Lifeguard PreTest

Exciting life update :) 

I am being considered for a promotion at work (YAY) which may not happen till late spring/summertime. In order to get this promotion I need to get my lifeguard certification.

BIG PROBLEM HERE: I think my current stage of health would be = couch potato. I may not be your typical coach potato because I still get some form of physical activity in during the week but I am soooo out of shape.

I've been looking up videos and articles ANYTHING to try and give me a clue as to how to get into shape so I can qualify to even become a lifeguard. Honestly there is little to no advice out there on how to go from out of shape to lifeguard. So I've decided to make blog posts on my journey and hopefully I can qualify!


Basically the lifeguard pre-test is a swimming abilities test given prior to being able to take a lifeguard certification course. It's testing to see whether you have the physical stamina required to perform the duties of a lifeguard.

There are three parts (based on the American Red Cross):

1) Swim front crawl, breaststroke, or combination of both for a total of 300 meters
--At your own pace, and it can be with goggles
--No prolonged stops at either end of the wall; use open turns or flip turns
2) Tread water with NO hands for 2 minutes
3) Timed event: 1min 40 sec ; swim 20 yards retrieve 10 pound brick from a surface of 7-10ft (using surface dive), then swim on back 20 yards with both hands on the brick


I'm a little bit nervous because I am out of shape and swimming that much is kind of daunting.


If you have any great tips on how I should train to take the pre-test or overall just training to prepare to be a lifeguard that would be great! List your great ideas in the comments down below!

Water Safety Instructor #lifedecisions

For four months now I've been a Water Safety Instructor (WSI).

A WHAT?

A Water Safety Instructor is just another name for swimming instructor. And your probably thinking well that's weird why would you do that after you graduated with a B.S. degree and are already 23 years old?

So I'll address those two questions:

-After spending 5 years in undergrad and stressing to the point when I had a major health crisis my 3rd year of college…it was time for a change of pace. I knew that I could no longer go back to where I was my 3rd year of college while it's a constant struggle to keep my anxiety and stress in check. I know what it's like to hit rock bottom and I wasn't ready for stress to overwhelm me again. Upon graduation I knew that I wanted to go to law school and I needed to get a good score on the LSAT, so I decided to go for a job that had great flexibility, but also didn't place too much stress on me. Becoming a WSI fit both those things, and it promoted being healthy and having constant physical activity each week.

-23 years old and a WSI….is that weird? Actually NO! The age requirement is, I think you have to be at least 16 (I could be wrong so don't quote me on that), and I'm not the oldest WSI working at the pool I'm at.  I honestly have had a great time thus far being a WSI and really wish I would have become one a lot sooner! I could have started working here during High School >:( 

It's a great job to consider if you meet the age requirements, if not some pools will start you off by volunteering or as assistants.

My favorite part of being a WSI is seeing the progress students make overtime during the summer. When a certain student finally makes sense of a certain stroke (*cough* butterfly *cough*) it's super rewarding. Also it's great to see adults who have had no prior experience swimming learn to swim and even be comfortable with deep water. 

I think learning to swim is such a critical skill to learn. You never know what could happen when your surrounded by a body of water, even if you never intended to get in the pool/lake/ocean in the first place. If you are in a shallow part of the pool/lake/ocean sometimes you can drift to deeper sections and it's important to know what to do when that happens, or if a loved one drifts and doesn't know how to swim.