Hi guys, I'm new here.
I'm a new swimmer. I'm obese. When doing a breaststroke, while inhaling the air (head sticking out of water surface), my legs tend to also float quickly rather than sink like most people. My posture makes it looks/feels like I'm doing a skydiving. I tried hard to sink my legs a little but it's tough. Does this have to do with my size? (Read somewhere about overweight/obese people tend to float more easily?)
Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you :)
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Does this have to do with my size? (Read somewhere about overweight/obese people tend to float more easily?)
Not "size" per se, but percentage of body fat. Fat is less dense than water so it will give you buoyancy. Lean muscle on the other hand is very dense and will sink. So apparently muscle-to-body fat ratio in your legs is such that it's making your legs buoyant. Runners who also swim (i.e. triathletes) have the opposite problem. Too little fat in their legs causes their legs to sink (in my case anyway). And then of course there are the body builders who try to swim. Strong as they may be...they have trace amount of body fat. Consequently they sink like a stone.
Dan
Does this have to do with my size? (Read somewhere about overweight/obese people tend to float more easily?)
Not "size" per se, but percentage of body fat. Fat is less dense than water so it will give you buoyancy. Lean muscle on the other hand is very dense and will sink. So apparently muscle-to-body fat ratio in your legs is such that it's making your legs buoyant. Runners who also swim (i.e. triathletes) have the opposite problem. Too little fat in their legs causes their legs to sink (in my case anyway). And then of course there are the body builders who try to swim. Strong as they may be...they have trace amount of body fat. Consequently they sink like a stone.
Dan
