How to Float in The Swimming Pool. Physics of Swimming. Part 1

Understanding the physics of swimming is a key element to help you swim faster, it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an experience swimmer. On this video we will go over buoyancy (meaning the ability to float) . 1- how do you float? To understand why something or someone float you need to understand Archimedes principle. Let me try to explain it on simple terms and then if you want a more scientific explanation I will leave a link in the description for you. When you are in the water you push some of it to the sides and then up. Just like when you get in a hot tub you displace the water and the level raises. However, in a swimming pool gravity is going to pull that water that you lifted up, back down. So, that water pushes you back up with the same amount of force that you pushed it. This equilibrium of forces makes you float. 2- how can some people seem to float more easily than others? This all depends on the density of the body. Essentially density refers to how close the atoms in an object are from each other. The more dense an object is the closer the atoms are and the less it floats. for example, a rock is very dense meaning that it has a lot of weight compare to its mass. Muscle is more dense than fat. So a fit person with very little fat in their body floats less than a baby that has very little muscle and light bones. A person with more body fat will also float more. 3- Why is this important? When you are swimming you have a center of buoyancy and you always have a center of mass. Your center of mass is very close to your belly button. but your center of buoyancy is close to your lungs. That is because the air in your lungs is not dense at all and it floats more. So if you stand straight and still these two centers will align with gravity. That is also why if you blow all the air in your lungs, you sink to the bottom of the pool. For optimal swimming you need a horizontal position. 4- How do you float in a horizontal position? By changing your center of buoyancy, keeping a good amount of air in your lungs, and by kicking! If you have your arms up, the center of buoyancy gets closer to you belly button and by kicking you create an upward force that makes the water push you up. But that is going to be explained by the laws of Newton in the next part of this series of videos explaining the physics of swimming. So stay tuned by subscribing. Phlex swimming is going to launch a crowdfunding campaign and it is honestly a very cool product. I have no doubt that this product will help you improve your swim training. That is why I reached out to them. They are offering you, our followers, the option of getting their product at the lowest cost through a secret link. All you have to do is subscribe to their email list and they will let you know when the campaign goes live so you can pledge and support their project and get one of these. how do you define success See you next time! Thanks for watching! Swim fast!