what makes the most efficient swimmer?

Question

I am 6'4" and weigh about 12 stone. I dont know excatly what my body fat percentage is but it is low like 13% or something. So although I am slim and 'submarine shaped' I cant do front crawl because I sink - that is i dont have the bouyancy to stay above the water. Even if i do breaststroke I have to go flat out to stay up.

Sometimes I see big women who have a lot of body fat, they seem to be able to swim much better than me. Although they are 'battleship shaped' and have a lot of drag they have so much bouyancy it is easier for them to swim.

the question is, is it easier for them to swim or am i just really unfit?

p.s. why do you not see any black professional swimmers? is it because they have much less body fat?

Answer 1

Your dilemma here might be on technique but if you're just talking about floating in the water then technically you're not supposed to lie there still at all, you're actually supposed to kind of push yourself up by gently swimming or at least using the physical properties of water to keep your afloat. It might sound confusing but you'll know what I mean if you gently push the water away from you when you swim.

But as I said before it also might be something to do with your technique. From what you've said it sounds like you have some problems with your kicking. I would suggest you try kicking a little bit harder and also try different body angles when you swim. They say that it's hard to tell a swimmer's best body angle in the water so it'll take some time to develop it for you but if you simply experiment with them then you should find something that works for you. Try going really flat in the water and then gently bring up your angle. If nothing does it then try to swing your arms a little more when you swim freestyle, I know it's against normal freestyle technique but it really helped me so I think it can keep you afloat better if both kicking ideas don't work.

As for the lack of black swimmers it's hard to point it out but I believe I know why there aren't many of them involved in swimming: their ancestors came from Africa, a very dry place with almost nowhere to swim so since their ancestors didn't do it their offspring also didn't do it. I know it's surrounded by ocean but it also might be some technical tradition thing from tribes and cultures but in today's society it's really not easy to see why. I think it's kind of an issue with being around so many people of the same sex but that's really all I can think of.

Answer 2

First off, everybody floats. Floating is determined by a difference in density, (i.e. mass per volume). Lower density things float on higher density things. Think of a life-size mannequin of yourself (i.e. your same volume). If you filled it with water, do you think it would weigh more or less than 12 stone? I'd say more which means you have a lower density than water and so then you do float.
Although it's hard to know without watching you swim, my experience over many years of teaching swimming has been that most often a person's struggle with the sport stems from being uncomfortable and unrelaxed in the water - not from body type, body fat, body shape, or being unfit which you clearly are not. From your description of "sinking" in freestyle or breaststroke, I would guess that the culprit is an elevated head position that causes the rest of your body to submerge in a lever effect. Here, you are using your muscle strength (which easily negates the physics of floating) to keep your head up. This is a classic symptom of being uneasy in the water and uncomfortable breathing while swimming. Once you overcome this uneasiness, you will be able to use your muscle strength to propel your body forward rather than your head upward. Add a few techniques to reduce drag and you will become an efficient swimmer.
PS - There are many elite black swimmers; however, you correctly observe the small proportion relative to other elite swimmers. This has nothing to do with the body fat, body type, or body shape theory. Rather, it is more a result of socio-economic conditions that limit access to pools in which to learn and train - particularly during childhood when it is most easy to develop a comfort in and a relaxed feel for the water.

Answer 3

most likely its your technique
try to keep your head down and your legs will have an easier time stayin up
make your breaths quick and alternate sides
your legs sink because they are the heaviest and densest so your need to counter that by keeping you body planar/parallel with the water(most importantly your head)

for body type you sound set. ive been between 5'0 and 12.2 stone and 5'8 10 stone and i did better at a taller height lower weight although ive always been around 15-20% body fat. it seems like br and fr favors a slightly higher body fat around 15% while i had difficulty in fly and back. i think as long as youre comfortable with your body and youre not too skinny and dense or too fat you can be very fast given proper training and technique

as for the professional black swimmers there are quite a few but its just that theyre raised to favor basketball, soccer, and football which are considered manlier contact storts. over time they are nurtured to develop stronger leg muscles. the black swimmers i do know are extremely fast but because they have both alot of upper and some lower body muscle

Answer 4

Join a swim club or order the book "Breakthrough Swimming" from amazon.com

I'm a competitive swimmer who is always practicing. If still in school and interested join your school swim team. And there is an American swimmer that is black by the name of CULLEN JONES EVERYBODY!!! Fastest 50 sprint freestyle-er in the world.

And to let you know Kristy isn't a USA swim coach and has no back round what so ever to swimming she got all of that off the internet. Good luck and best of wishes

Answer 5

It isn't you being unfit. You may just need some instruction and learn to swim better.

And yes there are black swimmers. Cullen Jones is the world's fastest black sprinter and is the only black swimmer with a world record.

Answer 6

I have been told, and have no idea if it is true, that the reason for the lack of black swimmers is both physical and cultural. From a physical point of view black people often tend to have lower body fat and denser bones which makes them not great swimmers.

Answer 7

Oh where to begin!!! First off, your technique is lacking. Get a coach or someone experienced to teach you how to swim properly. Though you may not be as buoyant as some, that has nothing to do with your ability to properly perform the strokes. You say you "can't" swim freestyle when in fact you just don't know how to use your body properly to perform well. A coach or good instructor can correct your problems and get you moving. Though the more buoyant women may seem able to swim betetr than you, the fact of the matter is that they simply have better technique.

It is not easier for them to swim because of their bodyfat. You said yourself they have a lot of drag. They simply know how to use what they've got to their best advantage in the water.

As for "black" professional swimmers, you're clearly not paying too much attention to the sport. An article call Black Splash by Lee Pitts explains the history and future of African Americans in the water. If you know anything about history you know that blacks and minorities were oppressed and excluded from society for many many decades preceeding civil rights movements. What you may not know is that Africans and others were excellent swimmers in their own communities; they were simply not ALLOWED to swim in public areas and competitions until Civil Rights Movements began in the 60s. Since that time, blacks have had a huge impact on the swimming world:

◆The first African- American swimmer to score in an NCAA final was Nate Clark of Ohio State, in 1962.
◆The first swimmer of African descent to win an Olympic medal was Enith Brigitha of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Enith won two
individual bronze medals in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The only swimmers to beat her have since been proven to have used
performance enhancing drugs.
◆ In 1981 Charles Chapman became the first African American to swim across the English Channel.
◆ The first African American swimmer to make a US National Team was Chris Silva of UCLA, in 1982.
◆ In 1988, Anthony Nesty, of Surinam and the University of Florida upset favored Matt Biondi to become the first swimmer of African
heritage to set an Olympic record and win an Olympic Gold medal.
◆ In 1997 Stanford’s Sabir Muhammad became the first African- American to break an American record.
◆ In 1999 Alison Terry became the first African- American female swimmer to make a US National Team.
◆ In 2000, Anthony Ervin became the first American swimmer of African descent to make the USA Olympic Swimming Team and
win an Olympic gold medal.
◆ In 2004, Maritza Corriea became the first woman to make a USA Olympic Team.
◆ In 2005, Genai Kerr and Omar Amr become the first African-American men to make the USA Olympic Water Polo Team.

It has nothing to do with their biological makeup. Read more and learn more my friend:
http://www.ishof.org/pdf/black_splash.pdf