Can you swim with your head above water ?

[rh71]

Since I never learned how to swim when I was younger and I hate taking water in through my nose, I'm learning to swim with my head above water lifeguard-style. Is it possible to do this regularly ? I can do 1 way the length of the pool, but get too tired for a return trip. Anyone else try it ?

 

[Gyrene]

I do it unless I'm racing against someone. I haven't really gotten tired in the water since I started SCUBA diving. The qualifications were harsh, I had to tread water for 15 minutes with my arms lifted out of the water. After that, swiming with a little extra drag isn't really a big deal.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I usually go underwater, but can swim with my head above water. If I get tired, I usually flip over and swim on my back for a lap and then return to whatever style I was previously swimming.

 

[clamum]

Yeah it's real easy but I had swimming lessons for a couple of years at the YMCA when I was younger.

 

[ClueLis]

Yeah, I can do it, but I usually do the crawl or breaststroke unless I have to keep an eye on something. Try the sidestroke. It's decently effiecient and you only have one ear in the water.

 

[DurocShark]

Since I'm usually swimming with my son, I've learned to keep my head up so I can watch him...

And at the beach I'm on a board, so it's a non issue... heh

 

[Descartes]

nm

 

[aircooled]

I can swim both above and below water. i grew up with a neigborhood pool so I've been swimming since I was a kid.

 

[GoingUp]

Yes... although I prefer head in the water.... its not that hard really

 

[Anubis]

yes its easy

 

[B00ne]

What are u talking about? Swimming with the head under water is called diving( or snorkeling). How can u swim with your head below the water line - we are no fish, we need air.

Anyway if u are talking prostyle swimming, that is harder than just leaving your head out of the water.


btw are u saying u cannot swim - as an adult???? weird, dont u learn that in school (if u havent learned it from your parents by preschool age already)?

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: rh71
Since I never learned how to swim when I was younger and I hate taking water in through my nose, I'm learning to swim with my head above water lifeguard-style. Is it possible to do this regularly ? I can do 1 way the length of the pool, but get too tired for a return trip. Anyone else try it ?

You will just wear yourself out, if you are doing freestyle just blow air out of your nose with your face in the water (wear goggles) and you won't get water up your nose, however it really isn't that bad, for backstroke I used to go 13 meters (max allowed by rules) under water on my back, that was after I learned to not blow air out of my nose and just accept the fact that I was going to have to hold water in my nasal passages for a bit, after a few months of it, it sort of desensitizes the membrane so you don't really feel the burning so much any more, then when you come up just blow out the water from your nose and breathe normally

 

[prontospyder]

I have problems swimming freestyle with my head above the water. I guess I need to practice.

But I can swim a modified breast stroke with my head above water.

 

[spaceman]

doggie paddle.

 

[Kalvin00]

Originally posted by: ncircle
doggie paddle.

 

[Kelemvor]

Breast Stroke keeps your head above water but doesn't go as fast. Normal crawl stroke swimming with your head up is a bit more tiring because you have to strain your neck. But how do you get water in yoru nose swimming the regular way? You can just buy a nose clip thing or exhale through your nose when your head is down...

Only time I ever had trouble with that was when swimming backstroke or doing Flip turns.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: B00ne
What are u talking about? Swimming with the head under water is called diving( or snorkeling). How can u swim with your head below the water line - we are no fish, we need air.

Anyway if u are talking prostyle swimming, that is harder than just leaving your head out of the water.


btw are u saying u cannot swim - as an adult???? weird, dont u learn that in school (if u havent learned it from your parents by preschool age already)?

What I'm talking about is the standard left-arm-then-right-arm-alternating style while on your stomach and you're face-down in the water, periodically turning your head to the right/left to suck in air and breathing out in the water. I think that covers the description. Now what I do is keep my neck/head above water while doing this entire motion, breathing through only my mouth (in while I stroke with my right arm looking to the right... and out while I stroke with my left arm and face forward again). I know this descrip sounds weird, but when you stroke your arms like that, you can't help but turn your head also.

I cannot swim properly because I never learned - I (voluntarily) took a class in college, but I never got the breathing down because I hate the feeling of having my entire face under water (mostly because of the nose inadvertantly sucking in water). We already had a thread on adult swimmers/non-swimmers last May if you care to search - there are a handful percentage of us who never learned or never learned properly.

So now, I'm doing the next best thing and that is swimming (freestyle, I described, right ?) with my entire head above water the whole time. Man is it tiring...

 

[notfred]

I can pretty much swim however the hell I want.

<- surfer for 8 years

 

[KhoiFather]

I hate swimming, its too hard for me but I can swim. :beer:

 

[Electric Amish]

That's the only way I swim.

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: notfred
I can pretty much swim however the hell I want.

<- surfer for 8 years

Here, have a cookie.

 

[spidey07]

How about taking some lessons?

And the stoke you're descirbing is called free-style.

A breast stroke would be good to learn.

 

"Since I never learned how to swim when I was younger and I hate taking water in through my nose, I'm learning to swim with my head above water lifeguard-style. Is it possible to do this regularly ? I can do 1 way the length of the pool, but get too tired for a return trip. Anyone else try it ?"

I wish! Swimming with my head on top of the water would be my ideal experience. However, I have trouble doing that. On the other hand, I can easily swim underneath the water. My only fear is drinking so much water in the process.

There was an incident where I swallowed the disgusting water, where everyone swam. It made me sick thinking of the fact that people do disgusting things in the swimming pool, and I had just accidentally swallowed so much of the water. Yuck!

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: B00ne
What are u talking about? Swimming with the head under water is called diving( or snorkeling). How can u swim with your head below the water line - we are no fish, we need air.

Anyway if u are talking prostyle swimming, that is harder than just leaving your head out of the water.


btw are u saying u cannot swim - as an adult???? weird, dont u learn that in school (if u havent learned it from your parents by preschool age already)?

What I'm talking about is the standard left-arm-then-right-arm-alternating style while on your stomach and you're face-down in the water, periodically turning your head to the right/left to suck in air and breathing out in the water. I think that covers the description. Now what I do is keep my neck/head above water while doing this entire motion, breathing through only my mouth (in while I stroke with my right arm looking to the right... and out while I stroke with my left arm and face forward again). I know this descrip sounds weird, but when you stroke your arms like that, you can't help but turn your head also.

I cannot swim properly because I never learned - I (voluntarily) took a class in college, but I never got the breathing down because I hate the feeling of having my entire face under water (mostly because of the nose inadvertantly sucking in water). We already had a thread on adult swimmers/non-swimmers last May if you care to search - there are a handful percentage of us who never learned or never learned properly.

So now, I'm doing the next best thing and that is swimming (freestyle, I described, right ?) with my entire head above water the whole time. Man is it tiring...

hmmm but why do u insist on swimming freestyle? That is A) exhausting as hell, albeit fast; B) much harder to master than other styles - namely breast swimming (whatever the english name is) - although it is easier than butterfly which would make me drown

but yes for freestyle swimming u do have your nose in the water - alot, or prostyle: most of the time

 

[rh71]

From this site, it looks like the breaststroke involves needing to put your head under water and that's precisely what I'm attempting to avoid.