I wanted to get your advice on learning how to swim given my situation. I'm a 39 yr. old male who didn't learn how to properly swim as a kid. I took some classes a few years ago and can swim (freestyle) a few meters with not the best technique. Fast-forward to the present, I had a neck injury a few months ago and turns out I have a bulging disk c4-c5 and Dr doesn't want me jogging/running, so I asked if I could take on swimming he said yes but with a swimmers snorkel. One of the problems with swimming for me is that my hips/legs start to sink.
Do you think I can learn proper stroke technique if I used a pull buoy and a swimmers snorkel? Would you not suggest this setup? Would this setup teach me how to keep my hips/legs up? I know I should be learning proper breathing technique but at the moment I shouldn't be rotating my neck. My objective is to get into the water and get a good cardio workout and at the same time if I could start learning proper stroke technique that would be great.
Just in case you aren't aware, the snorkel style most swimmers would recommend is a center mounted style like the one sold by Finis. A pull buoy might help you feel the correct body position but it might not help you find it when swimming normally. Often you can prevent the legs from sinking by lowering the head. Swimming with a snorkel alone should help with that as you don't need to breathe. It is fine to use a pull buoy or fins but you should do some swimming without them every practice.
Just in case you aren't aware, the snorkel style most swimmers would recommend is a center mounted style like the one sold by Finis. A pull buoy might help you feel the correct body position but it might not help you find it when swimming normally. Often you can prevent the legs from sinking by lowering the head. Swimming with a snorkel alone should help with that as you don't need to breathe. It is fine to use a pull buoy or fins but you should do some swimming without them every practice.
