A Video For 'Natural Sinkers' 

Relax is the answer

Yeah I got rather heavy musculous legs and Im not tall- and they sink. When I first paid attention to my head position and lowered it it got better- amazing!

Yes for sure but I'm working on it :) It looks like that the solution for me is my head position (breathe without tilting/lifting my head up) and to start the catch on my breathing stroke directly after the glide phase and not unconsciously pressing it down (and therefore counter reaction is kicking my leg down). Slight/minimal kicking the legs mostly upwards from the glutes and not down with the quadriceps.

@@marcing2505 Do you know of any videos that address this? I NEED to relax not in the sense of fear but trying too hard

I’ve taught someone to swim who literally drops to the bottom of the pool when trying to float. He is very muscly.

The only thing what makes me think about it. My trainer said it is better to look more further into the front. She said there was to much water flowing above my head. Maybe I have overdone it, but the balance in the water felt great and I had to kick far less then usual. I can almost let them float with only minor kicking. But at the moment ther isnt any pool swimming here in Austria 😔

yes we have, it's here: effortlessswimming.com/beginner-freestyle-course/

I've been stretching my ankles a little bit the last year but don't overdo it. Many swimmers have problems running due to too flexible ankles. And practise a lot with the kicking from the glutes and almost straight legs and you'll make progress. It took some time for me as well but slowly getting the hang of it :)

When I was learning to swim & my legs & feet were stiff as sticks, my instructor had me use training fins. She said they help develop ankle flexibility. They also seem to help my legs/feet stay more buoyant & me less scared of the water. Over time I was able to float & kick better without the fins.

Try training fins. When I was learning, I didn't start to improve until I tried these. They helped me learn to kick better & also gave me enough buoyancy that I start to relax a bit more, which in turn helps with floating better. Before that I couldn't float at all on my back or front because I was too nervous & tensed up. Also learn to enjoy the glide - anything to help you relax in water. I started with just one breath glide then stand up, working up to being able to take a breath without having to stand up.

if you are tense you sink.

@@eddykapasibu7899 thats not really true

Possibly. Or it could also be nerves. Before I learn to relax in water I also always sink. I thought it was because I didn't have enough buoyant body fat to help me float 😂

@@piakennedy987 I'm very confident in the water.

@@piakennedy987 relaxation doesn't overcome physics. if you actually sink, all the relaxing in the world won't help you sink less. a rock sinks, making a rock relax won't make it float.

Hi, Always I See sinking legs, the force directions from the Arms arent right. People pushing in front of the Grad, from above, and do forces toward ground direction. That means, your upper Body c elevating bit out of the Water, and your hips and your legs sinking. Spending forces with your Arms Just in forward direction, and die a Long Strike from the headline Till the very lädt end of your Strike, Push it beneath your tows away, straight to that Point behind, where you come from. Try it First easily and slow, with single arm technique. Your head deep in the water. Let your Body Glide Like an Submarine on the surface. Hope that will help. Peter from Germany

Do you kick vigorously when you try swimming without a pullbuoy? I read somewhere that because the leg muscles are much heavier, when you kick too much you're spend too much energy on your legs so tire out more easily. Presumably the pullbuoy prevents you from over-kicking. Maybe try training fins as well. They helped me with leg buoyancy while I was learning how to kick properly. I was eventually able to kick OK without them. Also read somewhere that with freestyle you're swimming primarily with your arms, the legs are only meant to help you stay buoyant & horizontal, so vigorous kicking not required unless you're going for a sprint.

Well, I never use a pullboy. If you need it, other problems are the reason, look at that. With awkward arm use, there are inevitably levers that pull the hips and legs down. Pure lever physics. Especially if too much is done in the first half of the strokes, and too little in the second half, or if the last impression is not done at all, I can clearly see a low hip and sinking legs. Basically, I almost don't need a kick anymore, just a light one on the left and right with each stroke, helping to stay perfectly horizontal and supports also a bit the arm forward impulse. The stronger the stroke, the stronger the kick. For long distances both are less intense, short track the opposite. Leg muscles are'nt heavier as others. But you got air into your lunges what gives a bit uplift. Mostly a bad lever from the armes are reasons for sinking legs.