QuestionDo you know: Is there some threshhold below which a person cannot float very well? For reference: The ideal male should have about 15% body fat. The average American male has about 23%. I myself have 12.7%, which may actually be at 12% even as I write this (I've been running up to 8 miles per day).
I have been trying (and trying and trying) to learn how to swim, but it just doesn't work.
To a first approximation, one can only learn so much from lessons and then the rest must be fixed in practice.
In your experience, how long does it take for a person to learn to swim, start to finish? I only want to learn how to do the front crawl.
Also: The purpose of this learning how to swim is to get my body fat down to 7%. And that is another troubling issue. I see some of the fattest people that I've ever seen at the pool. One woman at the pool was so big, I'm surprised that she didn't have a blow-hole. But she got in the pool and swam back and forth for 45 minutes without stopping. I can only make it across one or two times before I'm out of breath. This in spite of the fact that I can run 8 miles in 76-80 minutes without stopping.
As near as I can figure, there's someting wrong with my stroke. Talking to my research advisor (also a pudgy man who can swim very well), he says that that could be the only explanation. And that someone with arms the size of mine should be flying through the water. Could that really be true? Does stroke length have that much to do with arm length?
Lastly: If I want to build a hard and lean body, is swimming really even the way to go (in light of all the fat people that I've seen at the pool)? Or should I just stick with running?
AnswerHi Lemas...
I think that you are answering your own questions which is great.
1) Learning to swim like most things can be a bit of an art and a science. It sounds like you are an adult and as such, you are going to have a much harder time learning than if you were younger and started off that way. I would say that most of us in the competitive ranks started when we were small and got to progress through the years to try and perfect our stroke. If you started young, you would have had more time to develop and you would have been at an age where you were much more impressionable. You would have thus been much more open to learning good stroke techniques. Don't despair on that though. There is no set time limit but it can be done at an older age. Just keep doing what you have been doing. Keep reading books on the subject, talking to coaches and watching how really good swimmers swim. You will pick it up eventually.
2) I do think one of the most common misconceptions about swimming is that it facilitates a good program for losing weight. The environment of swimming (or being in water) you will notice is actually counter-productive to losing weight. The body actually adjusts to colder water by keeping a layer of fat around the belly. The best way to lose weight in my opinion is actually to do what you have been doing and that is running. Look at all the best runners in the world. They are skinny! You lose weight in the problem areas when you run. Although probably losing some weight when you swim, you are not getting the gains that you could be in other events.
3) Yes fat people with "blow holes" might even have an advantage. I am about 210pds and have always fancied myself on being a "strong" swimmer. Even with that, I am a horrible floater. There is a difference. People like us have to take that extra care to make sure our body position is right in the water. If you do not have this practice then it might take you a little bit longer than the average person to learn how to swim. Does this help???
I am sorry if I have not addressed all your points. Please drop me an email if you want to talk further at
[email protected].
Thanks again,
LM
