Swimming- unusual problem + how to improve?
Discussion
Hello
Who here can explain this? I can swim, i'm not very good, but I can swim. Back stroke, front stroke, breast stroke.
BUT I cannot float on the water. Try as hard as I can, my legs will eventually sink, dragging my body with them. I cannot just lie back and stay still.
So, how can I swim? Simple, I HAVE to keep my legs moving. But not treading water. For example if I try and float, I will lie back and as long as my legs are gently moving, I will be able to stay afloat.
If I am doing the back stroke my legs are moving at a very fast pace, and after a few lengths again I am to tired to continue.
In what I think is a side effect of this, it also means i'm very inefficient in the water and after perhaps 2 or 3 lengths I become very tired.
So, who here can give me some pointers on how to stay afloat and how to improve my swimming stoke/technique? I love to swim, but because i'm evidently so bad at it I avoid it, which is really very silly and I want to conquer this.
Thank you
ET.
Who here can explain this? I can swim, i'm not very good, but I can swim. Back stroke, front stroke, breast stroke.
BUT I cannot float on the water. Try as hard as I can, my legs will eventually sink, dragging my body with them. I cannot just lie back and stay still.
So, how can I swim? Simple, I HAVE to keep my legs moving. But not treading water. For example if I try and float, I will lie back and as long as my legs are gently moving, I will be able to stay afloat.
If I am doing the back stroke my legs are moving at a very fast pace, and after a few lengths again I am to tired to continue.
In what I think is a side effect of this, it also means i'm very inefficient in the water and after perhaps 2 or 3 lengths I become very tired.
So, who here can give me some pointers on how to stay afloat and how to improve my swimming stoke/technique? I love to swim, but because i'm evidently so bad at it I avoid it, which is really very silly and I want to conquer this.
Thank you
ET.
if your a man, and you try and float just by doing nothing, you can't
girls can, most men can't , so don't worry
the rest of your post I can't make sense of, swimming is technique, improve technique you'll be able to swim longer and with less effort.
girls can, most men can't , so don't worry
the rest of your post I can't make sense of, swimming is technique, improve technique you'll be able to swim longer and with less effort.
Edited by z4chris99 on Monday 2nd July 21:40
k all to do with it extraT said:
Because (I have been told, rightly or wronbgly, i'm not sure) that this is the reason i'm inefficient in the water, and also do not like going into very deep water.
Er does the person who told you this have any qualifications of any sort? y'know..like Swim coach or psychologist?Normally people don't like deep water because they think about what might be swimming round beneath them..
Why do you want to just float anyway? I am a strong swimmer and I can't just float. Flatten your body, swim slower but focus on good technique (reach and breathing) and swim often so you can remember what happened last time and where you are trying to improve.
Kicking will help you flatten your body if you're doing crawl or backstroke. With breast stroke, try breathe, sink, armstroke, legstroke, glide. Concentrate on reach which will make you're position in the water more efficient.
Kicking will help you flatten your body if you're doing crawl or backstroke. With breast stroke, try breathe, sink, armstroke, legstroke, glide. Concentrate on reach which will make you're position in the water more efficient.
Sinking legs is a classic problem - have a gander at http://www.swimsmooth.com/
Good for visualising technique. (no connections etc...)
Good for visualising technique. (no connections etc...)
I also have this same problem and it puts me off going. Me and the girlfriend used to go every other week to try and get some exercise but after maybe 4-5 lengths I had to have a long rest before I could continue. My girlfriend however was able to just keep going and wondered wtf was wrong with me. It's not like I'm seriously unfit - I run to keep fit. I just can't swim!
Right - I was in a meeting before, so only dropped the link in.
First question would be are you swimming with your face in the water? If not - i.e. doing crawl with your head up and forwards, this will force your legs down.
Second, if you're face in, where are you looking? Looking too far forward will, again, make your legs sink. You need to be looking downwards and turning your head to the side for breathing. Count your strokes and look at the marks on the bottom to tell you when the end is coming up. Obviously if you're not in a lane swimming session this is harder, but people get the message if you stick to one side of the pool and cruise up and down.
Third, are you adequately rotating your body? Keeping very flat in the water is not only inefficient, but since your legs hinge at the waist (put simply), that's where they sink from. Having adequate rotation as you stroke with your right and left arm means your legs spend little time overall in a horizontal position.
Fourth, consider your kicking. A gentle flutter kick ought to be enough to keep the legs afloat. Also, point your toes. Feet create drag. After that, the problem stems from swimming posture and core strength.
Fifth, core strength. Chances are, your core isn't strong enough to support you in an efficient position, or you're not engaging it properly when you swim, so your legs sink, which acts like an anchor, slowing you down and tiring you out.
Do have a look at the swimsmooth website. It's a bit of an overall philosophy towards swimming technique and not everyone agrees with everything there, but there are plenty of hints and tips for free regarding technique and a lot of what's said makes a lot of sense. Youtube is good for videos too. Watching a pro swimmer and then trying to visualise whet they look like when you're in the water can help. You need to remember swimming really isn't about overall strength or CV fitness for most people. It's all about efficiency in the water. That's why a 13 year old girl who weighs six stone wet through can smoke you in a pool, despite you being able to lift her over your head.
ETA - and OP - it's not an unusual problem at all. It's a problem most recreational swimmers, myself included, suffer from.
First question would be are you swimming with your face in the water? If not - i.e. doing crawl with your head up and forwards, this will force your legs down.
Second, if you're face in, where are you looking? Looking too far forward will, again, make your legs sink. You need to be looking downwards and turning your head to the side for breathing. Count your strokes and look at the marks on the bottom to tell you when the end is coming up. Obviously if you're not in a lane swimming session this is harder, but people get the message if you stick to one side of the pool and cruise up and down.
Third, are you adequately rotating your body? Keeping very flat in the water is not only inefficient, but since your legs hinge at the waist (put simply), that's where they sink from. Having adequate rotation as you stroke with your right and left arm means your legs spend little time overall in a horizontal position.
Fourth, consider your kicking. A gentle flutter kick ought to be enough to keep the legs afloat. Also, point your toes. Feet create drag. After that, the problem stems from swimming posture and core strength.
Fifth, core strength. Chances are, your core isn't strong enough to support you in an efficient position, or you're not engaging it properly when you swim, so your legs sink, which acts like an anchor, slowing you down and tiring you out.
Do have a look at the swimsmooth website. It's a bit of an overall philosophy towards swimming technique and not everyone agrees with everything there, but there are plenty of hints and tips for free regarding technique and a lot of what's said makes a lot of sense. Youtube is good for videos too. Watching a pro swimmer and then trying to visualise whet they look like when you're in the water can help. You need to remember swimming really isn't about overall strength or CV fitness for most people. It's all about efficiency in the water. That's why a 13 year old girl who weighs six stone wet through can smoke you in a pool, despite you being able to lift her over your head.
ETA - and OP - it's not an unusual problem at all. It's a problem most recreational swimmers, myself included, suffer from.
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