'm just going to say this if anybody's going to teach you how to swim it's going to be those instructors like they are the best like they're the best the first day is going to be stressful because if you just think about it they have to push an entire division of recruits through this test on this day so it's stressful and they you know they don't want they just it's for safety purposes and i'm assuming it's stressful i can i can just only imagine having to get all those you know people to pass but once you come back for remedial swim it is a lot calmer i'm just going to let you know because at this point it's about 10 to 20 of you all at maybe at that you know and there were some days i came and there was there was no divisions in there so it was just the remedial swim people and so it was just calmer um it's just calmer okay and for me i prefer calm when i'm already stressed out and have anxiety about something as it is you can ask questions they can kind of not work with you one-on-one but it's just it's a lot easier to handle okay so just some final takeaways for this video number one definitely take some lessons before you go i don't want to stress that too much because you're going to grasp the concept of how to swim but get a little bit comfortable with the water before you go definitely number two follow instructions they're going to give you instructions on the safety brief in the classroom they're also going to repeat those same instructions when you get out to the pool listen please listen because they have no issues with you know sending you back to your ship and you're done for the day that's one less person they have to deal with and they will do it so just follow directions number three when it comes to swimming keep it simple don't get out there and get too comfortable and in your head you start thinking you're michael phelps okay no okay keep it simple stick to the back not the backstroke i don't even know what to even call that but just stick to what i showed you with the armpits the armpit the extendo and bring it together stick to that you'll be fine keep it simple okay number four when you so you hygiene every day on boot camp when you're hygiene like when you're in the shower get your eyes wet that was another thing with me i wasn't comfortable because i was just so used to wearing goggles that was a really like shocker for me so practice getting water in your eyes get used to that chlorine get used to that like not burning but that uncomfortable feeling when you get water in your eyes get used to that okay and my final tip is just to relax relax okay this is swimming it should be a very calm activity most people use swimming as a stress relief so think of it as that think of this when you go back to do remedial swim think of this as you getting away from your division although it kind of can be negative especially if you are not doing so well in the education part of boot camp but you know let's just focus on swim right now and let this just relax when you get there just relax you already know the drill you know when you get there you're gonna have to jump off the tower you know they're going to be you know yelling and everyone's going to be all excited and amped up when you get in the water relax okay and really that's all the tips that i have for you i hope that helps someone out um if you need me to explain any further i definitely will but i promise you just that swim style alone will will help you with swimming i promise again disclaimer i am not a swim instructor swim guru i'm none of that i'm just a non-swimmer that is trying to give tips to someone else that's going into boot camp that gets them comfortable um and you know we gotta graduate you got to graduate to get in the navy so i want you to pass again make sure you like this video comment if you have questions subscribe and i will see you guys on my next video bye

Channel: Jade_yourstrulyy

Views: 10,728

Rating: 4.9495797 out of 5

Keywords: US Navy, Navy videos, Navy swim test, Learning how to swim, Beginner swimming lessons, How to pass the navy swim test, I can’t swim, US NAVY 2020, Navy bootcamp, Navy blogs, Navy Vlogs, Navy reservist, Navy reserves

Id: 5q09sgauKd8

Length: 22min 49sec (1369 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 02 2020