I can't float. Can you?

[Omni]

I'm 5'11'', 160 pounds, and all my life I've been unable to float. I've been in sports ever since I was tiny so I'm pretty muscular; to say the least, I don't have much body fat, and it's a fact that people with more body fat are more buoyant under the water.

Just recently, I discovered how to make my upper body float. When I use to take deep breaths, I'd hold all the air in my mouth (so my cheeks would poke out) when the key to floating is to have the air in your lungs. I felt really good knowing that was a major reason why couldn't float, but the problem now is that my waist all the way down to my feet just sink. I've been training to float for the past 3 months and I just can't do it. And it sucks *** 'cuz it means I have to use 10x more energy to swim compared to my gf who can tread water for hours.

So can you float? Or do you sink? What techniques can you share to help people who can't float learn?

 

[AHotGreasedUpJigglyPuff 4 Luvin']

My technique for floating? Well anyone can do it. Just weigh 120 lbs like me and you're good to go.

 

[Xsyven]

I can float... but... it's not really that exciting.

 

[Vicious Delicious]

I can float... but... it's not really that exciting.

likewise...

just letting the air out of your lungs sinks you, and vice versa. So all in all, everyone can do either I suppose.

 

[_kSo_]

Swimming and treading water are two totally different things buddy

 

[Omni]

You guys make it seem like it's so simple, but it's not for some people like me. To me, floating is a big deal because when I swim, I use ALOT of energy just to prevent myself from falling below the surface. If I could learn to float, I could conserve more energy and concentrate on my swimming technique then trying not to sink all the time.

 

[Speedsk8er]

PROTIP: Press Down and Y with Peach.

LOL, been a while since I've swam. I think I can float though.

 

[mark.]

^lol

dont worry, alot of people have that problem.
i got it after doing a bunch of times, if its floating on your back.
just remember to keep your legs up.

 

[Mediocre]

My technique for floating? Well anyone can do it. Just weigh 120 lbs like me and you're good to go.

It's not weight that makes you able to float. It's the density of your body. Muscle is a lot denser than fat, so if you're very muscular, you may not be able to float.

Even a person who weighed 120 lbs. wouldn't be able to float if a lot of that was muscle.

 

[Mr.GAW]

I have the exact same problem as TC. My waist and legs just seem to sink no matter how hard I try to hold them up.

 

[Frozenserpent]

Yes, me, too. From since when i first started swimming as a child, I could never keep my waist and legs afloat. They always sink. In the end, I just lap swim or tread water.

 

[Sariku]

I can, but theres not a big deal to it. It's really cool at first, but then it loses it sheen... so to speak.

 

[Sensei]

I would have done the Peach joke but that has already been used. Truth is I can float no problem, but I suck balls at swimming lol. I just keep all the air in my lungs to float. If you really want to float easily, you should start eating junk food and keep the fat lol.

 

[mario-man]

Nothin' to it. I just can't STAY up.

 

[Toilet Paper]

I sink like a rock. Sucks.

 

[Xsyven]

It's not weight that makes you able to float. It's the density of your body. Muscle is a lot denser than fat, so if you're very muscular, you may not be able to float.

Even a person who weighed 120 lbs. wouldn't be able to float if a lot of that was muscle.

He was joking...

 

[Ensee]

I never try and float when I swim. I just.......swim.

 

[Mediocre]

He was joking...

Jokes are no excuse for being unscientific!

Anyway, the joke wasn't what I was addressing, it was the misunderstanding of flotation.

 

[Xsyven]

Jokes are no excuse for being unscientific!

You should see this kid, though. He's disgustingly scrawny. Like unto a halocaust survivor.

 

[Sargent_Peach]

I'm 6ft tall and weigh 155. I'm very skinny with pretty much no fat. I can float, and I used to swim competitively. Floating does not help you swim. Some of my buddies can't float but they sure as hell can swim fast.

Swimming is about breathing and technique, not about having fat or muscle. Most swimmers have little to no fat, with a body build quite like yours and mine. Once you learn to breath correctly and learn the proper way to do each stroke, you will become a better swimmer.

Maybe you need to build up endurance in your lungs. How long can you hold your breath?

 

[gnosis]

Floating does not help you swim. Some of my buddies can't float but they sure as hell can swim fast.

Swimming fast, and having to spend less energy to stay above water because you're naturally more buoyant, are two different things.

I think he may have been hoping to float for the latter reason, because it's the same with me. With my girlfriend, say, in a pool where neither of us can touch, she can just float all day completely relaxed; on the other hand, every inch of my body that stays above water comes from my own exertion. It sucks :/.

 

[Omni]

I'm 6ft tall and weigh 155. I'm very skinny with pretty much no fat. I can float, and I used to swim competitively. Floating does not help you swim. Some of my buddies can't float but they sure as hell can swim fast.

Swimming is about breathing and technique, not about having fat or muscle. Most swimmers have little to no fat, with a body build quite like yours and mine. Once you learn to breath correctly and learn the proper way to do each stroke, you will become a better swimmer.

Maybe you need to build up endurance in your lungs. How long can you hold your breath?

Comfortably? Around 30 seconds, I think.

