Dumb swimming question

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Momepro
Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does swimming get harder when you lose lots of weight? I am a terrible swimmer, but I float well. Is that due to my high body fat? I usually flounder around in a barely better than doggie paddle stroke, and although I have tried to learn better techniques, I am rather...coordination challenged, lol.
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  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    I'm not super lean, but I haven't noticed any issues with decreased buoyancy. If anything, the increased fitness, greater mobility (arms moving more freely and legs not rubbing together) would be a great help. You might have less floaty fat, but you're still trying to more yourself forward and not just stay on top of the water in one spot, and that's a heck of a lot easier to do when you weigh less! :smiley:
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    I've always been a good floater.
    My heaviest was 130 lbs and my normal is 100-105.

    If you are struggling with coordination, especially the breathing side, I would highly encourage you to take a set of 8-12 adult swimming lessons.
    They are generally offered in small group as well as individual.

    I will never be a brilliant swimmer, but a couple of sets of lessons (I had to start with the scared stiff type as I wasn't comfortable in deep water), really helped me understand the mechanics of swimming so I could progress, rather than stagnate with poor skills, so much so I go off the side of boats to snorkel in the Caribbean!

    As for you and floating, I honestly don't know if it will change as you lose. Bone size/density may enter the picture as well as fat mass.

    Cheers, h.
  • leeanne_aquilina
    leeanne_aquilina Posts: 7 Member
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    I am over weight and think being fatter helps you float.
    I am not a strong swimmer and this is my 2nd week of swimming everyday. My arms and shoulders are wrecked.
    Might get a kick board so i can write my legs more.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    @leeanne_aquilina, if you are just starting exercise, or returning after a long break, be kind to yourself and swim alternate days until you have built up the strength and endurance to swim daily.

    Though one should expect sore muscles when starting a new routine, doing it everyday, without recovery days, can lead to burn out or injury.

    Maybe swim 3 days and walk (or whatever else you may like) 2 days.

    Cheers, h.
  • leeanne_aquilina
    leeanne_aquilina Posts: 7 Member
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    @middlehaitch Ive had 2 days off lap swimming as we had Australia Day last week where you're crazy to go to a beach and on Sunday I swam but didn't do laps in a friends pool.

    I can see your point about doing something different on an inbetween day. I could go back to the gym as Ive still got 3mths left.

    Atleast Im eating and sleeping better
  • suzilla53
    suzilla53 Posts: 65 Member
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    It definately got harder after I lost a lot of weight. I used to float like a bar of ivory soap,was pretty much unsinkable.After loosing 60 lbs I definately sink, it was the only thing about loosing weight I didn’t like!
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
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    Depends. Definitely easier to float when you're heavier; definitely easier to actually swim (i.e., move through water without floundering) when you're smaller and more streamlined. Or so I've found.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    Thank you so much! Guess I'll have to join my daughters swim lessons when I get a bit closer to goal, lol. At least I'll probably be able to touch the bottom :p
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
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    I really didn't notice much change in my buoyancy when I was losing weight. I have always floated well. I find swimming much easier at a lower weight.

    Olympic swimmers certainly have no problem swimming and they have very little body fat :)

  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Swimming is more about body line and technique that using fat to float. Hopefully by the time you lose weight you'll be stronger and more fit, which makes swimming easier.
    I wouldn't use floating ability as an excuse to stay fat and I wouldn't use weight loss as an excuse not to swim.
    Swimming is not mainly about coordination ability. Anyone can learn basic swim techniques with proper instruction, and maybe that's what you're missing. Coordination skills can be learned too. Consider taking an adult swim class. If you enjoy the water, you'll be glad you did!

