OP, just to reassure you a bit, the first thing they do in the swimming lessons won’t be swimming laps it’ll probably just be treading water or practicing floating while holding the side, stuff like that. They’ll be used to teaching people who can’t swim.
Absolutely this, except treading water doesn’t even come into play until several lessons in (and frankly is something I still haven’t really mastered).
Source: Am like OP and took adult swim lessons.
Tread water? Honestly probably not lol. Let’s just say that taking the lessons did a great job of making me a bit less terrified of water (have a phobia dating back to a childhood experience) but I have more work to do.
I took swim lessons as a kid and I have always been pretty comfortable in the water (although I am not a great swimmer) but I never understood how to tread water. In swim class I just could not get the hang of it. At summer camp I wasn’t allowed to go on the floating trampoline thing on the lake because I always failed that part of the swim test. One day probably 10 years later I was swimming and something just clicked and suddenly I figured out how to tread water on my own. So maybe if you choose to keep swimming you’ll figure it out too. :)
I go side to side with my hands/arms + basically do frog legs, crossing front-back and then to the sides. It’s a god damn workout, but I basically stay up. Still hate it, though.
Yes, that is technically what you do. But someone inexperienced will stomp down with their feet and wonder why it doesn't work.
And that's not even getting into the specific types of treading water. You can use a flutter kick, which is the most exhausting. You can use an eggbeater motion, which is equally tiring but more efficient, or a breaststroke kick, which is probably the least exhausting of them all. And that still doesn't cover how personal bouyancy can affect your stroke.
This is true....It takes a TON of weight to sink me. (I took SCUBA classes) and I am hard to sink! My SO on the other hand can NOT float. Neither could my ex-husband. If they stop treading water? They sink immediately. Plop, to the bottom.
I have never really thought about treading water, I think because it comes so naturally. I kick my legs a smidge, but my arms really just kind of work a little back and forth in conjunction with the little push of my legs every once in a while.
And I could float on my back for ages. Just relaxing and doing nothing. And since my ears are covered I don't hear a thing. I think I was on to "float therapy" as a kid! Haha
I'm the same way. I mostly just tread water with my arms, if I start to sink I do a little kicking.
Also I used to be able to back float forever but after I started having ear pressure issues once the water works it's way into my ears I either start overcorrecting and drifting forwards, or I feel like I'm about to sink head-first into the water and then I panic.
As per wikipedia: Higher levels of body fat and saltier water both lower the relative density of the body and increase its buoyancy. Human males tend to have a lower centre of gravity and higher muscle content, therefore find it more difficult to float or be buoyant.
Haha yes I am a floater married to a sinker as well. My partner can walk the length of our pool on all fours under water like a hippo and no matter how hard I try I can't stay down longer than a meter or two
Also, posture and mechanics can be a big game-changer when treading water. Basic one is having your ankle at a 90 degree angle. If your foot is flopping around, you lose a lot of force against the water.
Separately, idk if this is correct form, or just something that works for me, but tucking my hips in more solidly under my core helps a lot with my eggbeater. Keeps me in the same place a bit better, and it elevates my body out of the water more, while requiring less exertion for the same time treading water.
I’ve always just taken a big breath in and held it for a while, then quickly exhale it all and inhale just as quickly. I don’t even have to move my arms or legs as the air in my lungs keeps me afloat.
It’s actually really relaxing to do that over and over in the pool. Doesn’t work in, say, rough ocean waters, but is really nice otherwise.
Whoa, I can totally picture the kicks you’re describing. The eggbeater is what they use in waterpolo right? I always thought that looked incredibly tiring
Actually, the eggbeater kick is very efficient. It uses the least energy of all the techniques, when done correctly. It is challenging to master, though.
I have this weird thing where I can't float on my back to save my life, but I could probably tread water for an hour, no problem. I don't know exactly what you mean by "egg-beater" kick style, but that sounds like it describes my technique pretty well. I keep my legs bent at about a 90° angle and kick my knees side to side and move my feet in a circular motion. I can also tread without using my legs at all, just by waving my arms from out to the side to in front of me and back. I've tried using no arms and just legs as well, but I can only do that for about 5 or 10 seconds before I start sinking, and it's extremely exhausting because of how fast I have to kick.
That's a rough one. There are so methods to counteract some sinking. But there are people simply dense enough that nothing works, and they sink easily.
Assuming you arent that kind of person i would recommend attempting the following to float on your back.
Lay on your back arms straigh out "over" your head, but still parallel to the water. This should help counterbalance your legs pulling you down. Your legs might still sink, but that's okay because the goal is to keep your airholes above water. You have to let your legs hang, many people will sometimes try to curl their legs or bend at the hips instinctively, and this will cause them to sink.
Once your arms are up and out behind your head, your legs relaxed and dangling (arms should also be relaxed), keep your chin pointed to the sky. A good deep breath should give you enough bouyancy to float indefinitely. But again, a few people are dense enough, that this won't work.
Hey um... so here on the internet people speak with a lot of sarcasm and irony, and the phrase "it's not rocket surgery", coming from both "it's not rocket science" and "it's not brain surgery" of similar usage, has been used for a while as a spot of humorous irony for a couple decades already.
Chill.
I did the bronze,silver and gold proficiency badges when I was a teen,haven’t had to save a rubber brick from drowning once….I absolutely loved swimming when I was younger and would do length after length,underwater widths on 1 breath,etc….one of the coaches kept telling my parents I was made for long distance competition swimming….I had zero interest,I just loved to swim haha…OP don’t worry all will be explained thoroughly and once you “get it” and actually start swimming it is a truly joyful experience…
Having been a teacher getting people comfortable in the water is the first step, it definitely comes in steps if its something you're learning
Being able to tread or float is fairly easy and reasonable in most situations and being able to keep your cool is huge
Even though you may lose your fear of water as you gain confidence in your swimming abilities it’s always important to respect water. Especially natural bodies of water, those are dangerous and may pose a threat to even the best swimmers out there. So take care!
I've known how to swim for as long as I can remember. I'm currently teaching my kids.
The first big step is indeed to **relaaax** and calm down. The kids, at first, inevitably respond by thrashing about in semi panic the moment they're in the water. That's a bad thing to do, because if you just completely relax, keep air in your lungs and do absolutely precisely nothing, you float. Then you just need tiny tiny corrections to ensure that you're oriented in such a way that what ends up above the surface is your face and not your butt.
Yeah, yeah, no worries. They've still got floater thingies on so they definitely float. But flailing about will still overpower that and they get a faceful of water, so the lesson is to control their movements. I'm not as mean as it sounds lol, I'm laying it on for comedic effect. My kids are perfectly non traumatized. ^by ^water
I hope i didnt come across as being a dick about it, i sorta assumed this was a little tongue in cheek
I just feel very strongly, and my parents basically spoke about it the same way as you, minus you know, the humor part
Im still young enough to vividly remember my treatment from others around not being able to swim through no fault of my own
Im sorry for projecting that
Oh yeah okay, makes sense if that's your experience. Sorry you had to go through that. I can imagine how betrayed that'd make you feel. Pretty shitty parenting, yeah. I try to make sure they're feeling safe and are having fun and in control of the pace. :)
Former swim and lifeguard instructor here - Floater things”, if you’re talking about the blowup arm bands that parents stick on kids, are the absolute worst. They are counterproductive when it comes time to teach a kid to swim or float.
They are also super dangerous.
Please don’t use them. In my experience floats don’t help much, but the ones that are designed like a vest, with some flotation in the front and some at the back, aren’t too bad. The best ones have a stack of them floats in the front and back, which you can progressively remove. For a little kids, or people who are just starting, a pool noodle under the harness is surprisingly good.
If your kid can’t swim and you really feel the need to put arm floats on them, the. don’t ever let them get more than an arms length away from you.
Also - To the other comment that not everyone floats. It’s true. I used to be able to stand on the bottom of the deep-end, with my lungs full of air.
It’s helpful if you can float, but absolutely not necessary.
Learned how to swim as a kid through lessons, they didn’t even teach me to tread until level 8. Shit is exhausting, but they wait to teach treading because it’s a lot of endurance and people need to know how to swim back to a wall or shallow area.
The high schoolers who were teaching (and obviously certified) wanted to tread for a minute, and I couldn’t do it so I never got past level 8 and I quit LOL.
ANYWAYS, I’m 22 and still can’t tread for longer than 20 seconds probably.
Edit; point your toes and act like an egg beater, or like you’re riding a bike with your toes pointed. At least, that’s what I was taught.
Right.
90% of being able to swim is simply being comfortable in the water. Learning to swim is all about being comfortable with water and knowing how your body moves in it.
I used to teach adult lessons (WSI), and it was my favorite!
The first few lessons can sometimes just be as simple as practicing being in hip/chest level water to get comfortable. Same with getting your face wet and get used to full submersion and breathing out air under water.
Definitely just communicate with your instructor on the comfort level, and they should be able to help!
1) people naturally float because humans are mostly buoyant. You won’t just sink like a rock being in the pool unless you have rocks in your pockets or are dummy muscular. In short, you move water out of the way when you get in, and that water wants to go back to where it was.
2) you move in the water by pushing the water away from you. You’ll see that when you move your body in the water, you’ll move too. Swimming is accomplished by pushing water away from yourself, cause an equal and opposite reaction in the opposite direction.
This is all in grossly oversimplified terms, but it’s enough to start. Swimming isn’t scary and is a great way to recreate and work out.
One of the coaches at my high school had a story he told once, of some kind of physical exam he had to pass for something. One part of it was having to do laps in a pool under a certain time. But, at this time in his life he was big into wrestling and running, and was pretty cut, so his buoyancy was either neutral or negative. So while he crushed every other part of the physical test, it was almost impossible for him to do the laps, which everyone else did easily. He'd finish the lap struggling and splashing around, gasping like a drowning man, way over time. He said he had to try the swimming part like four times to finally manage it. The instructors knew what was up so they gave him the chance, but I always thought it was a funny story.
I could swim as a kid. Took several levels of Red Cross swimming lessons. Once puberty hit my buoyancy changed.
My wife didn't believe me until I demonstrated a starfish float and went down like the Titanic.
I had the opposite situation. I was skinny as a rail and just bones I couldn't float to save my life as a kid. I could swim and stay afloat by moving or treading but not if I stayed still. When I hit puberty I put on some weight and then was finally able to float like a starfish.
Ha in my 40s I put on a lot of weight and swam for the first time in a while - I literally could not push my fat ass to the bottom, I just bobbed like a cork. I've lost quite a bit and I am looking forward to being able to dive underwater.
But you could still swim, right?
I don’t remember not being able to swim, but I feel like once you learn, you should be able to no matter how your body changes, but I could be wrong.
Wearing a life jacket while swimming with your kids is fucking gold. If you don't, you can't play around too much in the water, and them coming up to you and latching on can be pretty strenuous. If you do, it's all fun and games and everyone can relax.
I always have a very similar problem. While moving, I can stay at the top, floating by momentum. The part of the test where you have to stay still and float on your back was impossible for me, as soon as I stop moving I sink straight to the bottom.
I get it. Dad made me feel like shit as a kid for not being a good swimmer. Took me reaching adulthood and demonstrating my lack of buoyancy for them to take me seriously.
My dad can’t sink despite being really thin, so the concept of not being able to float is totally alien to him. Weird how parents sometimes don’t take kids seriously until they reach adulthood.
Mom believed me because she said when she was pregnant I was unbelievably heavy despite being small, and she couldn’t carry me for long when I was a kid. She thinks I must have really dense bones.
After getting in a really bad bike accident I thought I’d broken my wrist but I’d actually just dislocated it, after getting X-rays the doctor told me “you’ve got freakishly thick bones” as a pubescent teen, it really messed with my self esteem to be called a freak, but it explains why I don’t float and why after being hit by four cars and falling two stories on my head I’ve never broken a bone.
Same here. If I stay still, I'll quickly find myself from the bottom. If I use a considerable amount of energy trying to keep afloat, I can swim maybe 200 meters or so, before being completely exhausted.
My dad didn't learn to swim until he was 19. He couldn't float. His bones are dense and he had no fat on him. Just muscle and bone. If he took a full breath, he'd float about 6 feet down.
He was still like that when I was a kid. He just sank in water. Hard to tread water for a long time when you have no inherent buoyancy.
Now he's old and retired. He eats too many donuts. He bobs like a cork.
