This is the stroke I used when I did the mile swim when I was in a Navy water survival school. I did a mile in an hour in a flight suit. Granted, I’m naturally quite buoyant, but I’m not a real swimmer by any stretch. Still, this backstroke was easily doable for me.
Incidentally, in the same survival class, one instructor did a demonstration that I repeated myself, although I don’t understand why it worked. He started in a relaxed float, then he consciously tensed his muscles, and he began to sink. He did not exhale, he did not move, he just tensed. Like I said, I was able to do the same thing. I never understood how this worked, but it could explain why some people just can’t float - they’re way too tense.
I’d argue that “swim to the other end of the pool” is no more physically demanding than say, walking a quarter mile. Sure, there are some who can’t do this, but for people who know the basics of swimming I would not say that “many” people cannot do it.
Wow, thats a new one to me. Are you guys seriously saying that there are people who have negative boyancy? How can this be? I can not imagine anything easier than floating face up in the water. Fill your lungs with air, lean back, and…float.
I’m a floater - fill my lungs, and my ears clear the water line. Bob like a cork.
I’ve got a friend who floats about 2 feet underwater with full lungs. Swims like a fish, too. But takes skill to stay on top (he opted for diving, rather than swimming for some strange reason…)
Anyway, I was watching a PBS show on sailing (1600’s), and they noted that sailors of that period generally did not learn to swim. Why not? Because the chances of being rescued at sea were pretty slim - basically a miracle would have to occur. They’d rather drown than keep themselves afloat long enough to be eaten by sharks or be tormented by thirst and hunger and THEN drown. Very pragmatic, given the reasonable odds.
I guess it must be like driving a stick shift: if you know how, you’re amazed that everyone can’t do it.
When I think of myself in the above situation, I see myself gently paddling with my feet extended, and a continuous downward sweeping motion with my hands at my side. It’s not effortless, but it seems to me instinctive.
Maybe not. (Didn’t know that the apes can’t swim, but then again, didn’t know that elephants COULD!)
Definitely two schools of fish here. I totally agree with Bongmaster, but then again, I LIKE enclosed spaces like elevators. But make me climb a rock, and I’ll be sweating bullets before I even get a glimpse of it.
So I guess we have to accept that there’s a large segment of the human population that just does not like being in water without solid ground underfoot.
I could swim before I could walk. My mom taught me when I was 2 months old. She said she just would blow air in my face so that I would hold my breath and then she would just dunk me under the water. I used to live at my grandparents house. They had a 12ft deep pool in their backyard. I don’t know how common it is. But my friend said his little sister could swim at 2 months. Although he does make things up sometimes. It would be good to mention right now that I was an incredibly fat baby. But I was capable of going under the water. Actually, no one could keep me above it. They said my grandpa tried many times to teach me to swim above the water. And I still always swim under it to this day. I have really bad technique above it, I loose energy fast.
I can’t imagine a full grown adult without a fear of the water not being able to swim. I would have to see it to believe it.
A couple of thoughts. I believe it’s panic that causes people to drown.
I feel blessed that my father made a decision early in my life that he wanted me to know how to swim under damn near any circumstances. In his words, “I made sure that you were around the water so much, that you had no choice but to be comfortable in and around it.” They tell me I was once found at the bottom of the pool, sitting there, looking up, happy as a fish in clean clear water. This is while I was an infant, and the family was deployed to Turkey (ok, dad was, we just tagged along) in the '70s.
The closest I’ve ever come to a full out panic was on my 2nd scuba dive. I ran out of air (the gauge had plenty left on it, but none to the regulator) at 15’, and following a VERY quick ascent, I had nothing to put into the vest to give me some boyancy. I was able to use the manual inflation valve though.
Thankfully the skills taught to me by my father, and the nice folks associated with the Red Cross swim instruction program, saved the day, and allowed me to do what I needed to do, without that panic of fear. It was close though, and I understood easily, how some folks panic in those sort of situations.
To those that can’t swim, I’d encourage a basic class, to those that are afraid, I’d recommend that you never get close enough to water to have this be an issue.
Personally, I’m off to the pond in my neighborhood in 3 hours if 1) the lightning ain’t out, and 2) if I survive the ride home. I’m there for about 45min-3 hours every day. Couldn’t imagine life without it, and I miss swimming in the winter.
As an accomplished ‘floater,’ I can achieve complete negative bouyancy by exhaling deeply. I’m assuming that the person who claims they can not be bouyant hasn’t really learned the deep holding of breath skill.
I love water. I swim for exercise. I do open water swims for fun. According to my parents, I’ve always loved swimming (infancy up). My only even slightly major injury in life was a swimming injury (ok, diving, technically but still in a pool) and I’ve never been afraid of water.
