Hi guys I never learned to swim as a child, and I’ve signed up for adult swim lessons soon. Something I think will help me prepare for the lessons is I don’t know the mechanics/physics behind the motion. So I’m asking
1.) how do people float in water and why is it crucial to swimming?
2.) how do people actually move from point a to b in water while swimming?
EDIT: thanks so much to all who have responded with answers, tips, advice, and encouragement! Trying to read through all your helpful answers ☺️
In: 715
OP, imagine you have “floaties” on. Floaties are there to help prevent you from drowning because they’re filled with air, if those floaties get pushed underwater, they’ll immediately float right back to the surface because of all the air inside of them.
Now imagine you’re in the pool without floaties, but now instead, you just take in a REALLY deep breath to fill up your lungs. Just like with floaties, youll float to the surface because that air is now inside of your lungs, filled up like a balloon. Your legs might droop down, but your chest and head will stay above water if you lay on your back.
As for moving through water, imagine a bird flying through the air. In order for them to stay in the sky, they need to flap their wings. When birds flap their wings, they are pushing their wings down against air in order to propel themselves upward.
Now imagine that youre the bird, except you’re in water instead of the sky. In order to push yourself forward, you need to lay on your back or stomach, then use your hands and feet as “wings” to push yourself forward by kicking your feet and scooping your hands. Alternatively, if you want to tread water, you’ll instead keep your body vertical and use your hands and feet to propel yourself upwards.
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