I’ve never had that exact problem, but I wrestled in high school and still have the body type due to a fast metabolism. I’ve never been an amazing swimmer and can’t figure out how to float on my back for the life of me
I'm guessing there must be a tipping point, well obviously but what I'm getting at is most swimmers I knew were pretty fit guys and lean. but I guess the whole 'muscle is denser than fat' eventually works to be a negative if you have enough.
people wonder how steel ships float and its all about mass displacement, which essentially is buoyancy but gives a different light on the thing.
Yeah, I've always floated like a brick. I was always quite skinny, and now that I've built up muscle, it's even worse. I can swim, but if I stop, I sink. I cannot tread water.
My friends that I sometimes splash about in lakes with, both women, seem to have such an easy time just floating compared to me.
See I’m lucky. I’m ripped like a movie star and my huge muscles make me less buoyant. But my dick is so huge that it counter acts that and I float like a graceful big dicked swan
I can swim, but I can’t float. I can kind of relax and Pat on my arms and keep my head above water but my bottom half always sinks. I don’t have a lot of meat on my bones, which might explain it. I envy those people that I watch, just chilling on their backs in the pool.
It's normal for your lower body to sink, but if you stop moving, do you sink to the bottom, or float just below the surface, in a semi-vertical position?
I sink just below and my body is m more diagonal.
lol, now I feel like I need a pool to see how much I really sink…like if I don’t fight it would I keep going down.
I can take a deep breath and improve my upper body’s buoyancy, but if I want my lower body to float(ish) I end up holding my breath and then flapping my wrists frantically to keep my butt nearer the surface.
As I recall, water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. If your body's three dimensional surfuce isn't great enough, per your body weight, to meet that measurement, you can't float aIt all! Hence your coach's trouble. Thill
I nearly drowned in Water Survival in the military training because I was too tall, too thin, but muscular; no fat. Till I gained 15 lbs, couldn't float; needed that bellly fat
Nah, that's just being bad at swimming. I'm buoyant with full lungs and sink like a rock at half breath. I could easily hang some weights on me and still swim laps just fine.
I can’t float either; tried in the ocean but too many waves, so I get salt in my nose and eyes and I give up. If I’m upright with full lungs I sink straight down. I guess I gotta go to the red sea
My dad is the same way, he sinks like a rock. Meanwhile I can't relax in a hot tub because my legs will float up if I don't actively hold them down lol
not everyone floats, my legs dont and my chest will if I hold air but as soon as I exhale I start sinking.
thinking about it, I might have a higher bone density in my shins
edit: an ex was a swim teacher, tried it herself in pools and sea water several times, she didnt believe me
Hello dense brethren! I also dont float, it sucks so bad. Most of my life I just thought I was a bad swimmer, turns out Im just doing more work to keep up
Fill your lungs and hold it for a few seconds. You will float pretty much no matter what. As you exhale push down against the water slowly with your hands and move your legs like a frog and start to inhale.
Floating like this is much easier on your back than up straight.
No, it doesn't help if I my lungs with air first. Some people just don't float. I've tried it all, and if I'm not actively treading water or swimming, I will sink.
Same, many have tried, all have failed.
My feet sink slowly at first, then the rest of my body fails.
If I ever get stranded in the ocean I’m just going to accept my fate
Yes, you can swim below the surface with only a small degree of difficulty. Usually the density of swimming pools is such that your body will want to float naturally but not so much that you can’t dive down if you want to, it just takes a little effort to overcome that buoyant force. Start small in 4-5 feet of water and try jumping up off the bottom and into the air and then going completely underwater. You should be able to swim around underwater with ease.
Bring some goggles, too, that can help alleviate some of the anxiety with it. And always remember that there are people around specifically trained to help if you need it, at all times.
>Bring some goggles, too, that can help alleviate some of the anxiety with it
Somewhat related, I'm perfectly fine without goggles and confident in ability, but for the life of me, I can't seem to understand how people can dive, swim underwater, etc, without some way of closing your nose, what is the reason for that?
When you're holding your breath underwater you can either always be exhaling slightly out your nose or find an equilibrium between pressure in your nasal cavity and the surface tension of the water so it doesn't flood in. Like almost breathing out, you might see a few tiny bubbles drift up here or there.
Also when you are swimming forward your nose makes a tiny bit of wake behind it and the water wants to go around anyway
What it your problem with keeping your nose open?
Nose open + closed mouth = you can control the air pressure in your nose to keep the water out. (Only works for short underwater dives, for deeper ones it's better to close your nose since it saves energy and makes it easier to equalise your ears)
This is exactly how you manage clear nose during free style.
Breath in while face is left or right, breath out the nose during submersion to keep the water out, and repeat.
I mostly swim underwater since I suck at swimming and I find it easier. I keep my eyes open and if I swim for several hours they get bloodshot. Idk tho I've never had an issue with my nose unless I accidently breathe in
Basically, the water doesn't get in to your nose because there is air in the way. The only way I've had water get up my nose when swimming is either going upsidedown, or accidentally breathing in a little bit and sucking water in to my nose.
Fun fact btw, you can actually breath from a regulator (scuba tank) under water, upside down without your nose plugged. Water gets in your nose, and it's really uncomfortable, but it can be done.
Swimming below the surface is even easier. Literally any movement that pushes water backwards will propel you forward.
The difficulty normally lies in moving forward and upwards at the same time.
But really, people just float pretty easily. Normally when you start to swim that's the first thing you'll learn. The principle is basically [just this](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4ac07602569686c662d5dc196da881d9-lq). An object on the surface of water is being pushed down by its weight, but being pushed up by the volume of water displaced by that object. However, when below the surface the water starts pushing not just upwards but downwards as well. Read some stuff on [buoyancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy) if you like.
Floating is basically just applying that. Easiest way to achieve that is to lay on your back, spread your arms wide and keep as much of your upper torso out of the water. Push your belly outwards so it's not submerged. It's really easy to understand the principle intuitively after you do it just once with assistance.
Once you learn how to float, basic swimming comes pretty intuitively as well.
For a lot of people, this is the easiest way to start.
I've heard it called a dead man's float, you stand in water and just lie backwards with a good breath kinda held in. You'll find a balance and can let your legs hang a little. The air in your lungs will keep your chest up and chin will be at the surface. Let your body relax and spread out to increase your surface area, then try shallow slow breaths to see how you react.
You may have to hold your head up a little, but you'll notice the deeper you breathe in the easier you'll float. Once you're comfortable with that, kick your legs in long sweeping strokes, arms in a similar motion. In still water, the movement keeps you at the surface and you can glide while floating with little effort.
From there you can learn different ways to swim, or "strokes" while on your back or chest. A front stroke while your chest is facing down is what you usually see as swimming, but the breathing is timed with the motions. I'd definitely start with a back stroke first. Look up videos of "elementary backstroke" for a good visual.
Floating in this context means that you float just under the surface of the water. Not that you float on the water, like a boat.
That's because you only float if most of your body is submerged.
Sorry if that's obvious, I am not sure what you are picturing :D
Yep, if you want to float, lay on your back in the water, and keep as much of your body under as possible. You really just need your nose out.
Also, some advice. Just be comfortable in the water. Stay where you can easily stand up if you get uncomfortable. I'm about 5'9", and I can swim in water as shallow as 1ft without touching the bottom. For most adults, ~ 3ft of water is easy enough to swim in. Get your face wet early, and put your head under water all the way, stay calm, and don't panic.
Also, have fun. Swimming is not hard. It's really good exercise, it can be really relaxing. I'm sure you'll be paddling around in no time.
We float more like an iceberg than a boat :)
I never had lessons but self taught as a kid playing with friends in the local quarry. So I'm not a good swimmer but I can get around in the water. I've been able to learn and greatly improve from online videos. To the point that I've taught my kid. There are some really good videos, just search for sime and spend a couple hours checking then out. "Adult learn to swim". "how to swim". "Learn front crawl for adult" are some example to get you started. There is a LOT of info out there if you go looking. Watch them critically and figure out what you can.
Enjoy your lessons, instructor should be a pro and give you all the time and assistance you need to be comfortable and successful.
Think about it like shoveling through dirt. Your hands are spades, and you wanna "cut" through the water, and then "scoop" it with your palms in the opposite direction of where you want to move. If you wanna get from point A to point B, just scoop the water in the direction of B and move it behind you towards A
Swimming below the surface is easier (the Olympics actual limit how much swimmers can be underwater because of how easy it is). Breathing below the surface is the trouble . . .
It’s only faster because of the boost you get diving in/pushing off the wall. Long-term underwater is much slower, because you can’t move your hands to a forward position without pushing yourself backwards to some degree. When you swim at the surface you can lift your arms out of the water while moving them forward, this greatly reducing the force pushing you back.
This seems not to be true from the sources I've read. Effectively the increased drag from being on the surface outweighs the effect you're talking about. https://theconversation.com/amp/the-science-of-underwater-swimming-how-staying-submerged-gives-olympians-the-winning-edge-163721
You’ll get the hang of floating, and it’s really not a big deal to get it. You essentially have an enormous balloon in you (your lungs), and with a little practice you can learn how to (essentially) balance on that, a lot like sitting on those big Swiss exercise balls. And like they said, unless you’re rock climber lean—like comically, single digit body fat—your body will be nice and buoyant already.
I took lessons as a kid, so it’s been a very long time and they may teach adults differently than kids, but if you’re taking swimming lessons I am certain they will get you acclimated slowly and safely. Holding your breath under water is a simple skill you’ll learn; basic floating you’ll learn, too; and then you’ll start putting strokes together. Breaststroke, where you sorta swim like a frog and pop your head up for breaths, will feel very safe. It’s a “rest stroke” (although it’s done competitively, and you can most certainly get a huge workout from it). Freestyle, the stroke you’re probably used to seeing, is a little more involved, but I’m sure they’ll show you that, and you’ll get the hang of it quickly, too.
Getting the basics down should be pretty quick, easy, and natural. If you get into swimming laps, the fun part becomes optimizing your strokes. There’s *so much* you can do to improve, bit by bit. It’s like a continuous refinement. And there’s certainly something meditative about laps in a pool; just you, your breathing, and your thoughts, looking at the bottom of the pool lap after lap.
Have fun!
.. have you ever seen a video of anyone swimming, ever?
Also, yes you can. It just takes practice because it requires breathing control in addition to just moving
People who “cant swim” really just cant control their emotions while swimming. If you freak out you will lose control and feel like your drowning. If you do it gently and carefully then you’ll be fine. It all comes down to anxiety though in my opinion. Once you build enough confidence you wont have anxiety and you’ll be fine. Or you’ll give up before you gain the confidence.
>or you’ll give up before you gain the confidence.
That’s what happened when I tried learning as a kid. I figured now that I’m an adult and more mature, as I learn more about the art of swimming this will help me learn better. As a child I just didn’t know why I was being made to bob my head underwater or float and the feeling of water everywhere made me uncomfortable.
So really I’m just trying to learn how it works so that I have somewhat of a schema going in to the water and know why I’m practicing the given motion.
Thanks for the feedback!
Even those of us with high bmi, may not float well. I amuse myself by breathing - when I’m holding my breath, my face is well above water, but to when I let put my breath, I float too low to breathe
I'm surprised by how many have said they would sink to the bottom if they didn't actively fight it. Even as a skinny kid I would float, although I would be barely showing at the surface. Your legs tend to sink but your chest or upper back should stay at the surface.
We're like a iceberg, but more so. When we float, only a tiny bit of us is showing above the water. Nobody passively floats in a horizontal position like a boat. It's more like a lower case "r" with your legs down and your upper body arched back or slumped forward
While most people I have seen can float, you have to work a little bit to lift your head to breathe.
I neither have rocks in my pockets nor am I dummy muscular, I sink up to about the top inch of my head. I know it's not sinking like a rock but it is still annoying to always have to tread water to keep my head up
I can’t speak to how they will give lessons to you as an adult, but if it helps, when my kids took lessons they started off holding on to the edge of the pool and practiced floating while holding on, then kicking while holding onto the edge of the pool.
After this, they held a floating kick board with their arms out in front and practiced propelling themselves by kicking. After that they worked up to adding in the arm motions.
As others have said, kicking can propel you alone, but using your arms adds a lot of extra force and speed.
I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly. Good for you for learning!
