I have been hearing that swimming is a great way to lose weight. I am considering learning to swim but the problem I have is since I am overweight will I be able to float and stay straight in the water like other people do? Also I am 23 years old
adviceman49 answered Friday January 2 2015, 10:34 am: Short answer is yes.
Floating has nothing to do with weight, how much or how little. If you look at your body as a ship in the water you float because of the amount of water you displace. It is that water that holds you up.
Now salt water is easier to float in then fresh water. Fresh water takes a little effort on your part to float as you need to constantly displace some water to remain floating. Your instructor will teach you this.
I like to swim using the back stroke, for two reasons. First floating on my back is my preferred way to float and by swimming with the back stroke if I want to stop and float all I have to do is top. To remain floating I can either kick my legs a bit or do a back stroke when I need to.
Razhie answered Friday January 2 2015, 8:05 am: Yes. You'll be able to swim.
Unless you are so obese that you are basically unable to move your limbs, you'll be able to be remain basically buoyant.
If you've never learned to swim as a child, it will b a bit tricky at first, but the good news is that it's exactly like riding a bike. Once you learn, you'll always have that skill.
If you are worried about learning to swim, you might try other water exercises first. Water aerobics is a good way to exercise, it would help you get acclimatized to being in the water, and it tends to be a bit gentler on your joints (which can take a bit of a beating if you are carrying extra weight). [ Razhie's advice column | Ask Razhie A Question ]
Attention: NOTHING on this site may be reproduced in any fashion whatsoever without explicit consent (in writing) of the owner of said material, unless otherwise stated on the page where the content originated. Search engines are free to index and cache our content. Users who post their account names or personal information in their questions have no expectation of privacy beyond that point for anything they disclose. Questions are otherwise considered anonymous to the general public.