If I’m an adult who wants to experience splashing around and wading round the pool, but whose swimming capabilities extend as far as doggy paddling to safety and floating on my back - what can I even do to have fun at the pool?
What do you do at the pool?
Bonus round: kind of out of my budget to pay for swimming classes, and available friends & family are nil. :c
But I borrowed a life jacket from a coworker, and could buy cheap floaties or a pool noodle.
Swim.
Not get splashed or crowded by kids, mostly.
edit: lol, sorry. misinterpreted the question
Public pools have a shallow end and a deep end. It’s difficult (but not impossible!) to drown in the shallow end because you can just stand up, but you can still swim.
Most humans, especially fat Western humans, are naturally buoyant. Completely inert, most (fat) Western people will float above the bottom of their nose (because we’re fat.) Very lean or muscular people tend to be more neutrally buoyant or even negatively buoyant (sink), YMMV.
Most important thing to remember as an Aquatic Mammal is you WILL get water in your nose, and sometimes down your windpipe. DO NOT PANIC. It burns, you will want to cough. Resist that urge. If you are under water or do not have free air passage, DO NOT COUGH. Control the urge and break the surface, then you can go ham coughing and sputtering.
The most important thing about being in and around water is to be comfortable. If you’re not comfortable, you’re too deep. Get shallow.
source: PADI certified diver
most Western people will float above the bottom of their nose
Is that true of salt and fresh water? I’m pretty comfortable floating around in salt water but have grown paranoid with age about fresh water.
People are more buoyant in salt water because it has higher molar mass. Humans on average are about 90% density of water by mass so about 10% of your frame would float above the surface, which is generally enough to expose your nose. Of course you can articulate your neck, float on your back, tread water…
Salinity also matters. Salty water you might be up to 3% or 5% more buoyant, pound for pound, compared to fresh water.
Really, it depends on how fat and how salty, but generally the difference is less than 5% by mass.
My grandfather was an old-skool, wiry, dirt-farmer. He was unable to float above the surface in Utah’s Great Salt Lake.
I aspire to be that compactly muscular.
That … That’s baller. I’m “doughy” at best, and its all I’ll ever be.
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That stroke where you breathe out down and time your arms to breathe in to the side: I hate it. I don’t like the feeling of water on my face while I try to take a quick breath. That’s my secret: I’m always uncomfortable in the water…
Best bet is just have kids so you can splash and wade around with them…
Thats a serious investment. Op had the budget for a pool noodle and you recommend kids 😭
At least someone got the joke…
It only takes one lil noodle to get kids.
I used to have an in-ground pool at my home when I lived in Oklahoma. I would float on a pool noodle and sipping beer while listening to reggae. I was in my happy place. I miss having a pool.
Just be in the water. Even if all you do is basically walk or dog paddle laps around the perimeter at a very leisurely pace you’re getting good exercise in. Every movement you make in the water is resisted by the water.
Imo keeping stationary with your elbows out of the water burns more calories than most swimming. Best workout you can do is to keep your elbows dry while not touching the ground.
But all swimming is wonderful exercise. Just don’t float in the lane lines (sounds like op isn’t swimming when laps are happening)
Just talk to people while getting out of the heat. Or sit waist deep in water and get drunk. That’s always a good time.
Bounce around. Dive for coins or toys. Float. Chat with people. Some people water walk. I make my family and friends participate in made up Olympic events like race across the pool while sitting cross cross applesauce and only use your hands.
Some people water walk.
Yeah, but usually only if their 12 buddies are stressing out in a weather-weary boat
I like playing ball in the pool. With how stupid it looks, it burns a lot of energy while still being fun. It needs one other person though.
There is so much piss in those things… We all drank so much piss…
You… drank the pool water?
where do you think the piss came from?
it’s the circle of liiiiiiiife! 🎶
Wait, you drank the pool water?
It was the style at the time.
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Swim laps ya maggot!
/s /drill instructor
Get one of those masks that also cover your nose, it will make going under water 10000x easier, you just have to worry about closing your mouth. The way I learned was by hanging on one side of the pool and using the wall to give myself some insertia, and then figure out the movements to keep going. Doing underwater backflips can also be fun. I don’t to to public pools because they disgust me, but when I am in a pool I like jumping in and finding out the biggest splash I can make with friends. Stupid but fun stuff
Poop in the shallow end
/s
“Baby” is in your name so it checks out.
Swim, if necessary get a couple of classes. So you can enjoy the exercise aspect of it.
If there is a water slide on whatever, it’s not just for kids, so you can have some fun there too.
Just a thing, please don’t block the swimming lanes to play around, it’ll be annoying for you and the swimmers
Exercise.
Arthritis, and other musculoskeletal problems put me on the disabled list a long time ago. So, if I want anything resembling sustained cardio, it’s water or jerking off. Or both, I guess.
Point being that water based exercise is a wonderful thing when you have any kind of mobility issues. You get resistance without stress on joints, or at least a lot less stress. So you can bust your ass and get some good work in instead of doing fifteen minutes and needing a handful of NSAIDs and the rest of the day to recover.
I just wish I could go more often. We don’t have a pool in our town that’s even semi useful for that. The YMCA the next town over has times set aside, but it’s a tough thing to schedule in.
Floating take the weight off my joints.