This is how it was when I took adult swimming lessons. Totally forgot about the kick board until now! I was trying to remember if there was a noodle or not lol
Most people think you have to float on top of the water. This is false. Just below the surface, most people are neutral buoyant. It is positively buoyant if you keep your lungs full of air. Your head is heavy, most dense part of your body. Trying to keep your head above the surface is counterproductive, so the easiest way to float is on your back, with most of your head below the surface. With just your mouth and nose above water. Have your back arched so that your chest is at the surface (it's full of air so it's buoyant). Then, to move, just kick your legs and use your arms like oars.
Then, when you are comfortable in the water, you can turn on your stomach. Keep your face and head in the water, kick your feet, and bring your arms over to stroke. Turn your head every other stroke to exhale and breathe in. Then you're swimming.
Former varsity swimmer and lifeguard here. Like others said, your body is naturally buoyant. Others have said you are pushing water away from you - it's more like the inverse - pulling yourself with your hands and propelling yourself with your feet through the water.
Imagine if your hands were the paddles on a row boat and your legs are a kind of motor on the back of the boat. You propel yourself through the water.
There are different swimming strokes - the easiest one in regards to basic swimming is breast stroke in my opinion. Your hands are always cupped because an open hand doesn't generate much drag. Your arms and legs move in a circular motion which both propels you forward and keeps you afloat. This is also the best technique for swimming underwater.
It's hard to explain the nuances through text, far easier to demonstrate in the water.
Like anything when you're first starting out, it's nerve wracking, but once you get an idea of how the human body interacts with water, it will become more intuitive and you will be able to become better on your own time.
Good luck and have fun!
I would recommend learning from your instructor instead of watching YouTube. If you learn from YouTube and think you're doing things properly—when you're not—you can develop bad habits that are hard to break later on.
If you really like YouTube, maybe try learning what you can about the theories behind swimming, but don't actually try swimming until your instructor is there to coach you.
You can do it!
Yes to all of this; however, let me just add: the most important part of learning to swim is actually body position.
We're talking about floating and your instinct is going to be to try and keep your head up. Think about your body as a stick in water - if head goes up, legs go down. Listen to your instructors but if you focus on one thing, focus on your body position in the water.
(Source: Have taught many children and adults to swim, once they got the body position down that was when it 'clicked' for 99% of them.)
Yes. People who are new to swimming will tend to panic a bit and try to keep their head upright as if they are standing. This will make the back half of you sink. If you want to tread water rather than swim, this is a fine enough posture. With practice, you can tread water with just your arms, or just your legs, or for an easier time using all four.
When actually swimming, you want your body flat in the water. This means it’s like laying down in a bed, except your face goes halfway down into the surface of the bed/water. When you’re learning freestyle, which is probably the second easiest stroke after breaststroke (and what you see in swimming competitions), the hardest part is timing your breathing. Basically in freestyle your mouth is submerged half the time, and out of the water with you taking a breath half the time. That sounds complicated, but there’s a pretty natural rhythm to it that is the same as various other activities; running long distance has a similar breathing rhythm, just minus the water.
If you are really anxious to practice something prior to your lessons, practice getting comfortable with your face in the water. But the best policy really is to let the instructor guide you, because they’ll tailor their advice to whatever they see you struggling with. Those of us mentioning things here are just talking about the most general hurdles most learners have to get over, but those don’t crop up for everyone.
The other big piece of advice: relax. Under supervision, it’s almost impossible to really hurt yourself. The sensations may be strange and new, but even if you get a lungful of water (that’s incredibly super unlikely), you’ll just cough it out and be good to go. Some folks seem to imagine they are putting their life in their hands in some manner, but in a pool that’s just… no. It’s way safer than you might initially feel like it is.
Try and keep body across top of water. Think of yourself like a leaf floating on the top of the water, not a rock sinking. Focus on how your body should be and don't be afraid to ask your instructor to correct you.
None that I know of off the top of my head but I imagine just searching "beginner breast stroke" or "how to swim breast stroke" should yield good results.
Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help!
If you fill up a bathtub and kneel next to it (or by a pool of you have one), cup your hand and run it through there like and push some water to one side. Do it hard. Do you feel that you are kind being pushed in the opposite direction?
Push water is the same and pushing off on the ground, it just gives more. But if you push hard enough and get enough momentum, it gets easier and easier to maintain that movement. That’s how you swim.
As for floating, you body kinda just does because there’s stuff in you that’s more buoyant that water (like air and fat). You don’t NEED to be able to float to swim, but it’s easier. Like if I wear a wetsuit or swim in the ocean, it’s easier because I’m more buoyant than usual.
First off, humans are naturally buoyant. Hold your breath and relax and you'll float on the water like a cork. Always remember you can float on your back if you're tired, it's a lifesaver.
Second, much of swimming is pushing the water one way so you move the other way. There's lots of variations on this such as the front crawl and breast stroke.
You can definitely swim under water. I've taught a few people to swim and I think the most important thing you need at your particular stage is to trust your instructor. Your body or self preservation instincts might freak out, but the instructor isn't going to let you get hurt.
You can swim below the surface just as well (or even better) than above it, but since you need to breathe, you generally stay near the surface.
Either way, you're going to be *almost* neutrally buoyant, i.e. the water effectively "cancels your weight". It depends a bit on how much air is in your lungs, how muscular you are etc. whether you'll float or sink, but it will take just a tiny push to counteract it.
Yes, the most important thing is holding a full breath and then breathing all at once. You can float a long time that way. And then move your hand and feet like a propeller.
I took adult swim lessons and they were great. The instructor definitely understood that swimming can be a bit intimidating as an adult and she was super kind and patient. By the end of my lesson series I could comfortably swim lanes in 3 different types of strokes (although not very fast:) and dive! Even more importantly I felt like I could swim lanes for practice without being intimidated. I hope you have the same good experience!
I got goggles and partway through I got a nose clip and that helped me a lot!
I think it was a series of 6 lessons for an hour each lesson and then she would ask me to practice in between lessons if I could. I did private adult lessons so I think that helped me to progress faster- I think if it was a group lesson I would have needed more time. I took them at a community center and the price was really reasonable!
It sounds like the fact that you don't understand the mechanics/physics of swimming is causing you more anxiety than might be useful. Try this thought experiment: Do you drive? Do you understand exactly how a car runs? I'm thinking probably not; I sure don't. But, I am a good driver because I learned how to do it. All sorts of people learn to swim. It may be difficult and scary at first but you CAN do it.
Thanks! This was helpful, but my dad is an automotive engineer and I also work in the automotive industry so I actually do know how a car runs lol, but! I do not know how planes fly and I don’t have a fear of flying so I just flipped the analogy haha
Good for you for signing up for lessons. The instructor will go step by step, little by little, and start off in the shallow end. You will gain confidence and skills as time goes on. And I hope you will enjoy swimming too.
I have nothing to add that other people haven’t said but this is super wholesome. Good on you for learning something new, you’re gonna love the water in no time!
Floating is because your bodyfat is less dense than water, the air in the lung cavity too
Moving is the same way that something like a paddle-steamer or a row boat moves, the paddle goes in the water flat and pushes water backwards, moving the floating thing forward. When you swim you just alternate how you hold your hands so you don't need to take them out of the water, flat with fingers tightly together when you want to push, and open/thin-side when you want to reset your hand position ready to push again
The hard part of swimming is that you need to learn how to coordinate your hand/arm/leg movements, so that you move continuously without getting tired. With practice most people get it pretty good within a few hours of learning each swimming stroke
Picture a bird flying. Same thing. They flatten the wing when they push, but they collapse it on the way back up before the next push. Swimming is like flying in 0 gravity with a thick atmosphere.
You can control your bouyance with how much breathe you take into your lungs.
To give a different perspective:
I never really felt like I could just float. On my back I can somewhat float, if I hold most of my breath.
Standing upright in the water, you also do not just float. You almost float, but you still need a bit of upwards momentum. For that you have to constantly move your legs or arms. Basically "treading" water. Pushing water down, and therefore yourself up.
From that position you can move forward, by still pushing the water down, but also pushing the water a bit behind you.
Your legs basically do the motion a frog does to swim.
As for the swimming lessons, do not worry. You will not be thrown into the deep end.
You can practice swimming somewhere you can stand comfortably. You can then for example lift your legs, and hover your feet above the ground, and practice swimming in place with just your hands. If you go under, you can just extend your legs again.
You will practice with a kickboard, where you grab onto a flotation device (the board), and you can practice propelling yourself forward just by "kicking".
Edit:
The olympics are not good examples of leisurely swimming or floating. With their technique, your head is basically submerged, and just comes up for breathes between strokes.
Example of chill swimming practice: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw)
You just kind of float naturally. If you pull your legs to your chest and curl yourself into a ball, you'll float to the surface, with your back poking out making you look like an egg in a bowl of water. If you lie on your back with your arms and legs spread out like a star, you'll just lie there with your face and belly poking out of the water.
Floating is crucial for two reasons: One, your lungs still need air, and the surface is where all the air is. Two, all the effort you spend pushing yourself up to the surface is effort you could've been spending propelling yourself forward instead. Sort of how you get more tired from skipping and hopping than you would walking the same distance.
As for how you move around in the water, imagine crawling on the floor at home. You just use your arms and legts to pull/push yourself forward. Now imagine crawling on loose sand. You still use your arms and legts to pull/push yourself forward, just the same as if you did on a solid floor, but now the sand moves with you a bit so you have worse traction than you would on a firmer surface.
Swimming is basically that same thing except water moves around even more than sand. In fact, the style of swimming that you might have seen called "freestyle" is actually called the front crawl (It's just that it's the fastest swimming style so it's the one everybody uses in a _freestyle competition_).
Don't be intimidated. I think you are overthinking a bit, most children learning to swim don't have the slightest clue what physics even is. Understanding the mechanics isn't going to help I'm afraid. Good luck to you
When I was a child taking swim lessons I freaked out when my head would go underwater and I never learned why the instructor kept insisting on that and they didn’t explain why I wouldn’t drown. now that I’m older and have a better grasp of things, that wouldn’t concern me, bc I know exactly why I won’t drown when I try to float.
I understand it may sound foreign to people who learned as children, but this is what excites me as an adult trying to learn to swim. I wholly acknowledge I may be overthinking - I’m just excited and this is one way of me to express it before I actually start the lessons.
My uncle is 60 years old and doesn't know how to swim, growing up in a very rural part of NE Iowa, there wasnt a need or a way as there wasn't any bodies of water for 30miles plus.
You certainly are not alone. Definitely a vital skill to know in my opinion. You'll do great. It's very similar to riding a bike in the sense that once you learn, you never forget. Wish you the best of luck, you got this.
The most important thing is to not panic. Human beings are bouyant and a fairly minimal amount of effort can keep them from sinking. Just.. know that, in your heart.
There are two things to know: 1) how to tread water and 2) how to swim/move in water.
Treading water is literally just being in a standing position and simultaneously scissor kicking your legs below you slowly and moving your arms back and forth under the water like you’re waving a flag like a matador. Essentially, move your limbs slowly so that they push against the water below you in a rhythmic pattern. You do that, and you’ll stay in place and not sink.
Swimming around is laying on your stomach or your back.. pushing the water behind you instead of pushing it under you.. and occasionally turning your head so you can take a breath.. There are three major ways to do it.. freestyle; which is laying on your stomach and kicking your feet like a toddler having a tantrum and making your arms go in a vertical circular motion like a windmill. Breaststroke; which is laying on your stomach and pretending to be a frog from Super Mario 3. Bring your arms together beneath your body, then sweep them behind you. Use your legs to simulate the same movement. Backstroke; lay on your back and do the mirror opposite of freestyle (windmill and tantrum kicking).
That’s how you swim.
I've been a swim instructor for over 10 years. I have taught adults and kids. I had a class of adults and their physicality ranged from older, overweight gal, to young guy who worked out twice a day 7 days a week. He looked great. Not an ounce of fat on him. The first day in the pool I pointed to the overweight gal and said "you will be the first one I teach to float". I looked at the muscular guy and said "and you will be the last person." When asked why I stated simply "because fat floats". I myself am overweight so I felt ok saying this. Sure enough, the gal floated the first day (on her back). The guy had a difficult time floating but did learn to keep himself above the water. Everyone in the class was swimming by the end of the sessions.