 

[MzNetta]

6'1, 150 lbs, float like a buoy.
If your problem is treading water, youve just got to balance your breathing with your treading.
It's hard to explain; it comes naturally to most people, I suppose.

 

[_kSo_]

kick your feet to stay up and if you still sink like a rock, try using a pull buoy btwn your legs and that will keep your legs up, allowing you to concentrate on your arm rotations and such

lol i swam for 4 years on my HS swim team and lifeguarded for 3 years. PM me if you really want details

 

[Blazer]

I can float and I'm 133 pounds at 5'11" (I was 120 at 5'9" and had no difficulty.) A simple deep breath and a flop on your back and voila. Instant floatiness. I even do little spins to move around when I float around.

 

[Peeze]

I sink. I have a giant head.

 

[Midna]

5'8", 135 pounds, yeah, I float. I'm still short though.
I can't seem to eat enough hamburgers to get myself fat. I'm not muscular either though.

 

[Rapid_Assassin]

I'm a bit heavier and shorter than most of you guys, and I float very well. Learn to relax, you won't float if you flail around like a lunatic.

 

[Mathew09]

It's been a while since I've gone swimming, but I'm pretty sure I float. I am 6'0", 150lbs, and I have a medium body-type with little fat and a decent amount of muscle. I'm not skinny, but I'm not muscular either. I usually tread water or swim, though, I don't remember just sitting in the water and floating very often. I always float when I inhale, of course.

 

[Virgilijus]

Inferno, I sink too!

I'm 6 foot and 185 and have always just been dense, even though I'm not fat in the slightest. I even sink to the point that I can easily swim underwater with a full life jacket on.

The thing is I'm a very good swimmer but because I naturally sink I really have no endurance because I have to expend so much energy to stay above the water. I have a friend that plays water polo and one day I was just swimming around with him and tossing the ball back and forth and after five minutes I needed to grab onto the edge and rest other wise I would have drowned. And the thing is, I am a stronger swimmer than my friend, but he floats like an apple and can tread water for two hours without tiring

So yes, I share in your pain...

 

[Tom]

I'm 6ft tall and weigh 155. I'm very skinny with pretty much no fat. I can float, and I used to swim competitively. Floating does not help you swim. Some of my buddies can't float but they sure as hell can swim fast.

Swimming is about breathing and technique, not about having fat or muscle. Most swimmers have little to no fat, with a body build quite like yours and mine. Once you learn to breath correctly and learn the proper way to do each stroke, you will become a better swimmer.

Maybe you need to build up endurance in your lungs. How long can you hold your breath?

Sarge hit the nail on the head here. Swimming is all about executing each stroke correctly and pacing your breathing. I float pretty easily, but not all the other guys on my team are like I am. I've got a small amount of fat on me, but other than that i've decent muscle. The guys who are built swim just as well as I do, they just cant float stationary.

I know the topic is about floating and not swimming, but I've never seen floating as that big of a deal. Maybe its because I can do it, but it just seems like learning correct swimming technique would be more useful.

 

[h2ownage]

I can float and maybe I'm taking it for granted. You guys hwo sink must have it pretty rough.

 

[Omni]

Sarge hit the nail on the head here. Swimming is all about executing each stroke correctly and pacing your breathing. I float pretty easily, but not all the other guys on my team are like I am. I've got a small amount of fat on me, but other than that i've decent muscle. The guys who are built swim just as well as I do, they just cant float stationary.

I know the topic is about floating and not swimming, but I've never seen floating as that big of a deal. Maybe its because I can do it, but it just seems like learning correct swimming technique would be more useful.

Well, I swim a lot better than I float. However, after I learned how to hold my breath correctly (not expanding my cheeks and holding air in my mouth, but rather to hold all the air in my lungs), I felt like it took A LOT less energy to swim; not to mention stay above water. My technique isn't phenomenal, but I can swim much faster than most floaties, but I know I expel 3x the amount of energy than them.

Lol, every other day for the past 2 weeks I've been going to the pool with my girlfriend. She's been trying to help me learn to float, and the face she makes after watching me slowly glide onto my back and then immediately sink into the water destroys the man inside of me.

 

[Seed of Sorrow]

Lolz at omni. You are as amazing a person as you are a smasher.

 

[Master_Pig]

I'm kinda chubby so it's pretty easy for me to float.

 

[Hax]

i just turned 13, 5'3 and almost a half, ~105 lbs. i can sort of float but i do tend to sink unless i take a HUGE breath of air, and i mean huge.. :/

 

[xstompx]

My upper body floats and my feet/waist sink like a rock. My girlfriend can float, too. I just don't understand why I can't float... it's not like it's a big deal, but it just bothers me that I don't know why O.o

 

[Rage.]

Ive always been able to float, buts the weirdest feeling floating

 

[teeman92]

i sink,im 6 feet,220 pounds(im playing football.) im pretty muscular now,but when im doing the dog paddle(i LOVE this thread technique) i float easy

 

[teeman92]

i sink,im 6 feet,220 pounds(im playing football.) im pretty muscular now,but when im doing the dog paddle(i LOVE this thread technique) i float easy