I'm too dense.
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bluebirdbiker posted 2 years ago.
I was told the best thing to stay afloat is to kick and do not expell all the air from the lungs when breathing. Other than that, ya, wear the wetsuit.
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There are no excuses - so don't look for them. As a product of your own choices, you directly determine your life outcomes.
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CAcyclingFAN posted 2 years ago.
These work like a charm!
But seriously, the two things I know that keep your legs up while swimming are forward motion (going faster) and kicking. You may want to check out your feet during your kick. You need to have flexible ankles and your toes pointed backwards for your kick to be effective. There are probably other things but those are two that I know which can help.
When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. - Thoreau
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RV posted 2 years ago.
I am in a similar situation - 6'2" and 169 lbs. I am a sinker in the pool. I "float" completely vertical - Guess that means that my body fat is predominatly located in my head... I initially worked through TI drills to help with body positioning and rotation. That helped some. There is some discussion on the site regarding swimming downhill - TI also references that I believe. I also put a lot of time in to working on drills from Rich Strauss - That has made the biggest difference for me - previously I kicked harder to keep my legs up - and succedded in tiring myself out - now I can kick much easier and my legs stay up - I notice that when my form starts to go - my legs drop like an anchor. It just takes a lot of time drilling to get the proper form and stroke.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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Triguy98 posted 2 years ago.
I'm in the same boat as you body type wise. I have never been able to just float in the pool. However, I CAN swim and not sink. Take a look at TI if this is a persistant problem. Sounds like poor body positioning in the water and/ or improper hand entry.
Per TI, i find that slicing my hand in at a steeper angle (more towards the floor of the pool) helps prevent sinking. Find a masters coach. Theyre great.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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jsoder posted 2 years ago.
Easy to fix, and bluebirdbiker hit on it. Treat your upper body as your flotation buoy and lean on it...almost like you are going to swim downwards but keep your head up looking ahead at about 45 degrees. Also, as you refine your stroke and gain core strength, you will get smoother at transferring power throughout your entire stroke and will be able to put your body in any position you like. Don't worry, your not too dense...it will come with practice...it did for me and probably everyone at some point.
Jeremy
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Beldrueger posted 2 years ago.
I'm a pretty dense 6'2" and 175, and I can say that it is all just form. The previous posts covered off on it, but you really just need to get some more guidance on your body positioning and practice, practice, practice.
Look at male olympic swimmers and they aren't exactly "bouyant".
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rbreddin75 posted 2 years ago.
6' - 175#
Swimming downhill as described by jsoder is the trick for me...
Im not where I wanna be, but I know how to get there now.....
Good Luck
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bluebirdbiker posted 2 years ago.
That's a pic of CACyclingFAN as a kid. He started Tris early :)
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There are no excuses - so don't look for them. As a product of your own choices, you directly determine your life outcomes.
Don't think, just do.
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VTIRON posted 2 years ago.
Yep - me too. Think about swimming over a barrel and kick with a straight leg from the hip not letting the knees bend.
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thehitman posted 2 years ago.
Sorry dudes, but all this talk about kicking is really off target, in my opinion.
I sank all my life and thought it had something to do with my body. The funny thing was that I sank when I was a skinny kid with single digit fat percentages, and I sank when I was a middle-aged, overweight couch potato.
Within a couple of weeks of reading the book Total Immersion, I was, as they say, "floating like a cork." It all has to do with body position. Check out the TI book, videos, DVDs or seminars.
thehitman
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain
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trimedic posted 2 years ago.
"Press the boey".....press you chest toward the bottom of the pool and your legs will rise. I don't think it has much to do with your kick. It's pressing your chest that will cause your legs to pop up. I have never had trouble floating, what does that mean exactly. No it's not that I have fat deposits in the correct places....I press my boey. :D
Do a length of pushing off and floating. You will notice a difference when you press you chest down toward the bottom of the pool and when you don't.
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vmarwin posted 2 years ago.
Thanks very much everyone! This article was also a lot of help:
http://www.phillyfitmagazine.com/Articles/Jan-06/WaitingtoExhale.pdf
On a side note, I just ordered a new wetsuit, Xterra Vector 2 Pro Full which I'm looking forward to using, after reading lots of reccomendations from all of you in a previous wetsuit thread I decided to go full, my old wetsuit was a QR UltraJohn, and I'm looking forward to the arm coverage.
If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.
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SundayND posted 2 years ago.
vmarwin wrote:
On a side note, I just ordered a new wetsuit, Xterra Vector 2 Pro Full ...
to continue that side note - I borrowed an Xterra Vector 2 full from a friend and it rocked! It's the best wetsuit I've ever worn. Saving up for one now.
Back on the topic, my swim coach recently told me to "dig deeper" with my stroke, meaning swim downward more. I don't have the sinking issue as much, but I tend to keep my stroke too flat and lose a lot of power. So far the swimming downward thing is working well.
I pity da fool!
When I swim in the pool, I always have to use a pull buoy, whether I'm drilling or just lap swimming. I'm too dense. I'm a slim 6'2" 165 and I have very little body fat so when I'm in the pool with a speedo, I have trouble keeping my legs up. Needless to say, I love swimming with my wetsuit for the flotation. Anyone else in my situation?
If you wish to be out front, then act as if you were behind.