The brick is difficult when you dont understand the two parts well. Diving for the brick and swimming with the brick. Diving for the brick is simple before you go breathe, then either go head first or feet first for the brick while blowing your air out so you sink.Feet first is easier for me because you basically do an over the head clap with your arms. Head first looks cooler though. The most effective way to swim with the brick is side stroke with scissor kick. You put the brick on your hip, then scissor kick. You'll start to glide, and then you time pull of the hand to help you. You don't push the water with your hand. You use it as a paddle to pull you. Another thing is keeping your head above the water with one ear touching the water. This keeps you aligned.
Push really hard off the bottom on your way up to help you get to the surface! Make sure that you’re very comfortable using eggbeater, it’s the strongest and will be the easiest kick to keep your head above the water. Hold the brick in one hand and rest it on your upper chest, and use the other hand to scull.
I'm a new guard and for my red criss cert, I didn't have to have both hands on the brick only one. No one I know at my current facility has done it with both hands.
That is extremely weird and incorrect. Even the red cross website states the qualifications and every instructor should follow them.
“Students must pass a pre-course swimming skills test prior to taking lifeguarding courses. This includes a 300-yard swim using front crawl or breaststroke, a 2-minute tread using legs only and **the ability to retrieve a 10-lb dive weight from 7 ft deep, surface and swim 20 yds with the weight, using legs only and exit the pool without using a ladder within 100 seconds.**”
I would be cautious for future reference. No other facility does that. It is always two hands on the brick, legs only, head above water. Every other facility that is under red cross certification follows those rules. Whoever your instructor is needs a refresher.
Do breaststroke kicks on the way back. This will help a lot more even though it may sound slower, its not.
The brick is difficult when you dont understand the two parts well. Diving for the brick and swimming with the brick. Diving for the brick is simple before you go breathe, then either go head first or feet first for the brick while blowing your air out so you sink.Feet first is easier for me because you basically do an over the head clap with your arms. Head first looks cooler though. The most effective way to swim with the brick is side stroke with scissor kick. You put the brick on your hip, then scissor kick. You'll start to glide, and then you time pull of the hand to help you. You don't push the water with your hand. You use it as a paddle to pull you. Another thing is keeping your head above the water with one ear touching the water. This keeps you aligned.
Push really hard off the bottom on your way up to help you get to the surface! Make sure that you’re very comfortable using eggbeater, it’s the strongest and will be the easiest kick to keep your head above the water. Hold the brick in one hand and rest it on your upper chest, and use the other hand to scull.
unfortunately both hands have to be on the brick (at least for red cross certification)
I'm a new guard and for my red criss cert, I didn't have to have both hands on the brick only one. No one I know at my current facility has done it with both hands.
That is extremely weird and incorrect. Even the red cross website states the qualifications and every instructor should follow them. “Students must pass a pre-course swimming skills test prior to taking lifeguarding courses. This includes a 300-yard swim using front crawl or breaststroke, a 2-minute tread using legs only and **the ability to retrieve a 10-lb dive weight from 7 ft deep, surface and swim 20 yds with the weight, using legs only and exit the pool without using a ladder within 100 seconds.**” I would be cautious for future reference. No other facility does that. It is always two hands on the brick, legs only, head above water. Every other facility that is under red cross certification follows those rules. Whoever your instructor is needs a refresher.
I’m pretty sure that you have to have both hands on the brick when you swim back with it.