Still, for me the formula is fill my lungs with air, lean back, and be a few feet under water. (I think it’s partially due to body fat percentage, partially due to body proportions (I have a bizarrely short torso and very long legs), partially due to lung capacity (I have none), and I’m sure there are other factors I haven’t even thought of) And being underwater like that is actually very relaxing, almost hypnotic. But that’s because I’m also aware that I know how to swim, that I can get to the surface, and that I’ll be fine.
If I want to keep above the surface, I’ve got to scull.
So many teachers I’ve seen over stress the whole floating thing way too much (forget crawl, they never get to crawl). Which is great, if you float. But if you’re a person who doesn’t float and you’re already slightly apprehensive about water, being told to “do this, this, and this” doing those steps, and still sinking is terrifying. Of course, then the instructors begin to lose patience, and the learner gets more stressed and more scared and things go downhill from there. Bad situation all around.
Somebody’s not listening closely (reading carefully).
Let me try one more time;
Lungs full of air, with above average capacity.
Not at all tense, or fearful.
Know how to float, was taught by a professional.
Not tense.
Not fearful. Love to snorkle, but I use a float.
Do everything right, with a pro present.
Totally relaxed in water.
And I sink, all the way to the bottom. I can do what I’ve learned here to be the breast stroke, but I will eventually tire.
Is that somehow difficult to understand? Idon’tfloatidon’tfloatIdon’tfloatperiod
Not bouyant. Specific gravity of 1.something. Dense.
Not tense.
Wanna step outside?
BTW; I haven’t tried to float in over 30 years.
Peace,
mangeorge
Can’t swim? Just remember the lyrics of Loudon Wainwright III in “The Swimming Song”:
This summer I went swimming
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around.
I moved my arms around.
mangeorge and others. You can easily survive in 10 feet of water even if you have no swimming skills or sink like a rock.
If you find yourself in this situation or just want to try it at the local pool you can do the following;
Take a deep breath and then allow yourself to sink. Feet first- right to the bottom.
When you get to the bottom push yourself back up with your legs and take a deep breath at the surface and repeat until youre comfortable doing it. Then try variations. Like holding the breath longer, doing it slower, going down upside-down and then pushing up with your arms and such. Just have fun. Play in the water. You wont panic after the first couple of times and it will be the easiest thing you can do. Once your brain knows where the bottom is you can do this very comfortably and it can be used to keep yourself alive in any reasonable depth of water. Ive done it in 20 feet of water myself. Its only scary until you find the bottom, then your body relaxes and confidence takes over. What youre doing is using your bodies natural tendency to sink to your advantage.
Being comfortable in the water is the first step in becoming relaxed enough to be able to swim. Once you`ve masterd this fear, swimming should be a natural next step.
I can tread water, but I use too much energy when I do it and get tired fast. Probably because I don’t swim too often. But mostly because I kick too hard. More than is necessary to float.
Here’s a question for the dopers who like to swim: Do you prefer swimming under water, or on the surface?
I like swimming under water, holding my breath. You don’t really think about “treading water” when your under the surface - just swimming up when your breath is running low. Maybe scuba-diving with an air tank is more for guys like me.
Inspired by whuckfistle, and an old memory;
A fun trick for people who sink;
Lie flat on your back, with your eyes open, on the bottom in 6 feet or so of water and watch the reaction on the first lucky person to see you.
I think part of the problem with panic is your movements become quick and jerky rather than slow and languid. When I tred water my legs move back and forth very slow, my arms spread wide and cycling slowly too. I have to move just a little faster when I exhale and become less boyant. By doing this I could stay above water for an hour before I started getting really tired. I highly encourage you to try it if you never have, in the shallow part of the pool where you can still touch bottom. You’ll realize in about 10 minutes that you never had anything to fear.
Cats can swim naturally because they are quadrupeds, we dont swim naturally because we evolved into bipeds. In swimming you are propelled by 4 limbs, all quadrupeds have good co-ordination of 4 limbs and the motion by which most 4 legged animals move makes up the drag propulsion of ‘dog paddle’ - plus although I’m not a vet animals tend not to analyse swimming/water like us ‘more evolved’. I’m sure someone somewhere has a dog who is scared of water having said that…
We dont swim naturally because of the way we propel ourselves. We are land animals and have to be taught or teach ourselves.
I spent my entire childhood and teen years and a good part of my early adult years at the beach body surfing. I could only swim well enough to catch a wave. I even took swimming lessons as a kid. Now that I am older I can actually float so no more worries.
