I sink like a rock. help

Basically, I am one of those overweight people who decided to learn how to swim. I thought the problem would be how I will look like in a swim suit. Hell no, I was wrong. I joined a swimming class. freestyle for beginners. guess what? I can't kick :) I SINK and I get very tired after a few minutes.

what should I do now? I am thinking about cancelling the class and get my money back because I am too out of shape to finish that class.

any advice??

Join a water/aqua Aerobics class instead. It will really help you.

Original Post by safina1:

Basically, I am one of those overweight people who decided to learn how to swim. I thought the problem would be how I will look like in a swim suit. Hell no, I was wrong. I joined a swimming class. freestyle for beginners. guess what? I can't kick :) I SINK and I get very tired after a few minutes.

what should I do now? I am thinking about cancelling the class and get my money back because I am too out of shape to finish that class.

any advice??

Don't quit. If it starts out easy...there is no room to move up...to challange yourself.  Stay with it...you didn't drown..bc you are writing about it...STICK WITH IT. EVERY WEEK WILL GET BETTER!!!

:)

I taught swim lessons for a long time, and I have taught many adults to swim who also sank as well. You need to learn how to float first. Ask your swim instructor to help with this before learning the basic swiming techniques. Learning the Dead Man's Float (scary sounding but not!) will help you learn how to swim.

You can also swim with a kick board. Kicking yourself across the pool burns a lot of calories. Gradually leave the kick board behind.

You can do it!

Stick with it.  Swimming is such a great exercise for your body!  Use the floatation devices they have there (pool noodles, kick boards etc) to help you.  It will get easier, and swimming is a such a great skill to have.

Stick with it!  Swimming is a great non-impact exercise!  Also, exercising should never be easy...it should take some effort.  Seeing as you are in a class, I don't think they will let you drown, so try not to worry about sinking.  Also, someone suggested a kickboard, which should definitely help you keep afloat. 

Oddly enough, I can't sink...when I go scuba diving they have to give me extra weights to make me sink.  My grandpa was the same way according to my dad.

i wouldnt be too upset seeing as how fat floats and muscle sinks.....

Don't quit, swimming is great! Non-impact, will increase your lung capactiy, and enjoyable once you get the hang of it!

If it IS a class for beginners then talk to your instructor and maybe try a floatation belt? I taught children as well as adults and the floatation belt really helps... kickboards are also awesome!  That or you might try getting in extra practice and try clinging to the side of the pool wall and practicing your kicks.

As a swimmer, my coach called me 'lazy legs' because I barely kicked and relied on upper body strength too much LOL... also try concentrating on how your body feels in the water. I don't mean while you're trying to swim but while sitting on the steps, try running your arms under water or kicking underwater while and just try to feel the water... also try maybe doing short glides underwater if you can... like diving under water, kicking once and pulling once with your arms and just glide... chances are the more you spend time in the water the more you'll love it. Like any sport, swimming techniques take time to perfect.

Although having said that, different people like different sports. Learn how to swim though, that's a very important skill everyone must have! XXXX

Don't give up!

It's really a great sport.

As time goes on you'll get used to it and it'll get easier.

Funny thing...I can swim (quite well actually). I just can't float. If I stop moving I sink like a rock. (>_<) The only thing that floats is my head....it's like a buoy (sp?)

firedoor, that is  exactly what happens. everytime, I try to kick, I kick underwater so I sink.  clinging to the side of the pool wall and practicing my kicks IS what I have been doing. I am still not able to kick properly and I get tired and out of breath after 1 minute or 2.

is that because I am not fit or overweight???

Don't wanna devote another thread to swimming problems so I'll post it here... I have swimming problems too... but, my problem is very strange with swimming. Somewhere as a kid I developed a phobia of pools. I took YMCA classes, and never liked having bare feet in the pool. I couldn't stand to be by filters, jets, or drains and I still can't at the age of 21. I hate touching the bottom of the pool with my feet, because I'm convinced there will be some sort of hidden drain there.

I think it stemmed from hearing about a lifeguard who got his arm caught in an open drain grate as a kid. Just freaked me out. Even though I'm a rational adult now, I still hate to be by the edge of the pool. I have regular monthly nightmares about getting sucked into a current in a huge draining pool and bouncing headfirst into each wall before getting sucked under.

I wonder how I can get over that. Every time I try to force myself to get near the filter, an outlet/inlet jet or the drain, I just get skeeved to high hell and my adrenaline pumps. I don't know what to do.

edit: strangely, if I wear pool shoes/swimming shoes, I am FINE. I still stay away from walls but I don't get skeeved out if I wear the shoes

@safina:

I think you will get tired/out of breath if you do not have great stamina or cardiovascular endurance. How much do you sink? Do you bob down and then up or just sink?

Safina, Even if you are fit in another sport, say running or skipping it doesn't enecessarily mean you'll be fit at anything new that you do.  And to get back in swimming shape I'd have to swim everyday for a month just to get to a decent level of stamina, so yes it does take time... don't worry it's not a contest unless you're planning on swimming a major open water event this summer... steady and slow and pace yourself.  Plus trying new activities keeps your body on it's metabolism toes so to speak, it will take it out of its comfort zone and that's what you want, keep that metabolism humming!

It gets frustrating but the rewards are endless... ie weight loss and learning a new skill PLUS not to mention that swimmers have the best bodies around (or maybe I am just biased ;o)).

If anything else, if you really end up hating it at least learn to dog paddle or something... you will never know when swimming comes in handy, it really is important to learn it!

Try the belt and kickboards, see if you can borrow equipment first no sense in buying stuff if you don't know whether or not you'll stick to it... and maybe talk yourself into relaxing more. You're probably so frustrated at this stage that you tell yourself you're going to sink anyway. Don't!tell yourself you will glide beautifully like Darryl Hannah in Splash LOL... Make a conscious decision to DO THIS. Water can both aid motion or resist motion, learn to work with it.  And keep at those kicks, try bedning your knees only slightly and try not to splay your toes and relax those ankles. Try counting a beat in your head and kick while doing that... slow at first then build up to a steady rhythm. Good luck, please tell me how you progress. I am rooting for you! xxxx