background… been swimming very regularly for 3 years, pool and open water. my 400m time is 6m53, in the summer i will do 1-2k sea swims a few times a week with a few mile plus open water races thrown in for good measure.

but then a few weeks ago i saw video footage of myself swimming and no wonder i struggle to get decent speed, my bum is well under water.

i went in last night with a pull bouy and tried to get a feel for floating, but everytime i start to stroke i sink again. i also struggle to float without a pullbouy, my legs just sink.

anyone have any advice or tips to help me sort this please?

Anyone else read that as ‘stinks’?

Carry on…

Ankle flexibility, I have the same problem, I don’t have the ankle flexibility to really point my toe’s so my feet cause a shit load of drag and just pull me down into the water.

Anyone else read that as ‘stinks’?

I was going to suggest a change of diet. However it might be worth the stink for the added propulsion.

Do you swim with your head down? Waterline should be just above you goggles and no further.

Do you kick your legs? Sinking legs can be because your head is too high up in the water, or your legs are not doing enough work.

I have the same problem. Not that I am much of a swimmer, but when I used to have lessons, I was told to concentrate on pushing my chest down and hips up to promote a flatter position in the water.

I re-learnt to swim a few years ago when I got into triathlon. I followed the advice of a friend and used the Total Immersion (TI) method (others are available).

I would advise you look into TI or similar. They teach you how to find balance in the water (i.e. from tip of fingers to toes) as part of being efficient through the water. If your bum is low chances are your head is high and/or your arms are too high/not spending enough time outstretched in front of you.

Although you can go on TI courses I can vouch for just buying the book and doing for yourself. It will take a few months to learn how to swim again from scratch but I can promise you you won’t regret the investment. It absolutely transformed my ability to swim crawl. 🙂

Have fun!

Their site – http://www.totalimmersion.co.uk/
An example of a how good it can be – http://youtu.be/rJpFVvho0o4

Head down!

Which stroke? Front crawl? If so kick from your hips and not your knees and kick against your core – core strength is your friend here. Kicking from your knees will allow your hips and pelvis to relax and you’ll loose body shape and hips start to sink. Also super exaggerating the stretch of your arms will help to straighten out your whole body and prevent the fishtailing action and generally help you to maintain a more hydrodynamic position.

yes crawl.

i’ll look into TI. i’ve been reading the swim smooth book so i’ll grab a cheap ebay copy of TI and have a look as well. just got to find what works really.

sinks read stinks… yep, i meant to do that.

Foot position does play a big part. I swim a fair bit as well, when I see somebody struggling with dropping legs it’s usually the foot pointing at the pool floor that causes it. I try to have the soles of my feet on the surface of the water.

Head down, look straight at the bottom, not in front of you. Think arse up, concentrating on it makes it happen.

Slow, long stretching strokes. These don’t have to be “windmill” over the top strokes. You can slice your hand though the water from just in front of your head and reach out in the water.

I use a pull bouy when my knees are playing up. Normally use two and strap my knees together so I’m not gripping them. It helps me to relax.