4 ms·

I was a fairly serious baseball player as a kid, and later got into golf, and what you describe is pervasive in those activities too. Coaches for generations ha

I was a fairly serious baseball player as a kid, and later got into golf, and what you describe is pervasive in those activities too. Coaches for generations have repeated things like "keep your elbow up" or "push off the rubber" that (accomplished) players don't actually do, and it's quite apparent if you watch any slow-motion video. I also struggled with swimming until I was in college and realized that floating is more about filling my lungs with air than anything people told me to do with my arms and legs. My epiphany was that people could float on their backs without moving their arms and legs at all. Now my kids are in a great swimming lesson program, and they start everything with taking a big breath and puffing out their cheeks. I wish someone had just told me that as a kid.

newacc9 5y ago
Maybe for most, but some people naturally sink. "The primary reason that certain people cannot float in water is an abnormally dense body composition. A higher bone density combined with a higher muscle mass percentage and a low body fat percentage will result in a natural inclination toward sinking rather than floating."
- mauvehaus 5y ago
  Can confirm: if I fill my lungs with air and try to float on my back, I'll have my feet hanging downwards and just about only my lips sticking out of the water. Swimming is a lot like work.
  - Doxin 5y ago
    Just to confirm this being an actual thing some more: If I fill my lungs and lie on my back I float about a foot beneath the surface of the water. Keeping my head above water involves at the very least some semi-vigorous paddling.
- eru 5y ago
  > Maybe for most, but some people naturally sink. Yes, but filling your lungs would still make a difference.
- openfuture 5y ago
  whoa! such a simple and obvious thing but actually has affected me a lot... I sink..
clairity 5y ago
counterintuitively in basketball, shooting is mainly about pushing the ball up in the air (against gravity) rather than forward. that means the legs are the primary actuator used in shooting, rather than the arms, as most beginners assume. the arms mainly provide the finer motor control needed to guide the ball through the hoop. this misperception sometimes comes from watching nba players (like lebron) who are so strong they can shoot primarily from their arms, but that's not most people. steph curry's absurd range, for instance, comes mainly from his legs (efficiently utilized by a tight shooting form).

newacc9 5y ago

Maybe for most, but some people naturally sink. "The primary reason that certain people cannot float in water is an abnormally dense body composition. A higher bone density combined with a higher muscle mass percentage and a low body fat percentage will result in a natural inclination toward sinking rather than floating."

mauvehaus 5y ago
Can confirm: if I fill my lungs with air and try to float on my back, I'll have my feet hanging downwards and just about only my lips sticking out of the water. Swimming is a lot like work.
- Doxin 5y ago
  Just to confirm this being an actual thing some more: If I fill my lungs and lie on my back I float about a foot beneath the surface of the water. Keeping my head above water involves at the very least some semi-vigorous paddling.
eru 5y ago
> Maybe for most, but some people naturally sink. Yes, but filling your lungs would still make a difference.
openfuture 5y ago
whoa! such a simple and obvious thing but actually has affected me a lot... I sink..

clairity 5y ago

counterintuitively in basketball, shooting is mainly about pushing the ball up in the air (against gravity) rather than forward. that means the legs are the primary actuator used in shooting, rather than the arms, as most beginners assume. the arms mainly provide the finer motor control needed to guide the ball through the hoop. this misperception sometimes comes from watching nba players (like lebron) who are so strong they can shoot primarily from their arms, but that's not most people. steph curry's absurd range, for instance, comes mainly from his legs (efficiently utilized by a tight shooting form).