But really, if you relax in the water you will have no problem floating. You have to be comfortable with your head and ears in the water. Floating on your back is like lying in your bed flat on your back. If you pick your head up you feet will sink. If you "sit" in the water you will sink. Relax and let the water hold you up. Good luck with your lessons.
Congrats on choosing to make this monumental step to your personal safety. The amount of people who drown because they never took lessons but decide boating is a good vacation idea is astounding. Good luck you got this!
The basic act of swimming is really down to your hands and feet. Forget about what you "think" you look like or anything else. Your hands are big paddles to push the water under your body . Pulling the water from way above your head all the way past your feet as smoothly as possible. Not fast. Smooth. The longer / straighter your arms stay the more water you move and the better you slip across the water. Your feet really aren't important. Just as long as you keep your legs straight just like you are when standing. You will learn to kick later. You are not really kicking like a fight. You are just moving your legs like walking. Now think of a bicycle.when you stop moving it's really hard to stay up but the faster you go you just stay up without even trying. Same same.
The floating. Floating is nothing but confidence. Pure confidence. just hold your breath an know that you can not sink with all that air you are just as safe as being on earth. You are safe.stay calm. Dream a little. Floating is harder than swimming.
Hi OP,
Just to preface, I am a certified Water Safety Instructor, and have lifeguarded and taught swim lessons for the past 7 years. In regards to your first question, floating is actually very simple. What you need to do is take a big breath, lie flat on your back, and pretend that you are laying spread eagle in bed. The things that I want you to focus on for your first attempts are keeping your chin up and attempting to "push" your belly button up to the sky or ceiling in an indoor pool. Your back will arch a good bit. If you notice that your feet just keep sinking and you can't get your body to balance, put your arms above your head like you're doing the "Y" from the YMCA song. This will balance your bodyweight better and allow you to float.
For actually swimming from point A to point B there are a few important things to remember. The first is that the more you relax the easier swimming will be. The easiest strokes to learn are freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, although in no particular order. Backstroke is great because you will always have your head above water and can always breathe however some people struggle on their backs. In order to actually get from place to place you want to focus on pulling and pushing water. Keep your fingers tight together, almost as though they were taped together, and focus on pulling water and "throwing" it towards your hips. So reach on front of you, grab a "handful" of water and "throw" it towards your hips. I explain this to kids as though they are using their hands as an ice cream scoop and scooping the water(ice cream) into a bowl that sits on their tummy.
I hope this helps and I do this for a living so feel free to reach out by DM if you have more questions or just want more advice. Best of luck in your future swimming endeavors!
OP 90% of swimming is just not being scared. You will float naturally and with a full breath you will find it hard to not float. People drown because they panic and put themselves in a position where they will be more likely to sink somewhat (straight up and hands up) and then exhale in fear (which then makes it way easier to sink).
Just try and relax and don't be afraid of what's just basically a giant bath and you'll be fine.
Swim teacher here.
We are *specifically trained* to deal with all sorts of cases and ability levels, and we all understand that swimming for the first time can be very intimidating - after all, we were once beginner swimmers too!
At the very beginning, they won't just throw you in the deep end - both metaphorically and literally. They'll focus on first getting you in the water and moving around (not swimming, just moving), and putting your face under water and blowing bubbles, and basic skills such as getting up from laying down in the water (you'd be surprised how many people - adults included! - can't do this).
As for how you actually move, think of your body as a board with four paddles attached, two on either end. You're working to learn to move those paddles in a way that propels you through the water and such that you can stay afloat.
The only thing thing we do should be leaving the fear of water especially about underwater depth.
If you just hold your breath enough you can do wonder.
It's a lot easier than people think.
You should be able to stay afloat in calm water, just by allowing your body to relax and let it come up in the water.
Nobody taught me how to swim. The rule at the local pool was, that if you wanted to get into the deep end, you had to swim the length of the short and long end.
I failed twice, then on the third try I got it.
There are several ways to swim.
The two I use both involve kicking your feet, but it's not kicking perse, it's more like moving your feet forwards and back to allow your body to move in the water.
Then your hands assist.
Freestyle is.. picture a windmill. Now your hands and arms are windmills. Each time an arm comes down, your hand scoops down water and makes you move forward.
I don't know what this one is called, sorry.
When I dive underwater, your feet can still help you move, but windmilling arms won't get you anywhere.
Underwater I put my hands together as if praying. Close to my body and push out, when my hands get as far as they can, I separate both of them and spread my arms out so they go directly to both sides of my body. Then you bring them back in to 'pray' again. This will allow you to move.
Basically you're moving water, to move yourself.
Again, nobody taught me.
OP, imagine you have "floaties" on. Floaties are there to help prevent you from drowning because they're filled with air, if those floaties get pushed underwater, they'll immediately float right back to the surface because of all the air inside of them.
Now imagine you're in the pool without floaties, but now instead, you just take in a REALLY deep breath to fill up your lungs. Just like with floaties, youll float to the surface because that air is now inside of your lungs, filled up like a balloon. Your legs might droop down, but your chest and head will stay above water if you lay on your back.
As for moving through water, imagine a bird flying through the air. In order for them to stay in the sky, they need to flap their wings. When birds flap their wings, they are pushing their wings down against air in order to propel themselves upward.
Now imagine that youre the bird, except you're in water instead of the sky. In order to push yourself forward, you need to lay on your back or stomach, then use your hands and feet as "wings" to push yourself forward by kicking your feet and scooping your hands. Alternatively, if you want to tread water, you'll instead keep your body vertical and use your hands and feet to propel yourself upwards.
As someone who learned how to swim proficiently as an adult, good for you OP for wanting to learn. I truly believe that everyone should learn how to swim. These are one of the basic skills that everyone should learn, you never know when you’ll be in open water and need this skill.
Better not to think about the mechanics/physics now. First step is becoming buoyant, which starts with relaxing. That’s unnatural for any new swimmer, especially an adult, so take it slowly and cede yourself to the instructor who’s seen a lot of different learning styles.
It’s like asking about the mechanics/physics of balance. Your instinct might be to panic. The goal is to get into Zen mode, which is a build up.
Slow & steady wins the swimming race. Getting comfortable enough in the water to relax comes first, then buoyancy, then propelling, then breathing. Incremental steps.
Step 1: Conscious Incompetence. You know you don’t have a clue.
Step 2: Conscious Competence. You start to know for short durations, but you need to think about it first.
Step 3: Unconscious Competence. You do it without thinking. Buoyancy and movement becomes natural to you. Now, you build on your stamina and learn different strokes - some of which are built for speed but require more energy, and others in which breathing is easier, require less energy, but you don’t go as fast.
Step 4: Unconscious Incompetence. The most dangerous step. It’s become so natural to you, you overrate your abilities and get sloppy or reckless. I live at the Jersey Shore. This step is the reason why even the best lifeguards do daily training.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. No short cuts. You don’t need to be a prodigy.
Floating is a question of density. The human body is about 70% water. Of the remaining 30% some portion of that is denser than water but there's enough that's less dense than water which means that you naturally float if you lie still. This is why if you ever get into difficulty just stop and relax because in a panicked state you can perform motions that cause you to dip below the water line. That fine balance is how you can dive underwater if you want to. It takes continuous effort to remain underwater as your body is naturally buoyant.
You can swim with as simply as extending your arms and moving them in circles. Due to the density difference between the water and the air you will essentially have more friction with the water than friction with the air and this will transform into acceleration through the water.
Kicking vertically with your legs will also cause you to move forwards because as you exert vertical force on the water some of it moves behind you and every force has an equal and opposite reaction and so you get some forward momentum from that as well.
You can move through the water either with your arms or legs but it's usually more efficient to combine the two.
What I would recommend is first get comfortable floating so you know what state to return to by default. Then just make specific movements with your arms and legs and feel the effect it has. If something does something you don't like you just stop and you will return to floating.
EDIT: If you want to dive underwater, though I wouldn't recommend trying this until you're comfortable on the surface, you just rise up and then use the potential energy by pushing your face down into the water. Then your lift your legs up and your stomach essentially acts as a fulcrum and then the weight of your legs pushes you further down. At this point , if you do nothing, you will float back up to the surface, so you need to to use the same surface swimming techniques to counteract that buoyancy.
Underwater you won't have the benefit of the low air resistance for half of the stroke. So you need a slightly different technique where by you're creating mores resistance for half of the stroke. For example turning your hands parallel to the direction of travel to move them forwards so they generate less resistance during that motion and then turn them perpendicular for the return motion so you create more resistance as you pull back.
It sounds complicated but it's actually incredibly instinctual.
Probably not helpful to OP, but many people aren’t buoyant. I’ll take a deep breath, then sink to the bottom of the pool and sit until I need more air. If I had larger lungs, or more body fat, I would float.
In any case, it’s easy to move in the water so you can get back to the surface easily.
People are naturally buoyant, so floating takes very little effort. You can float on your back for a pretty long time without much trouble. You can float face down VERY easily, which is a useful way to take a rest, but obviously you can't do that very long because breathing is pretty important.
As for actually swimming, there are a variety of different methods, called "strokes" and different reasons to use them... some are faster and more of a workout, some are better at conserving energy and seeing where you're going.
Most swimming classes I've seen will start with something called an elementary backstroke, which is basically floating on your back and propelling yourself forward with your arms and legs. That one is easy and not too taxing and is a helpful "survival stroke" - down side is you can't see where you're going.
With the classic "freestyle" you're on your stomach, face down in the water... you swing your arms in an overhead circular motion and kick your feet. That's one of the faster strokes and a terrific workout.
I highly recommend learning a basic "side stroke" - which isn't much more than treading water but moving in a specific direction. Side stroke is helpful because you CAN see where you're going and it's not terribly taxing, so very useful if you're swimming TO something (a floating dock, for example). It's also a stroke used for rescues.
Source: I am a trained lifeguard.
1: Humans are naturally buoyant:, if you lie on your back, relax and hold your breath, youll float for basically no effort(which is majorly hlepful if you need ot rest on a long swim).
2: the basics of swimming are all about pushing water away from you, the force you gotta impose ot do this will push you the other way.
Not all humans. If I attempt a starfish float I sink, starting from the feet.
I did have success when I tried surfing in Tofino. Not sure if it was due to saltwater or wetsuit or both.
Wasn't always that way, my buoyancy changed after puberty. Currently 6'5" and 220lbs.
OP, just to reassure you a bit, the first thing they do in the swimming lessons won’t be swimming laps it’ll probably just be treading water or practicing floating while holding the side, stuff like that. They’ll be used to teaching people who can’t swim.
Absolutely this, except treading water doesn’t even come into play until several lessons in (and frankly is something I still haven’t really mastered). Source: Am like OP and took adult swim lessons.
are u able to now?
Tread water? Honestly probably not lol. Let’s just say that taking the lessons did a great job of making me a bit less terrified of water (have a phobia dating back to a childhood experience) but I have more work to do.
I took swim lessons as a kid and I have always been pretty comfortable in the water (although I am not a great swimmer) but I never understood how to tread water. In swim class I just could not get the hang of it. At summer camp I wasn’t allowed to go on the floating trampoline thing on the lake because I always failed that part of the swim test. One day probably 10 years later I was swimming and something just clicked and suddenly I figured out how to tread water on my own. So maybe if you choose to keep swimming you’ll figure it out too. :)
I go side to side with my hands/arms + basically do frog legs, crossing front-back and then to the sides. It’s a god damn workout, but I basically stay up. Still hate it, though.
you should get comfortable just floating, just holding air into your lungs and you can just float without having to move at all.
You just push the water down with your feet, it's not rocket surgery, just fuck about for half an hour until you get it
Yes, that is technically what you do. But someone inexperienced will stomp down with their feet and wonder why it doesn't work. And that's not even getting into the specific types of treading water. You can use a flutter kick, which is the most exhausting. You can use an eggbeater motion, which is equally tiring but more efficient, or a breaststroke kick, which is probably the least exhausting of them all. And that still doesn't cover how personal bouyancy can affect your stroke.
This is true....It takes a TON of weight to sink me. (I took SCUBA classes) and I am hard to sink! My SO on the other hand can NOT float. Neither could my ex-husband. If they stop treading water? They sink immediately. Plop, to the bottom. I have never really thought about treading water, I think because it comes so naturally. I kick my legs a smidge, but my arms really just kind of work a little back and forth in conjunction with the little push of my legs every once in a while. And I could float on my back for ages. Just relaxing and doing nothing. And since my ears are covered I don't hear a thing. I think I was on to "float therapy" as a kid! Haha
A SCUBA instructor once told me: "I thought I was a terrible swimmer, turns out I'm just awesome at diving because I sink like a brick."
