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.
Learning to swim in a pool with a shallow end isn’t too difficult for an adult. Just don’t pay attention to assholes or give up because it doesn’t come naturally.
Watch a video or two to learn the motions (breast stroke is easiest, but freestyle or side crawls are also good to start with), then just get in the pool (shallow end, please). Start by crouching down to the level of your mouth, and breathing through your nose. Become comfortable with water near your mouth.
Then dip your nose into the water and blow out through it at the same time (blowing bubbles). You’ll quickly get the hang of holding pressure in your airways so that water doesn’t enter when you dive below the surface. Once you get to that point, start laying face down in the water. You don’t even have to be stiff, or try to swim, just get used to having your back towards the sky. Finally, after the 20 minutes this will probably take you, start trying to mimic the motions on the videos you watched. Again, ignore the feeling that you suck at this, because everyone sucks at it when starting. You’re just an adult, so you realize how bad you are at the beginning, just like when learning a new instrument. With an hour or so of attempts, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how to move around the pool.
Floating take the weight off my joints.
If you can afford to save then I highly recommend you to save up for classes. Not just for the exercise aspect but (primary) as a safety measure.
Floating around on ones back is seriously underrated. You just drift around a bit, relax and disconnect for a bit.
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.
