Ok, this is something i’ve just gotta ask.
How many peeps here can float in water?
I imagine everyone can in salt water, but i’m wondering about lake water or fresh water, or even treated water in a pool?
And yes, i’m talking when you fully fill your lungs with air, and aren’t holding weights or anything nuts like that.
I float. Why asking?
I thought everyone had the “ability” to float… whether they “can” or not is another thing, but yes, I can float… Why do you ask?
I ask because i’m curious if the ability to float is hampered by the lowering of BF. Also just wondering how many peeps around here sink.
BTW, I don’t float. I’m one of the rare ones who can actually sit motionless on the bottom of a pool for as long as I can hold my breath. Same goes for freshwater lakes, which i just reconfirmed again a few days ago. I went down 10 feet to the bottom and sat there for 2+ minutes.
Funny thing is i’ve been like this my whole life, noticed it when I was swimming as a 5 year old and it’s always been the same. Even when i was 25% BF I still would sink, but I do admit I sink better at a lower bf.
Course it doesn’t matter much in real life, aside from me not being able to pass intermediate red cross swimming tests. I also have found it’s quite tiring to stay in the water a long time since I have to tread water the whole time.
I grew up on a lake and my parents have a pool, so swimming was a big part of life. I also have a boat and like to waterski and so on.
One benefit is I can swim underwater better than most people since i’m not fighting the urge to surface.
The more muscle you gain & the more fat you burn, the harder it is to float.
When I was over 20% bf, I could float quite easily. At 10% or lower, I almost sink, and really have to tread water to keep my head above water.
I took a diving class in college (after I came back from a summer of almost no training in Alaska). One of the things we did was a test of floating. Our instructor gets in the pool after the test, and is barely moving his arms, with his head and shoulders above the water and saying, “I can’t believe how much work you all make of floating.”
Well, after that, he had us all do a complete exhale and curl up in a ball, and if any part of the back of your head is above the waterline, you float. Well, I did that, and I sank right to the bottom.
Of course, that was when I was doing NO weight training, and was basically a full-time triathlete. Now, I’m sure I’d float pretty easily.
I sink like a goddamn boulder.
Ever since I was a kid. Dammit.
I am not lean, but my legs are, to be quite honest, quite muscular and vascular, and in fresh water they try to drag me down to DAVY JONES LOCKER!
I sink. Fast. Much like you, I found this out at an early age while attempting to graduate the “Jellyfish” stage of swimming lessons. All you had to do was a jellyfish (face down, hunched back) float, a deadman (face down, spread eagle) float and a back float. I sank to the bottom and sat there each and every day - all damn day. Never got past the Jellyfish stage.
I sink like a friggin rock.
I usually stay around 8-10% in the summer, plus I weigh about 195-200.
No joke, I just about failed my scuba certification class because of the “safety float.” All the fatties were floatin like Jabba the Hut and I was treading water like a demon just to breath.
Likewise, when I scuba, I need no weights. Which is nice, actually.
I heard it has something to do with bone density. Which is why black people sink like rocks! Which doesn’t explain me cause I think my bones are made of solid iron but I friggen have to fight like hell to go deep. I’m not fat either. However I don’t really float too well on the top…not bad I guess. Ah who the hell knows. Cool thread though. 
Nice to see others in the sinking “boat”.
Hmmm, I guess it seems like more peeps here sink than in general population, so I’m assuming lower bodyfat does encourage sinking.
What i’m also wondering then is does muscle mass float or sink, ie will I not sink as fast when I bulk up a bit more.
I sink like a stone, but my crap floats.
Low bodyfat levels definitely reduce buoyancy. Also, reading this thread reminded me of a journal article I saw a while ago. It was about the effects of hydration status on buoyancy in swimmers. I’m pretty sure that you’re less buoyant if you’re dehydrated, but I only skimmed the article. I’ll double check it when I get home
I’m in the “sink like a rock” crowd as well.
Well I am black and I have a lot of muscle and little fat. I sink sink. I can crawl at the bottom of the pool on my hand and knees that is how bad it is. Once my little sister got worried about me and tried to pull me off the bottom and they were stuggling. They both float and when I grab on to them both of them sink with me. I only weighed 170 at the time. It is crazy it is like I am not made to swim. Treading water is hell for me and some just don’t understand it.
That body I threw in the water sunk real, real fast.
Oops.
irondoc, no shit? Yours too?
Hmmmmmm hydration may have something to do with it. Cause I remember sometimes feeling more boyant and other times less. Also the amount of air in you. But I haven’t swam in years and years. I should try now. Blump blump blump! Heheh. 
it has more to do with one’s mass and density than actual “weight” so yeah, BF may have a lot to do with it …I know that fat divers need more lead to get underwater than lean ones. It’s the same reason that huge ships float and little rocks sink - it’s about the amount of water displaced and it’s called Archimedes’ Principle.
sorry, my .02