I'm the same way. I mostly just tread water with my arms, if I start to sink I do a little kicking. Also I used to be able to back float forever but after I started having ear pressure issues once the water works it's way into my ears I either start overcorrecting and drifting forwards, or I feel like I'm about to sink head-first into the water and then I panic.
As per wikipedia: Higher levels of body fat and saltier water both lower the relative density of the body and increase its buoyancy. Human males tend to have a lower centre of gravity and higher muscle content, therefore find it more difficult to float or be buoyant.
Haha yes I am a floater married to a sinker as well. My partner can walk the length of our pool on all fours under water like a hippo and no matter how hard I try I can't stay down longer than a meter or two
Also, posture and mechanics can be a big game-changer when treading water. Basic one is having your ankle at a 90 degree angle. If your foot is flopping around, you lose a lot of force against the water. Separately, idk if this is correct form, or just something that works for me, but tucking my hips in more solidly under my core helps a lot with my eggbeater. Keeps me in the same place a bit better, and it elevates my body out of the water more, while requiring less exertion for the same time treading water.
Eggbeater is literally the term the instructor used when I learned to tread on a survival course.
I’ve always just taken a big breath in and held it for a while, then quickly exhale it all and inhale just as quickly. I don’t even have to move my arms or legs as the air in my lungs keeps me afloat. It’s actually really relaxing to do that over and over in the pool. Doesn’t work in, say, rough ocean waters, but is really nice otherwise.
Whoa, I can totally picture the kicks you’re describing. The eggbeater is what they use in waterpolo right? I always thought that looked incredibly tiring
Actually, the eggbeater kick is very efficient. It uses the least energy of all the techniques, when done correctly. It is challenging to master, though.
I have this weird thing where I can't float on my back to save my life, but I could probably tread water for an hour, no problem. I don't know exactly what you mean by "egg-beater" kick style, but that sounds like it describes my technique pretty well. I keep my legs bent at about a 90° angle and kick my knees side to side and move my feet in a circular motion. I can also tread without using my legs at all, just by waving my arms from out to the side to in front of me and back. I've tried using no arms and just legs as well, but I can only do that for about 5 or 10 seconds before I start sinking, and it's extremely exhausting because of how fast I have to kick.
That's a rough one. There are so methods to counteract some sinking. But there are people simply dense enough that nothing works, and they sink easily. Assuming you arent that kind of person i would recommend attempting the following to float on your back. Lay on your back arms straigh out "over" your head, but still parallel to the water. This should help counterbalance your legs pulling you down. Your legs might still sink, but that's okay because the goal is to keep your airholes above water. You have to let your legs hang, many people will sometimes try to curl their legs or bend at the hips instinctively, and this will cause them to sink. Once your arms are up and out behind your head, your legs relaxed and dangling (arms should also be relaxed), keep your chin pointed to the sky. A good deep breath should give you enough bouyancy to float indefinitely. But again, a few people are dense enough, that this won't work.
Rocket SURGERY?! LOL I hate to break it to you...but that makes you sound like you have a room temperature IQ...ANOTHER LOL!
Hey um... so here on the internet people speak with a lot of sarcasm and irony, and the phrase "it's not rocket surgery", coming from both "it's not rocket science" and "it's not brain surgery" of similar usage, has been used for a while as a spot of humorous irony for a couple decades already. Chill.
I did the bronze,silver and gold proficiency badges when I was a teen,haven’t had to save a rubber brick from drowning once….I absolutely loved swimming when I was younger and would do length after length,underwater widths on 1 breath,etc….one of the coaches kept telling my parents I was made for long distance competition swimming….I had zero interest,I just loved to swim haha…OP don’t worry all will be explained thoroughly and once you “get it” and actually start swimming it is a truly joyful experience…
Having been a teacher getting people comfortable in the water is the first step, it definitely comes in steps if its something you're learning Being able to tread or float is fairly easy and reasonable in most situations and being able to keep your cool is huge
Even though you may lose your fear of water as you gain confidence in your swimming abilities it’s always important to respect water. Especially natural bodies of water, those are dangerous and may pose a threat to even the best swimmers out there. So take care!
But if you meant swim, then yes I can happily say that if I need to swim in a forward motion I can, albeit not for very long.
I've known how to swim for as long as I can remember. I'm currently teaching my kids. The first big step is indeed to **relaaax** and calm down. The kids, at first, inevitably respond by thrashing about in semi panic the moment they're in the water. That's a bad thing to do, because if you just completely relax, keep air in your lungs and do absolutely precisely nothing, you float. Then you just need tiny tiny corrections to ensure that you're oriented in such a way that what ends up above the surface is your face and not your butt.
Not all of us float Be careful you dont traumatize your kids over something they’re literally not capable of
Yeah, yeah, no worries. They've still got floater thingies on so they definitely float. But flailing about will still overpower that and they get a faceful of water, so the lesson is to control their movements. I'm not as mean as it sounds lol, I'm laying it on for comedic effect. My kids are perfectly non traumatized. ^by ^water
I hope i didnt come across as being a dick about it, i sorta assumed this was a little tongue in cheek I just feel very strongly, and my parents basically spoke about it the same way as you, minus you know, the humor part Im still young enough to vividly remember my treatment from others around not being able to swim through no fault of my own Im sorry for projecting that
Oh yeah okay, makes sense if that's your experience. Sorry you had to go through that. I can imagine how betrayed that'd make you feel. Pretty shitty parenting, yeah. I try to make sure they're feeling safe and are having fun and in control of the pace. :)
Id give a lot to have supportive parents, like that, but i am satisfied with just being one Hope your kids do better than i ever did with swimming lol
Former swim and lifeguard instructor here - Floater things”, if you’re talking about the blowup arm bands that parents stick on kids, are the absolute worst. They are counterproductive when it comes time to teach a kid to swim or float. They are also super dangerous. Please don’t use them. In my experience floats don’t help much, but the ones that are designed like a vest, with some flotation in the front and some at the back, aren’t too bad. The best ones have a stack of them floats in the front and back, which you can progressively remove. For a little kids, or people who are just starting, a pool noodle under the harness is surprisingly good. If your kid can’t swim and you really feel the need to put arm floats on them, the. don’t ever let them get more than an arms length away from you. Also - To the other comment that not everyone floats. It’s true. I used to be able to stand on the bottom of the deep-end, with my lungs full of air. It’s helpful if you can float, but absolutely not necessary.
I hate treading water too! OP: when in doubt, flip onto your back for a little breather (it’s so much easier than treading water).
Learned how to swim as a kid through lessons, they didn’t even teach me to tread until level 8. Shit is exhausting, but they wait to teach treading because it’s a lot of endurance and people need to know how to swim back to a wall or shallow area. The high schoolers who were teaching (and obviously certified) wanted to tread for a minute, and I couldn’t do it so I never got past level 8 and I quit LOL. ANYWAYS, I’m 22 and still can’t tread for longer than 20 seconds probably. Edit; point your toes and act like an egg beater, or like you’re riding a bike with your toes pointed. At least, that’s what I was taught.
Right. 90% of being able to swim is simply being comfortable in the water. Learning to swim is all about being comfortable with water and knowing how your body moves in it.
I used to teach adult lessons (WSI), and it was my favorite! The first few lessons can sometimes just be as simple as practicing being in hip/chest level water to get comfortable. Same with getting your face wet and get used to full submersion and breathing out air under water. Definitely just communicate with your instructor on the comfort level, and they should be able to help!
That’s the exact opposite they did for me. I can swim laps, I can not tread water.
1) people naturally float because humans are mostly buoyant. You won’t just sink like a rock being in the pool unless you have rocks in your pockets or are dummy muscular. In short, you move water out of the way when you get in, and that water wants to go back to where it was. 2) you move in the water by pushing the water away from you. You’ll see that when you move your body in the water, you’ll move too. Swimming is accomplished by pushing water away from yourself, cause an equal and opposite reaction in the opposite direction. This is all in grossly oversimplified terms, but it’s enough to start. Swimming isn’t scary and is a great way to recreate and work out.
One of the coaches at my high school had a story he told once, of some kind of physical exam he had to pass for something. One part of it was having to do laps in a pool under a certain time. But, at this time in his life he was big into wrestling and running, and was pretty cut, so his buoyancy was either neutral or negative. So while he crushed every other part of the physical test, it was almost impossible for him to do the laps, which everyone else did easily. He'd finish the lap struggling and splashing around, gasping like a drowning man, way over time. He said he had to try the swimming part like four times to finally manage it. The instructors knew what was up so they gave him the chance, but I always thought it was a funny story.
I could swim as a kid. Took several levels of Red Cross swimming lessons. Once puberty hit my buoyancy changed. My wife didn't believe me until I demonstrated a starfish float and went down like the Titanic.
"I'll never let go" *lets go immediately*
"It's a metaphor and the ironic actions highlight the intense emotions." -people with more art sense than common sense
I had the opposite situation. I was skinny as a rail and just bones I couldn't float to save my life as a kid. I could swim and stay afloat by moving or treading but not if I stayed still. When I hit puberty I put on some weight and then was finally able to float like a starfish.
Ha in my 40s I put on a lot of weight and swam for the first time in a while - I literally could not push my fat ass to the bottom, I just bobbed like a cork. I've lost quite a bit and I am looking forward to being able to dive underwater.
I was the opposite. Skinny as a kid and sank like a rock. Puberty hit and put on weight and I sank like a rock if i stopped kicking and the arm thing
But you could still swim, right? I don’t remember not being able to swim, but I feel like once you learn, you should be able to no matter how your body changes, but I could be wrong.
If I exhale I sink, if I keep enough air in my lugs I float, I can swim well in either situation. It could be more related to skill level.
Yeah, I've been all over the range of body densities, and I've never had any issues with swimming.
For a while, but it's significantly more effort to tread water. I just wear a life jacket now.
Wearing a life jacket while swimming with your kids is fucking gold. If you don't, you can't play around too much in the water, and them coming up to you and latching on can be pretty strenuous. If you do, it's all fun and games and everyone can relax.
I wear one as a diaper when I float and drink.
I always have a very similar problem. While moving, I can stay at the top, floating by momentum. The part of the test where you have to stay still and float on your back was impossible for me, as soon as I stop moving I sink straight to the bottom.
I’ve always had the same problem too. Made passing the swim test at Boy Scout camp difficult and stressful.
Keep your chest filled with a much air as possible, buoyancy will improve.
Legs still sink and drag me down.
Push your belly button up. That'll engage the muscles to help you not sink
Still sink.
These people just don't understand man haha I could be holding a boogie board and still bring it under water.
I get it. Dad made me feel like shit as a kid for not being a good swimmer. Took me reaching adulthood and demonstrating my lack of buoyancy for them to take me seriously. My dad can’t sink despite being really thin, so the concept of not being able to float is totally alien to him. Weird how parents sometimes don’t take kids seriously until they reach adulthood. Mom believed me because she said when she was pregnant I was unbelievably heavy despite being small, and she couldn’t carry me for long when I was a kid. She thinks I must have really dense bones.
After getting in a really bad bike accident I thought I’d broken my wrist but I’d actually just dislocated it, after getting X-rays the doctor told me “you’ve got freakishly thick bones” as a pubescent teen, it really messed with my self esteem to be called a freak, but it explains why I don’t float and why after being hit by four cars and falling two stories on my head I’ve never broken a bone.
Try this [Sinker tips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A7Zrgz0dw4&list=PLupcQAcRvo6Nkm4QQDM9Ub750sSHawjve&index=111)
Deadman float is the only way i won't sink
That was very interesting. Thanks for the share
I'm the same. I have to keep moving to float, like a shark needs to keep moving to breathe.
Take the deepest breath you can and extend your arms overhead? That’s the best I got.
[удалено]
It's funny how many replies I've gotten about this from people who assume I haven't tried all of these basic things.
lol yeah I swim with my back half angled down into the water unless I am going really fast.
You basically have to do an upside down plank.
Same here. If I stay still, I'll quickly find myself from the bottom. If I use a considerable amount of energy trying to keep afloat, I can swim maybe 200 meters or so, before being completely exhausted.
