General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Buoyancy.... and the lack there of... Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply
2013-10-23 1:06 PM

Member
70
2525
Cypress, Texas
Subject: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...
How do I increase or extend the time in which I am most buoyant during my swims?

A little more explanation.... when I first begin my swim sessions, I feel most buoyant. I feel as if I'm floating at or near the top of the water and it takes very little effort to swim. However, the longer I swim, the less buoyant I become and i feel as if my legs are sinking, making it much more difficult to swim.

If I take a short rest and then begin swimming again, I feel as if I am floating on top again.



2013-10-23 1:22 PM
in reply to: mollys_dad

User image

Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...

I think you may be confusing form with buoyancy.  Poor form/fatigue may result in raising the head which drops the feet which makes you feel like your sinking.  That also increases the frontal area in the direction of travel, slowing you down and also creating the sinking feeling.

You need to work on keeping proper form, even when fatigued, and that sinking feeling/lack of buoyancy feeling should go away.

When I'm tired, I REALLY focus on keeping my head/chin down to not raise the head, getting good rotation, and a long smooth stroke.

2013-10-23 3:13 PM
in reply to: Kido

User image

Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...
Agree with Kido. Swimming is one of those activities where things tend to snowball. When you get tired, or your form gets sloppy, you slow down. When you slow down, your legs naturally sink a little, slowing you down even more. And this cycle can go on and on.

Keep swimming more. Swim hard and push yourself. So many people put way too much focus on form. It is very important, but if you don't put in the effort and volume in training to be able to sustain that form for a given time/distance, it's not going to help all that much.
2013-10-23 3:58 PM
in reply to: Jason N

User image

Pro
6191
50001000100252525
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...

Originally posted by Jason N Agree with Kido. Swimming is one of those activities where things tend to snowball. When you get tired, or your form gets sloppy, you slow down. When you slow down, your legs naturally sink a little, slowing you down even more. And this cycle can go on and on. Keep swimming more. Swim hard and push yourself. So many people put way too much focus on form. It is very important, but if you don't put in the effort and volume in training to be able to sustain that form for a given time/distance, it's not going to help all that much.

Kido and Jason nailed it.

Also, a little core work when you're not able to get to the pool can help you develop muscles needed to hold a good position longer. Planks, supermans, flutter kicks, leg lifts, etc. 

2013-10-23 4:59 PM
in reply to: mollys_dad

User image

Pro
5361
50001001001002525
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...

In order to improve your buoyancy, I suggest using one of these:





(orange_Life_Jacket.jpg)



Attachments
----------------
orange_Life_Jacket.jpg (395KB - 5 downloads)
2013-10-24 11:42 AM
in reply to: morey000


99
252525
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...
How is this attractive girl going to help my swimming buoyancy?

Oh, the life jacket...Right. Sorry.



2013-10-24 11:54 AM
in reply to: mollys_dad

User image

Melon Presser
52116
50005000500050005000500050005000500050002000100
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...

Originally posted by mollys_dad How do I increase or extend the time in which I am most buoyant during my swims? A little more explanation.... when I first begin my swim sessions, I feel most buoyant. I feel as if I'm floating at or near the top of the water and it takes very little effort to swim. However, the longer I swim, the less buoyant I become and i feel as if my legs are sinking, making it much more difficult to swim. If I take a short rest and then begin swimming again, I feel as if I am floating on top again.

You've gotten some good answers. When you say "If I take a short rest" makes me think that you might be doing all your swim training straight through, when it's most effective to break it up into sets of repeats with some rest in between the repeats (and the sets, too).

Here's a good article describing how to structure your swim training:

http://www.swimsmooth.com/training.html

2013-10-24 12:52 PM
in reply to: TriAya

User image

Pro
5361
50001001001002525
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...

Originally posted by TriAya....

Here's a good article describing how to structure your swim training:

http://www.swimsmooth.com/training.html

 

That is a good article.  I tend to do longer sets (500's, 250's, some 100's), but go anerobic and take a lot more rest than that.  Like 1 min between sets.  Sounds like I need to do more 'threshold' level swimming, with shorter rests.  anyway- for me, it's more about getting to the pool 3 times a week or more.  consistency trumps everything!

2013-10-24 7:00 PM
in reply to: morey000

User image

Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...
Originally posted by morey000

anyway- for me, it's more about getting to the pool 3 times a week or more.  consistency trumps everything!




This was the key for me. It's always one thing to say you're going to go to the pool 3-4x a week, and swim 3k per swim. It's a totally different thing to actually do it...and do it consistently for an extended period of time.
2013-10-25 10:02 AM
in reply to: Jason N

User image

Extreme Veteran
1190
1000100252525
Silicon Valley
Subject: RE: Buoyancy.... and the lack there of...
While I certainly agree that form is likely the major contributing factor, your breathing as you get tired is also at play here. If you have ever been just floating in the pool you will notice that if you take a breath and hold it your body rises. As you let the air out the body begins to sink a bit.

When you are swimming the same thing occurs. As you fatigue you tend to shorten up your breaths as you fight for more air. You don't take in as much air on each breath nor breath as deeply. The stronger and faster you swim, the less impactful it is in affecting your buoyancy. If you are not a strong or fast swimmer, there is the physics of air in your body at play. Hard to quantify but working against you nonetheless.
New Thread
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Buoyancy.... and the lack there of... Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Wetsuit Buoyancy

Started by CougarTri
Views: 39933 Posts: 11

2010-10-19 1:16 PM 1stTimeTri

wetsuit buoyancy

Started by dddpt2
Views: 1253 Posts: 13

2009-09-10 4:11 PM drewbialk

Buoyancy?

Started by pitt83
Views: 1201 Posts: 7

2008-09-26 12:16 PM pitt83

wetsuit buoyancy

Started by tri-dg
Views: 2191 Posts: 16

2008-05-13 7:16 PM fgray

Lastly, I seem to be having a buoyancy problem

Started by GamblerZ
Views: 1126 Posts: 6

2004-03-12 12:36 PM infosteward
RELATED ARTICLES
date : August 20, 2008
author : mrakes1
comments : 0
During this past weekend's Olympic distance triathlon, lack of fuel and dehydration hurt me during the run. I feel a little lost with knowing what, when and how much to consume.