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
To give a different perspective:
I never really felt like I could just float. On my back I can somewhat float, if I hold most of my breath.
Standing upright in the water, you also do not just float. You almost float, but you still need a bit of upwards momentum. For that you have to constantly move your legs or arms. Basically “treading” water. Pushing water down, and therefore yourself up.
From that position you can move forward, by still pushing the water down, but also pushing the water a bit behind you.
Your legs basically do the motion a frog does to swim.
As for the swimming lessons, do not worry. You will not be thrown into the deep end.
You can practice swimming somewhere you can stand comfortably. You can then for example lift your legs, and hover your feet above the ground, and practice swimming in place with just your hands. If you go under, you can just extend your legs again.
You will practice with a kickboard, where you grab onto a flotation device (the board), and you can practice propelling yourself forward just by “kicking”.
Edit:
The olympics are not good examples of leisurely swimming or floating. With their technique, your head is basically submerged, and just comes up for breathes between strokes.
Example of chill swimming practice: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFN2n7CRqhw)
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