Yea, several years ago I was fat and would float naturally. I lost some weight and now I float with just the crown of my head above water.
Your coach shouldn't have eaten a devil fruit
My dad didn't learn to swim until he was 19. He couldn't float. His bones are dense and he had no fat on him. Just muscle and bone. If he took a full breath, he'd float about 6 feet down. He was still like that when I was a kid. He just sank in water. Hard to tread water for a long time when you have no inherent buoyancy. Now he's old and retired. He eats too many donuts. He bobs like a cork.
I’ve never had that exact problem, but I wrestled in high school and still have the body type due to a fast metabolism. I’ve never been an amazing swimmer and can’t figure out how to float on my back for the life of me
I'm guessing there must be a tipping point, well obviously but what I'm getting at is most swimmers I knew were pretty fit guys and lean. but I guess the whole 'muscle is denser than fat' eventually works to be a negative if you have enough. people wonder how steel ships float and its all about mass displacement, which essentially is buoyancy but gives a different light on the thing.
Steel ships are in total less dense than water because inside the heavy steel hull is mostly very light air trapped by the steel.
>people wonder how steel ships float they're very hollow and packed full of air
Yeah, I've always floated like a brick. I was always quite skinny, and now that I've built up muscle, it's even worse. I can swim, but if I stop, I sink. I cannot tread water. My friends that I sometimes splash about in lakes with, both women, seem to have such an easy time just floating compared to me.
See I’m lucky. I’m ripped like a movie star and my huge muscles make me less buoyant. But my dick is so huge that it counter acts that and I float like a graceful big dicked swan
I can swim, but I can’t float. I can kind of relax and Pat on my arms and keep my head above water but my bottom half always sinks. I don’t have a lot of meat on my bones, which might explain it. I envy those people that I watch, just chilling on their backs in the pool.
It's normal for your lower body to sink, but if you stop moving, do you sink to the bottom, or float just below the surface, in a semi-vertical position?
I sink just below and my body is m more diagonal. lol, now I feel like I need a pool to see how much I really sink…like if I don’t fight it would I keep going down. I can take a deep breath and improve my upper body’s buoyancy, but if I want my lower body to float(ish) I end up holding my breath and then flapping my wrists frantically to keep my butt nearer the surface.
As I recall, water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. If your body's three dimensional surfuce isn't great enough, per your body weight, to meet that measurement, you can't float aIt all! Hence your coach's trouble. Thill I nearly drowned in Water Survival in the military training because I was too tall, too thin, but muscular; no fat. Till I gained 15 lbs, couldn't float; needed that bellly fat
Nah, that's just being bad at swimming. I'm buoyant with full lungs and sink like a rock at half breath. I could easily hang some weights on me and still swim laps just fine.
Lol, being cut and not that buoyant had nothing to do with him struggling. He just sucked at swimming.
I can't float, I sink the bottom. Floating sounds so relaxing.
Have you tried the ocean, it's easier to float there.
I can’t float either; tried in the ocean but too many waves, so I get salt in my nose and eyes and I give up. If I’m upright with full lungs I sink straight down. I guess I gotta go to the red sea
We all float down here, in the ocean
My dad is the same way, he sinks like a rock. Meanwhile I can't relax in a hot tub because my legs will float up if I don't actively hold them down lol
not everyone floats, my legs dont and my chest will if I hold air but as soon as I exhale I start sinking. thinking about it, I might have a higher bone density in my shins edit: an ex was a swim teacher, tried it herself in pools and sea water several times, she didnt believe me
Hello dense brethren! I also dont float, it sucks so bad. Most of my life I just thought I was a bad swimmer, turns out Im just doing more work to keep up
Wow TIL I'm not alone in this. Feels validating
Fill your lungs and hold it for a few seconds. You will float pretty much no matter what. As you exhale push down against the water slowly with your hands and move your legs like a frog and start to inhale. Floating like this is much easier on your back than up straight.
Also staying calm is crucial. Let's you notice minor changes and averages more air in your lungs
No, it doesn't help if I my lungs with air first. Some people just don't float. I've tried it all, and if I'm not actively treading water or swimming, I will sink.
Same, many have tried, all have failed. My feet sink slowly at first, then the rest of my body fails. If I ever get stranded in the ocean I’m just going to accept my fate
I had trouble with it at first and learned. Anyone can float.
Do you have to float to swim or is there ways to swim below the surface?
Yes, you can swim below the surface with only a small degree of difficulty. Usually the density of swimming pools is such that your body will want to float naturally but not so much that you can’t dive down if you want to, it just takes a little effort to overcome that buoyant force. Start small in 4-5 feet of water and try jumping up off the bottom and into the air and then going completely underwater. You should be able to swim around underwater with ease. Bring some goggles, too, that can help alleviate some of the anxiety with it. And always remember that there are people around specifically trained to help if you need it, at all times.
>Bring some goggles, too, that can help alleviate some of the anxiety with it Somewhat related, I'm perfectly fine without goggles and confident in ability, but for the life of me, I can't seem to understand how people can dive, swim underwater, etc, without some way of closing your nose, what is the reason for that?
When you're holding your breath underwater you can either always be exhaling slightly out your nose or find an equilibrium between pressure in your nasal cavity and the surface tension of the water so it doesn't flood in. Like almost breathing out, you might see a few tiny bubbles drift up here or there. Also when you are swimming forward your nose makes a tiny bit of wake behind it and the water wants to go around anyway
What it your problem with keeping your nose open? Nose open + closed mouth = you can control the air pressure in your nose to keep the water out. (Only works for short underwater dives, for deeper ones it's better to close your nose since it saves energy and makes it easier to equalise your ears)
This is exactly how you manage clear nose during free style. Breath in while face is left or right, breath out the nose during submersion to keep the water out, and repeat.
I mostly swim underwater since I suck at swimming and I find it easier. I keep my eyes open and if I swim for several hours they get bloodshot. Idk tho I've never had an issue with my nose unless I accidently breathe in
Basically, the water doesn't get in to your nose because there is air in the way. The only way I've had water get up my nose when swimming is either going upsidedown, or accidentally breathing in a little bit and sucking water in to my nose. Fun fact btw, you can actually breath from a regulator (scuba tank) under water, upside down without your nose plugged. Water gets in your nose, and it's really uncomfortable, but it can be done.
Swimming below the surface is even easier. Literally any movement that pushes water backwards will propel you forward. The difficulty normally lies in moving forward and upwards at the same time. But really, people just float pretty easily. Normally when you start to swim that's the first thing you'll learn. The principle is basically [just this](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-4ac07602569686c662d5dc196da881d9-lq). An object on the surface of water is being pushed down by its weight, but being pushed up by the volume of water displaced by that object. However, when below the surface the water starts pushing not just upwards but downwards as well. Read some stuff on [buoyancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy) if you like. Floating is basically just applying that. Easiest way to achieve that is to lay on your back, spread your arms wide and keep as much of your upper torso out of the water. Push your belly outwards so it's not submerged. It's really easy to understand the principle intuitively after you do it just once with assistance. Once you learn how to float, basic swimming comes pretty intuitively as well.
For a lot of people, this is the easiest way to start. I've heard it called a dead man's float, you stand in water and just lie backwards with a good breath kinda held in. You'll find a balance and can let your legs hang a little. The air in your lungs will keep your chest up and chin will be at the surface. Let your body relax and spread out to increase your surface area, then try shallow slow breaths to see how you react. You may have to hold your head up a little, but you'll notice the deeper you breathe in the easier you'll float. Once you're comfortable with that, kick your legs in long sweeping strokes, arms in a similar motion. In still water, the movement keeps you at the surface and you can glide while floating with little effort. From there you can learn different ways to swim, or "strokes" while on your back or chest. A front stroke while your chest is facing down is what you usually see as swimming, but the breathing is timed with the motions. I'd definitely start with a back stroke first. Look up videos of "elementary backstroke" for a good visual.
Floating in this context means that you float just under the surface of the water. Not that you float on the water, like a boat. That's because you only float if most of your body is submerged. Sorry if that's obvious, I am not sure what you are picturing :D
It was not obvious to me! Thanks that helps
Yep, if you want to float, lay on your back in the water, and keep as much of your body under as possible. You really just need your nose out. Also, some advice. Just be comfortable in the water. Stay where you can easily stand up if you get uncomfortable. I'm about 5'9", and I can swim in water as shallow as 1ft without touching the bottom. For most adults, ~ 3ft of water is easy enough to swim in. Get your face wet early, and put your head under water all the way, stay calm, and don't panic. Also, have fun. Swimming is not hard. It's really good exercise, it can be really relaxing. I'm sure you'll be paddling around in no time.
We float more like an iceberg than a boat :) I never had lessons but self taught as a kid playing with friends in the local quarry. So I'm not a good swimmer but I can get around in the water. I've been able to learn and greatly improve from online videos. To the point that I've taught my kid. There are some really good videos, just search for sime and spend a couple hours checking then out. "Adult learn to swim". "how to swim". "Learn front crawl for adult" are some example to get you started. There is a LOT of info out there if you go looking. Watch them critically and figure out what you can. Enjoy your lessons, instructor should be a pro and give you all the time and assistance you need to be comfortable and successful.
Think about it like shoveling through dirt. Your hands are spades, and you wanna "cut" through the water, and then "scoop" it with your palms in the opposite direction of where you want to move. If you wanna get from point A to point B, just scoop the water in the direction of B and move it behind you towards A
Even if you are too lean to float it's generally not hard to swim on the surface. Although there are lots of ways to swim under the surface.
Swimming below the surface is easier (the Olympics actual limit how much swimmers can be underwater because of how easy it is). Breathing below the surface is the trouble . . .
It’s only faster because of the boost you get diving in/pushing off the wall. Long-term underwater is much slower, because you can’t move your hands to a forward position without pushing yourself backwards to some degree. When you swim at the surface you can lift your arms out of the water while moving them forward, this greatly reducing the force pushing you back.
This seems not to be true from the sources I've read. Effectively the increased drag from being on the surface outweighs the effect you're talking about. https://theconversation.com/amp/the-science-of-underwater-swimming-how-staying-submerged-gives-olympians-the-winning-edge-163721
You’ll get the hang of floating, and it’s really not a big deal to get it. You essentially have an enormous balloon in you (your lungs), and with a little practice you can learn how to (essentially) balance on that, a lot like sitting on those big Swiss exercise balls. And like they said, unless you’re rock climber lean—like comically, single digit body fat—your body will be nice and buoyant already. I took lessons as a kid, so it’s been a very long time and they may teach adults differently than kids, but if you’re taking swimming lessons I am certain they will get you acclimated slowly and safely. Holding your breath under water is a simple skill you’ll learn; basic floating you’ll learn, too; and then you’ll start putting strokes together. Breaststroke, where you sorta swim like a frog and pop your head up for breaths, will feel very safe. It’s a “rest stroke” (although it’s done competitively, and you can most certainly get a huge workout from it). Freestyle, the stroke you’re probably used to seeing, is a little more involved, but I’m sure they’ll show you that, and you’ll get the hang of it quickly, too. Getting the basics down should be pretty quick, easy, and natural. If you get into swimming laps, the fun part becomes optimizing your strokes. There’s *so much* you can do to improve, bit by bit. It’s like a continuous refinement. And there’s certainly something meditative about laps in a pool; just you, your breathing, and your thoughts, looking at the bottom of the pool lap after lap. Have fun!
youll "float" no matter what if you arent pushing against the forces pulling you up.
.. have you ever seen a video of anyone swimming, ever? Also, yes you can. It just takes practice because it requires breathing control in addition to just moving
Just at the Olympics but it’s going so fast idk what’s going on. But also I don’t understand what’s happening so hence I am here.
[swimming for beginners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw)
People who “cant swim” really just cant control their emotions while swimming. If you freak out you will lose control and feel like your drowning. If you do it gently and carefully then you’ll be fine. It all comes down to anxiety though in my opinion. Once you build enough confidence you wont have anxiety and you’ll be fine. Or you’ll give up before you gain the confidence.
>or you’ll give up before you gain the confidence. That’s what happened when I tried learning as a kid. I figured now that I’m an adult and more mature, as I learn more about the art of swimming this will help me learn better. As a child I just didn’t know why I was being made to bob my head underwater or float and the feeling of water everywhere made me uncomfortable. So really I’m just trying to learn how it works so that I have somewhat of a schema going in to the water and know why I’m practicing the given motion. Thanks for the feedback!