    I love being in the water. Certainly wasn't planning on letting it stop me, but as I was doggie paddling through my laps yesterday, it occurred to me that if I ever gave to depend on skill, and actual coordination, I'm gonna drown :D
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Momepro wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    Swimming is more about body line and technique that using fat to float. Hopefully by the time you lose weight you'll be stronger and more fit, which makes swimming easier.
    I wouldn't use floating ability as an excuse to stay fat and I wouldn't use weight loss as an excuse not to swim.
    Swimming is not mainly about coordination ability. Anyone can learn basic swim techniques with proper instruction, and maybe that's what you're missing. Coordination skills can be learned too. Consider taking an adult swim class. If you enjoy the water, you'll be glad you did!

    I love being in the water. Certainly wasn't planning on letting it stop me, but as I was doggie paddling through my laps yesterday, it occurred to me that if I ever gave to depend on skill, and actual coordination, I'm gonna drown :D

    That's why I encourage you take a few adult swim classes. This will help you enjoy swimming even more!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Momepro wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    Swimming is more about body line and technique that using fat to float. Hopefully by the time you lose weight you'll be stronger and more fit, which makes swimming easier.
    I wouldn't use floating ability as an excuse to stay fat and I wouldn't use weight loss as an excuse not to swim.
    Swimming is not mainly about coordination ability. Anyone can learn basic swim techniques with proper instruction, and maybe that's what you're missing. Coordination skills can be learned too. Consider taking an adult swim class. If you enjoy the water, you'll be glad you did!

    I love being in the water. Certainly wasn't planning on letting it stop me, but as I was doggie paddling through my laps yesterday, it occurred to me that if I ever gave to depend on skill, and actual coordination, I'm gonna drown :D

    That's why I encourage you take a few adult swim classes. This will help you enjoy swimming even more!

    I'd second that suggestion. A couple of years ago I could barely swim 100m continuously (it wasn't fitness.....I was running half marathons and riding metric centuries) but with coaching from my tri group I was able to complete several olympic distance triathlons last year (1,500m swim) and completed a 3km open water swim. It's all about learning good technique, I'm still far away from calling it effortless but with coaching and practice you can make great improvements.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,263 Member
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    I'm only about 7-10 pounds from goal, but as an adult learner (I've only been swimming for a little over 3 years), I can tell you that I think it's more about technique. There are women I swim with who weigh much more than I do, but are gorgeous swimmers. I'm envious of their skills.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I’m a pretty decent swimmer and swam regularly at a higher weight. This week, 4 years and 80# later, I swam laps for the first time. Honestly, it seemed pretty much exactly the same. And yes, I felt it in my shoulders the next day.

    Worst part? Goggles digging into my face that has significantly less fat to poof them out.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    If you float easily, float on your back. When you become comfortable, kick a little (gently at first) to move across the pool. When that becomes comfortable, add arm strokes. That will probably feel really awkward at first, but will look much more graceful to others than you imagine. That's it! You're doing the backstroke!
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
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    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    If you float easily, float on your back. When you become comfortable, kick a little (gently at first) to move across the pool. When that becomes comfortable, add arm strokes. That will probably feel really awkward at first, but will look much more graceful to others than you imagine. That's it! You're doing the backstroke!

    That's the one stroke I can do easily (although slowly), because it came pretty naturally fron the floating :)

    I am definitely going to look into lessons when I get a bit closer to my goal weight. Maybe a couple months of lessons will be my halfway point reward ;)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,195 Member
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    I hate to swim (sigh) but have to swim (rower), so I took adult swim classes in my mid-40s (while obese). They helped a lot. It was hard (I'm soooo not a natural athlete! ;) ), but very worth it. I can lap swim now.

    I was worried about whether I could still do it after weight loss, given the buoyancy question and the fact that I hadn't swum in over a year (not about to buy a suit while quickly losing weight, and the old one sure didn't fit ;) ).

    Truthfully, it didn't seem much different, obese vs. thin.

    Since you like the water, I'd encourage you to take a class now, and add swimming to your toolkit of fun fitness activities!
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    edited January 2018
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    Meh, double post

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