Negative buoyancy, learning to swim?

[Javik]

I am not a diver, and a vague low to mid level swimmer. I can do the front crawl but it's a totally uncoordinated flailing mess, I don't get the whole hand-foot coordination thing.

I would like to learn to SCUBA dive but whether that will actually happen, don't know.

It would be nice to find someone who can tell me honestly if my experiences with floating are normal or if I'm just "naturally negative buoyant" and swimming will always be a struggle.


* Floating on my back only works if I REALLY arch my back hard, with my lungs kept nearly full of air just breathing out a little of the air.

* Natural floating comfortably upright, breathing with a mask and snorkel, is with my head about 4-5 inches below the waterline. I can put my hand over my head in the gap and it doesn't break the surface.

* If I breathe all the way out, I sink straight to the bottom, quite quickly I might add.

All these "intro to swimming" guides say how easy it is to float. It is not easy to float, it's quite hard, at least for me.

And swimming up from the 12 ft zone, after sinking to the bottom with no air in my lungs, is a lot of work. It's a struggle because I continue to sink back down, even as I try to swim up. It seems the only safe way to do this is to hyperventilate first to give a little reserve while trying to claw my way back from the bottom, since I've got nothing in my lungs.



So is this just simply normal, and most "learn to swim!" guides are just putting lipstick on a trout trying to claim floating and buoyancy is easier than it really is?

Or am I just naturally dense and will always have a harder time floating than others?

Having body fat sure doesn't do anything for making floating easier. I am not athletic. I am a desk surfer, I spend upwards of 12+ hrs a day in front of a computer. I'm a 40 year old guy, 5' 11" and about 240 lbs and "should" probably lose 60-80 of that.



I've found that most public swimming pools and the YMCA do not care if you wear a wetsuit. I get some odd stares at times but nobody says a word to me about wearing a full Orca triathlon wetsuit in the pool. Besides everyone else is basically nude except for a tiny square of fabric, while I come in with a full wetsuit and no weights.

The wetsuit allows me to float comfortably without struggling, but it also probably means I'm not learning to swim "the right way". Should I be learning to do it like everyone else, struggling to keep my head above water?


I doubt I can claim "buoyancy handicap" (person requires full wetsuit) to get a basic SCUBA certification. I can certainly work with that limitation myself, but doubt the instructor would allow it.

 

[Storker]

am I just naturally dense and will always have a harder time floating than others?

I would guess that this is the answer. IME, some people just are less buoyant, while others are more. I've heard the expression "about as buoyant as a crescent wrench/grapple anchor"

I can do the front crawl but it's a totally uncoordinated flailing mess, I don't get the whole hand-foot coordination thing.

Have you considered learning the breaststroke? It's a much more relaxing way of swimming than the front crawl, and it's the way children are taught swimming in other parts of the world. Besides, it'll give you a good basis for the frog kick, which is preferred by quite a few divers.

All these "intro to swimming" guides say how easy it is to float. It is not easy to float, it's quite hard, at least for me.

Even I, who is rather buoyant (I need about 4# to sink in the pool, even in my swimming trunks), don't float well if I lie still in the water. I lie on my back with my back arched, head back, feet up, but I still use my hands a little. I stretch them out and a little below me, with small calm hand motions back and forth, twisting my wrists just a little to give me a "wing lift" from the hand movements. If my feet drop, I'll start sinking.

 

[Steve_C]

I have swam all my life. At one point I was a WSI (water safety instructor) and could train life guards. I have never floated in fresh water unless I kept my lungs inflated and then it was barely. One little puff of air and I would sink. One reason some instrucors liked me to be the victim when testing. It was quite easy to stay on the surface with a slow treading of water. So you are within normal.

A key part of being a diver is being comfortable in the water and I would think it would be hard to be comfortable in the water if I could not swim. Would seem like a potential panic trigger.

Take some swim lessons. Get more comfortable in the water. For diving getting on boat etc I find the breast stroke more useful.

Many not very good swimmers kick from the knees or "pedal a bike". A much more powerful kick comes by kicking from the hips during the flutter kick. Takes a while to develop those muscles.

On scuba once you have developed your skills the arms are almost never used and you only kick when you want to get some where.

 

[archer1960]

Buoyancy and swimming skills are totally unrelated. When I was a teenager and into my 20s, I was naturally negative buoyant - I would sink with anything less than a completely full breath of air. However, I was still a strong swimmer, and passed lifesaving classes and achieved multiple lifeguard certifications with no trouble. Your swimming skills will improve with practice or (better) some lessons on stroke tuning.

 

[seeker242]

Good little article on the subject here. Drownproofing

 

[danvolker]

If a person can't learn to swim and have a strong degree of comfort in the water, then there is an extreme liklihood they will never be more than a very poor scuba diver....typically without swimming skills, people tend to be nervous and don't learn well....At another level, if you can't be bothered to learn to swim....why bother to learn to scuba dive? Go for a submarine ride instead!

 

[Neilwood]

One thing I have found from a lot of years swimming (and helping a few friends to learn how to swim) is that being relaxed in the water does help floatation. My friends, when stressed about the water as people who have never swam are, couldn't maintain a float at all but once I had gotten them comfortable in the water they were floating no problem (easier to maintain proper breathing perhaps?).

I would definitely echo the comment about breaststroke - far easier stroke to learn than front crawl. Also I find frog kick a better kick underwater (less chance of kicking up the bottom imho) but that might just be that my breaststroke is by far my best stroke.

 

[TotDoc]

I also sink like a stone, and even in a 3 mil wetsuit, I can easily breathe out a bit and comfortably sink to the bottom in fresh water. That said, I was a competitive swimmer through college, and despite never being able to float unassisted, have never found swimming to be particularly difficult. Being negatively buoyant does make the learning process more interesting, and certainly means you will need to expend more energy to stay on the surface than a natural floater, but once you get the mechanics down, it's very doable. I love the recommendation of learning the breast stroke instead of refining your crawl stroke. It's a comfortable way to get around, applies for directly to how one would swim while actually wearing gear, and is easy to keep your head above water while doing it. I also feel, though, that getting very comfortable in the water is a real prerequisite for learning to scuba dive. Take your time and develop your surface skills a bit before taking the plunge, and you will enjoy the experience a lot more. Another thing to consider - take some swim classes. Sure, you don't NEED a swimming certificate to get in the water, but there are real skills to learn, and formal instruction can help you overcome difficulties like you are experiencing.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Buoyancy question aside for the moment ...

I learned to dive and managed to pass the basic OW course by flailing my way through the swim test. But I never was a good swimmer. I never learned to swim laps for real. Eventually, after over a decade of diving, I decided to take some more dive training. The FIRST thing I did before enrolling in that was seek out a swim instructor. I did maybe 8 sessions with the instructor and then practiced a lot on my own at my gym's pool. It took me months to finally learn to swim laps and be truly confident about it. Don't try to learn on your own or by watching YouTube videos alone--get some instruction from a person who can help you overcome your specific issues. We all have issues. Feeling like I was "sinking" was one of my issues. I wasn't even sure what my issues were until I spent time with a swim instructor.

 

[dmaziuk]

* Natural floating comfortably upright, breathing with a mask and snorkel, is with my head about 4-5 inches below the waterline. I can put my hand over my head in the gap and it doesn't break the surface.

With a little frog kick and hand sculling you should be able to keep your mouth above water -- just enough to breathe, let you chin touch the water -- for the required 10 minutes. Learn enough breaststroke for your 200 m swim.

The trick to swimming is relax, stretch forward, and feel yourself glide through water rather than flail trying to keep your head up.