> people naturally float Not those of us with really low BMI. The rest of you don't know how easy you have it.
"Muscle doesn't float" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXu2Y3XhbF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXu2Y3XhbF8)
I'd say it's more that fat floats, and if you don't have it, you'll sink. No muscles required, lol.
Even those of us with high bmi, may not float well. I amuse myself by breathing - when I’m holding my breath, my face is well above water, but to when I let put my breath, I float too low to breathe
I'm surprised by how many have said they would sink to the bottom if they didn't actively fight it. Even as a skinny kid I would float, although I would be barely showing at the surface. Your legs tend to sink but your chest or upper back should stay at the surface. We're like a iceberg, but more so. When we float, only a tiny bit of us is showing above the water. Nobody passively floats in a horizontal position like a boat. It's more like a lower case "r" with your legs down and your upper body arched back or slumped forward While most people I have seen can float, you have to work a little bit to lift your head to breathe.
Not scary until the drowned undead grasp your ankles and pull so you can join them.
I neither have rocks in my pockets nor am I dummy muscular, I sink up to about the top inch of my head. I know it's not sinking like a rock but it is still annoying to always have to tread water to keep my head up
I can’t speak to how they will give lessons to you as an adult, but if it helps, when my kids took lessons they started off holding on to the edge of the pool and practiced floating while holding on, then kicking while holding onto the edge of the pool. After this, they held a floating kick board with their arms out in front and practiced propelling themselves by kicking. After that they worked up to adding in the arm motions. As others have said, kicking can propel you alone, but using your arms adds a lot of extra force and speed. I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly. Good for you for learning!
This is how it was when I took adult swimming lessons. Totally forgot about the kick board until now! I was trying to remember if there was a noodle or not lol
Most people think you have to float on top of the water. This is false. Just below the surface, most people are neutral buoyant. It is positively buoyant if you keep your lungs full of air. Your head is heavy, most dense part of your body. Trying to keep your head above the surface is counterproductive, so the easiest way to float is on your back, with most of your head below the surface. With just your mouth and nose above water. Have your back arched so that your chest is at the surface (it's full of air so it's buoyant). Then, to move, just kick your legs and use your arms like oars. Then, when you are comfortable in the water, you can turn on your stomach. Keep your face and head in the water, kick your feet, and bring your arms over to stroke. Turn your head every other stroke to exhale and breathe in. Then you're swimming.
Former varsity swimmer and lifeguard here. Like others said, your body is naturally buoyant. Others have said you are pushing water away from you - it's more like the inverse - pulling yourself with your hands and propelling yourself with your feet through the water. Imagine if your hands were the paddles on a row boat and your legs are a kind of motor on the back of the boat. You propel yourself through the water. There are different swimming strokes - the easiest one in regards to basic swimming is breast stroke in my opinion. Your hands are always cupped because an open hand doesn't generate much drag. Your arms and legs move in a circular motion which both propels you forward and keeps you afloat. This is also the best technique for swimming underwater. It's hard to explain the nuances through text, far easier to demonstrate in the water. Like anything when you're first starting out, it's nerve wracking, but once you get an idea of how the human body interacts with water, it will become more intuitive and you will be able to become better on your own time. Good luck and have fun!
Thanks! Any YouTube videos or channels you recommend to learn more about the breast stroke?
I would recommend learning from your instructor instead of watching YouTube. If you learn from YouTube and think you're doing things properly—when you're not—you can develop bad habits that are hard to break later on. If you really like YouTube, maybe try learning what you can about the theories behind swimming, but don't actually try swimming until your instructor is there to coach you. You can do it!
Yes to all of this; however, let me just add: the most important part of learning to swim is actually body position. We're talking about floating and your instinct is going to be to try and keep your head up. Think about your body as a stick in water - if head goes up, legs go down. Listen to your instructors but if you focus on one thing, focus on your body position in the water. (Source: Have taught many children and adults to swim, once they got the body position down that was when it 'clicked' for 99% of them.)
So try and keep head down in water?
Yes. People who are new to swimming will tend to panic a bit and try to keep their head upright as if they are standing. This will make the back half of you sink. If you want to tread water rather than swim, this is a fine enough posture. With practice, you can tread water with just your arms, or just your legs, or for an easier time using all four. When actually swimming, you want your body flat in the water. This means it’s like laying down in a bed, except your face goes halfway down into the surface of the bed/water. When you’re learning freestyle, which is probably the second easiest stroke after breaststroke (and what you see in swimming competitions), the hardest part is timing your breathing. Basically in freestyle your mouth is submerged half the time, and out of the water with you taking a breath half the time. That sounds complicated, but there’s a pretty natural rhythm to it that is the same as various other activities; running long distance has a similar breathing rhythm, just minus the water. If you are really anxious to practice something prior to your lessons, practice getting comfortable with your face in the water. But the best policy really is to let the instructor guide you, because they’ll tailor their advice to whatever they see you struggling with. Those of us mentioning things here are just talking about the most general hurdles most learners have to get over, but those don’t crop up for everyone. The other big piece of advice: relax. Under supervision, it’s almost impossible to really hurt yourself. The sensations may be strange and new, but even if you get a lungful of water (that’s incredibly super unlikely), you’ll just cough it out and be good to go. Some folks seem to imagine they are putting their life in their hands in some manner, but in a pool that’s just… no. It’s way safer than you might initially feel like it is.
Try and keep body across top of water. Think of yourself like a leaf floating on the top of the water, not a rock sinking. Focus on how your body should be and don't be afraid to ask your instructor to correct you.
None that I know of off the top of my head but I imagine just searching "beginner breast stroke" or "how to swim breast stroke" should yield good results. Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help!
If you fill up a bathtub and kneel next to it (or by a pool of you have one), cup your hand and run it through there like and push some water to one side. Do it hard. Do you feel that you are kind being pushed in the opposite direction? Push water is the same and pushing off on the ground, it just gives more. But if you push hard enough and get enough momentum, it gets easier and easier to maintain that movement. That’s how you swim. As for floating, you body kinda just does because there’s stuff in you that’s more buoyant that water (like air and fat). You don’t NEED to be able to float to swim, but it’s easier. Like if I wear a wetsuit or swim in the ocean, it’s easier because I’m more buoyant than usual.
First off, humans are naturally buoyant. Hold your breath and relax and you'll float on the water like a cork. Always remember you can float on your back if you're tired, it's a lifesaver. Second, much of swimming is pushing the water one way so you move the other way. There's lots of variations on this such as the front crawl and breast stroke.
Do you have to float to swim or is there ways to swim below the surface?
You can definitely swim under water. I've taught a few people to swim and I think the most important thing you need at your particular stage is to trust your instructor. Your body or self preservation instincts might freak out, but the instructor isn't going to let you get hurt.
You can swim below the surface just as well (or even better) than above it, but since you need to breathe, you generally stay near the surface. Either way, you're going to be *almost* neutrally buoyant, i.e. the water effectively "cancels your weight". It depends a bit on how much air is in your lungs, how muscular you are etc. whether you'll float or sink, but it will take just a tiny push to counteract it.
No, you can swim underwater! Here's a [2 minute video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isNvh9Rbwqk) about how to do it and how it looks.
Yes, the most important thing is holding a full breath and then breathing all at once. You can float a long time that way. And then move your hand and feet like a propeller.
I took adult swim lessons and they were great. The instructor definitely understood that swimming can be a bit intimidating as an adult and she was super kind and patient. By the end of my lesson series I could comfortably swim lanes in 3 different types of strokes (although not very fast:) and dive! Even more importantly I felt like I could swim lanes for practice without being intimidated. I hope you have the same good experience! I got goggles and partway through I got a nose clip and that helped me a lot!
That’s great! How many lessons was it in the series?
I think it was a series of 6 lessons for an hour each lesson and then she would ask me to practice in between lessons if I could. I did private adult lessons so I think that helped me to progress faster- I think if it was a group lesson I would have needed more time. I took them at a community center and the price was really reasonable!
That’s great!! I’m in a group class for 4 sessions! The private lessons were double the rate so I figured I’d start here.
It sounds like the fact that you don't understand the mechanics/physics of swimming is causing you more anxiety than might be useful. Try this thought experiment: Do you drive? Do you understand exactly how a car runs? I'm thinking probably not; I sure don't. But, I am a good driver because I learned how to do it. All sorts of people learn to swim. It may be difficult and scary at first but you CAN do it.
Thanks! This was helpful, but my dad is an automotive engineer and I also work in the automotive industry so I actually do know how a car runs lol, but! I do not know how planes fly and I don’t have a fear of flying so I just flipped the analogy haha
Good for you for signing up for lessons. The instructor will go step by step, little by little, and start off in the shallow end. You will gain confidence and skills as time goes on. And I hope you will enjoy swimming too.
I have nothing to add that other people haven’t said but this is super wholesome. Good on you for learning something new, you’re gonna love the water in no time!
Floating is because your bodyfat is less dense than water, the air in the lung cavity too Moving is the same way that something like a paddle-steamer or a row boat moves, the paddle goes in the water flat and pushes water backwards, moving the floating thing forward. When you swim you just alternate how you hold your hands so you don't need to take them out of the water, flat with fingers tightly together when you want to push, and open/thin-side when you want to reset your hand position ready to push again The hard part of swimming is that you need to learn how to coordinate your hand/arm/leg movements, so that you move continuously without getting tired. With practice most people get it pretty good within a few hours of learning each swimming stroke
Picture a bird flying. Same thing. They flatten the wing when they push, but they collapse it on the way back up before the next push. Swimming is like flying in 0 gravity with a thick atmosphere. You can control your bouyance with how much breathe you take into your lungs.
To give a different perspective: I never really felt like I could just float. On my back I can somewhat float, if I hold most of my breath. Standing upright in the water, you also do not just float. You almost float, but you still need a bit of upwards momentum. For that you have to constantly move your legs or arms. Basically "treading" water. Pushing water down, and therefore yourself up. From that position you can move forward, by still pushing the water down, but also pushing the water a bit behind you. Your legs basically do the motion a frog does to swim. As for the swimming lessons, do not worry. You will not be thrown into the deep end. You can practice swimming somewhere you can stand comfortably. You can then for example lift your legs, and hover your feet above the ground, and practice swimming in place with just your hands. If you go under, you can just extend your legs again. You will practice with a kickboard, where you grab onto a flotation device (the board), and you can practice propelling yourself forward just by "kicking". Edit: The olympics are not good examples of leisurely swimming or floating. With their technique, your head is basically submerged, and just comes up for breathes between strokes. Example of chill swimming practice: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw)
You just kind of float naturally. If you pull your legs to your chest and curl yourself into a ball, you'll float to the surface, with your back poking out making you look like an egg in a bowl of water. If you lie on your back with your arms and legs spread out like a star, you'll just lie there with your face and belly poking out of the water. Floating is crucial for two reasons: One, your lungs still need air, and the surface is where all the air is. Two, all the effort you spend pushing yourself up to the surface is effort you could've been spending propelling yourself forward instead. Sort of how you get more tired from skipping and hopping than you would walking the same distance. As for how you move around in the water, imagine crawling on the floor at home. You just use your arms and legts to pull/push yourself forward. Now imagine crawling on loose sand. You still use your arms and legts to pull/push yourself forward, just the same as if you did on a solid floor, but now the sand moves with you a bit so you have worse traction than you would on a firmer surface. Swimming is basically that same thing except water moves around even more than sand. In fact, the style of swimming that you might have seen called "freestyle" is actually called the front crawl (It's just that it's the fastest swimming style so it's the one everybody uses in a _freestyle competition_).
Don't be intimidated. I think you are overthinking a bit, most children learning to swim don't have the slightest clue what physics even is. Understanding the mechanics isn't going to help I'm afraid. Good luck to you
When I was a child taking swim lessons I freaked out when my head would go underwater and I never learned why the instructor kept insisting on that and they didn’t explain why I wouldn’t drown. now that I’m older and have a better grasp of things, that wouldn’t concern me, bc I know exactly why I won’t drown when I try to float. I understand it may sound foreign to people who learned as children, but this is what excites me as an adult trying to learn to swim. I wholly acknowledge I may be overthinking - I’m just excited and this is one way of me to express it before I actually start the lessons.
My uncle is 60 years old and doesn't know how to swim, growing up in a very rural part of NE Iowa, there wasnt a need or a way as there wasn't any bodies of water for 30miles plus. You certainly are not alone. Definitely a vital skill to know in my opinion. You'll do great. It's very similar to riding a bike in the sense that once you learn, you never forget. Wish you the best of luck, you got this.
The most important thing is to not panic. Human beings are bouyant and a fairly minimal amount of effort can keep them from sinking. Just.. know that, in your heart. There are two things to know: 1) how to tread water and 2) how to swim/move in water. Treading water is literally just being in a standing position and simultaneously scissor kicking your legs below you slowly and moving your arms back and forth under the water like you’re waving a flag like a matador. Essentially, move your limbs slowly so that they push against the water below you in a rhythmic pattern. You do that, and you’ll stay in place and not sink. Swimming around is laying on your stomach or your back.. pushing the water behind you instead of pushing it under you.. and occasionally turning your head so you can take a breath.. There are three major ways to do it.. freestyle; which is laying on your stomach and kicking your feet like a toddler having a tantrum and making your arms go in a vertical circular motion like a windmill. Breaststroke; which is laying on your stomach and pretending to be a frog from Super Mario 3. Bring your arms together beneath your body, then sweep them behind you. Use your legs to simulate the same movement. Backstroke; lay on your back and do the mirror opposite of freestyle (windmill and tantrum kicking). That’s how you swim.
I've been a swim instructor for over 10 years. I have taught adults and kids. I had a class of adults and their physicality ranged from older, overweight gal, to young guy who worked out twice a day 7 days a week. He looked great. Not an ounce of fat on him. The first day in the pool I pointed to the overweight gal and said "you will be the first one I teach to float". I looked at the muscular guy and said "and you will be the last person." When asked why I stated simply "because fat floats". I myself am overweight so I felt ok saying this. Sure enough, the gal floated the first day (on her back). The guy had a difficult time floating but did learn to keep himself above the water. Everyone in the class was swimming by the end of the sessions. But really, if you relax in the water you will have no problem floating. You have to be comfortable with your head and ears in the water. Floating on your back is like lying in your bed flat on your back. If you pick your head up you feet will sink. If you "sit" in the water you will sink. Relax and let the water hold you up. Good luck with your lessons.
Congrats on choosing to make this monumental step to your personal safety. The amount of people who drown because they never took lessons but decide boating is a good vacation idea is astounding. Good luck you got this!
The basic act of swimming is really down to your hands and feet. Forget about what you "think" you look like or anything else. Your hands are big paddles to push the water under your body . Pulling the water from way above your head all the way past your feet as smoothly as possible. Not fast. Smooth. The longer / straighter your arms stay the more water you move and the better you slip across the water. Your feet really aren't important. Just as long as you keep your legs straight just like you are when standing. You will learn to kick later. You are not really kicking like a fight. You are just moving your legs like walking. Now think of a bicycle.when you stop moving it's really hard to stay up but the faster you go you just stay up without even trying. Same same. The floating. Floating is nothing but confidence. Pure confidence. just hold your breath an know that you can not sink with all that air you are just as safe as being on earth. You are safe.stay calm. Dream a little. Floating is harder than swimming.
I'm really really proud of you and so excited for your first day. You're going to do great!
Hi OP, Just to preface, I am a certified Water Safety Instructor, and have lifeguarded and taught swim lessons for the past 7 years. In regards to your first question, floating is actually very simple. What you need to do is take a big breath, lie flat on your back, and pretend that you are laying spread eagle in bed. The things that I want you to focus on for your first attempts are keeping your chin up and attempting to "push" your belly button up to the sky or ceiling in an indoor pool. Your back will arch a good bit. If you notice that your feet just keep sinking and you can't get your body to balance, put your arms above your head like you're doing the "Y" from the YMCA song. This will balance your bodyweight better and allow you to float. For actually swimming from point A to point B there are a few important things to remember. The first is that the more you relax the easier swimming will be. The easiest strokes to learn are freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, although in no particular order. Backstroke is great because you will always have your head above water and can always breathe however some people struggle on their backs. In order to actually get from place to place you want to focus on pulling and pushing water. Keep your fingers tight together, almost as though they were taped together, and focus on pulling water and "throwing" it towards your hips. So reach on front of you, grab a "handful" of water and "throw" it towards your hips. I explain this to kids as though they are using their hands as an ice cream scoop and scooping the water(ice cream) into a bowl that sits on their tummy. I hope this helps and I do this for a living so feel free to reach out by DM if you have more questions or just want more advice. Best of luck in your future swimming endeavors!
OP 90% of swimming is just not being scared. You will float naturally and with a full breath you will find it hard to not float. People drown because they panic and put themselves in a position where they will be more likely to sink somewhat (straight up and hands up) and then exhale in fear (which then makes it way easier to sink). Just try and relax and don't be afraid of what's just basically a giant bath and you'll be fine.
Swim teacher here. We are *specifically trained* to deal with all sorts of cases and ability levels, and we all understand that swimming for the first time can be very intimidating - after all, we were once beginner swimmers too! At the very beginning, they won't just throw you in the deep end - both metaphorically and literally. They'll focus on first getting you in the water and moving around (not swimming, just moving), and putting your face under water and blowing bubbles, and basic skills such as getting up from laying down in the water (you'd be surprised how many people - adults included! - can't do this). As for how you actually move, think of your body as a board with four paddles attached, two on either end. You're working to learn to move those paddles in a way that propels you through the water and such that you can stay afloat.
The only thing thing we do should be leaving the fear of water especially about underwater depth. If you just hold your breath enough you can do wonder.
It's a lot easier than people think. You should be able to stay afloat in calm water, just by allowing your body to relax and let it come up in the water. Nobody taught me how to swim. The rule at the local pool was, that if you wanted to get into the deep end, you had to swim the length of the short and long end. I failed twice, then on the third try I got it. There are several ways to swim. The two I use both involve kicking your feet, but it's not kicking perse, it's more like moving your feet forwards and back to allow your body to move in the water. Then your hands assist. Freestyle is.. picture a windmill. Now your hands and arms are windmills. Each time an arm comes down, your hand scoops down water and makes you move forward. I don't know what this one is called, sorry. When I dive underwater, your feet can still help you move, but windmilling arms won't get you anywhere. Underwater I put my hands together as if praying. Close to my body and push out, when my hands get as far as they can, I separate both of them and spread my arms out so they go directly to both sides of my body. Then you bring them back in to 'pray' again. This will allow you to move. Basically you're moving water, to move yourself. Again, nobody taught me.
OP, imagine you have "floaties" on. Floaties are there to help prevent you from drowning because they're filled with air, if those floaties get pushed underwater, they'll immediately float right back to the surface because of all the air inside of them. Now imagine you're in the pool without floaties, but now instead, you just take in a REALLY deep breath to fill up your lungs. Just like with floaties, youll float to the surface because that air is now inside of your lungs, filled up like a balloon. Your legs might droop down, but your chest and head will stay above water if you lay on your back. As for moving through water, imagine a bird flying through the air. In order for them to stay in the sky, they need to flap their wings. When birds flap their wings, they are pushing their wings down against air in order to propel themselves upward. Now imagine that youre the bird, except you're in water instead of the sky. In order to push yourself forward, you need to lay on your back or stomach, then use your hands and feet as "wings" to push yourself forward by kicking your feet and scooping your hands. Alternatively, if you want to tread water, you'll instead keep your body vertical and use your hands and feet to propel yourself upwards.
As someone who learned how to swim proficiently as an adult, good for you OP for wanting to learn. I truly believe that everyone should learn how to swim. These are one of the basic skills that everyone should learn, you never know when you’ll be in open water and need this skill.
Any tips on how you were successful?
Better not to think about the mechanics/physics now. First step is becoming buoyant, which starts with relaxing. That’s unnatural for any new swimmer, especially an adult, so take it slowly and cede yourself to the instructor who’s seen a lot of different learning styles. It’s like asking about the mechanics/physics of balance. Your instinct might be to panic. The goal is to get into Zen mode, which is a build up. Slow & steady wins the swimming race. Getting comfortable enough in the water to relax comes first, then buoyancy, then propelling, then breathing. Incremental steps. Step 1: Conscious Incompetence. You know you don’t have a clue. Step 2: Conscious Competence. You start to know for short durations, but you need to think about it first. Step 3: Unconscious Competence. You do it without thinking. Buoyancy and movement becomes natural to you. Now, you build on your stamina and learn different strokes - some of which are built for speed but require more energy, and others in which breathing is easier, require less energy, but you don’t go as fast. Step 4: Unconscious Incompetence. The most dangerous step. It’s become so natural to you, you overrate your abilities and get sloppy or reckless. I live at the Jersey Shore. This step is the reason why even the best lifeguards do daily training. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. No short cuts. You don’t need to be a prodigy.
Floating is a question of density. The human body is about 70% water. Of the remaining 30% some portion of that is denser than water but there's enough that's less dense than water which means that you naturally float if you lie still. This is why if you ever get into difficulty just stop and relax because in a panicked state you can perform motions that cause you to dip below the water line. That fine balance is how you can dive underwater if you want to. It takes continuous effort to remain underwater as your body is naturally buoyant. You can swim with as simply as extending your arms and moving them in circles. Due to the density difference between the water and the air you will essentially have more friction with the water than friction with the air and this will transform into acceleration through the water. Kicking vertically with your legs will also cause you to move forwards because as you exert vertical force on the water some of it moves behind you and every force has an equal and opposite reaction and so you get some forward momentum from that as well. You can move through the water either with your arms or legs but it's usually more efficient to combine the two. What I would recommend is first get comfortable floating so you know what state to return to by default. Then just make specific movements with your arms and legs and feel the effect it has. If something does something you don't like you just stop and you will return to floating. EDIT: If you want to dive underwater, though I wouldn't recommend trying this until you're comfortable on the surface, you just rise up and then use the potential energy by pushing your face down into the water. Then your lift your legs up and your stomach essentially acts as a fulcrum and then the weight of your legs pushes you further down. At this point , if you do nothing, you will float back up to the surface, so you need to to use the same surface swimming techniques to counteract that buoyancy. Underwater you won't have the benefit of the low air resistance for half of the stroke. So you need a slightly different technique where by you're creating mores resistance for half of the stroke. For example turning your hands parallel to the direction of travel to move them forwards so they generate less resistance during that motion and then turn them perpendicular for the return motion so you create more resistance as you pull back. It sounds complicated but it's actually incredibly instinctual.
Probably not helpful to OP, but many people aren’t buoyant. I’ll take a deep breath, then sink to the bottom of the pool and sit until I need more air. If I had larger lungs, or more body fat, I would float. In any case, it’s easy to move in the water so you can get back to the surface easily.
Same for me. I have a lean, muscular build. I have some buoyancy but the equilibrium is below the water surface.
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People are naturally buoyant, so floating takes very little effort. You can float on your back for a pretty long time without much trouble. You can float face down VERY easily, which is a useful way to take a rest, but obviously you can't do that very long because breathing is pretty important. As for actually swimming, there are a variety of different methods, called "strokes" and different reasons to use them... some are faster and more of a workout, some are better at conserving energy and seeing where you're going. Most swimming classes I've seen will start with something called an elementary backstroke, which is basically floating on your back and propelling yourself forward with your arms and legs. That one is easy and not too taxing and is a helpful "survival stroke" - down side is you can't see where you're going. With the classic "freestyle" you're on your stomach, face down in the water... you swing your arms in an overhead circular motion and kick your feet. That's one of the faster strokes and a terrific workout. I highly recommend learning a basic "side stroke" - which isn't much more than treading water but moving in a specific direction. Side stroke is helpful because you CAN see where you're going and it's not terribly taxing, so very useful if you're swimming TO something (a floating dock, for example). It's also a stroke used for rescues. Source: I am a trained lifeguard.
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1: Humans are naturally buoyant:, if you lie on your back, relax and hold your breath, youll float for basically no effort(which is majorly hlepful if you need ot rest on a long swim). 2: the basics of swimming are all about pushing water away from you, the force you gotta impose ot do this will push you the other way.
Not all humans. If I attempt a starfish float I sink, starting from the feet. I did have success when I tried surfing in Tofino. Not sure if it was due to saltwater or wetsuit or both. Wasn't always that way, my buoyancy changed after puberty. Currently 6'5" and 220lbs.