Floating perfection horizontal without moving at all: Could everyone achieve this?

[CharlesCouturier]

Hi TI Friends. I would love to hear your take on this video clip here. My question:
I'm asking to TI-Experts, since Balance is an extremely important component to your system. Do you agree with the author of this clip that *Anyone*, *Everyone* regardless of body composition can indeed perform the exercise explained in this clip?

Thanks! And do not hesitate a single minute, I certainly have no intention to defend this author's position:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW5nE5FBPsQ

[WFEGb]

Hi Charles,

I can do this exercise. Tried it because I thought there had to be a trick... But I have to engage my backmuscles as bridge cables very strong. It's not possbile for me to swim more than 2-3 strokes. They feel terrible, sure they look the same and I'm not sure to get forward in anyway.

Don't know if everyone can do this exercise but I'm convinced going from there to streamlined strokes of least resistance is more than impossible for most beginners.

Regards,
Werner

PS: Is the funny guy a swim coach? His right shoulder seems prominent and hanging down. This could not be a swim training effect, can it?

[Rincewind]

That was actually very informative regarding the shift in the center or gravity, I never understood how that worked, I thought center of gravity was constant. Will have to try that exercise when I get a chance.

Also make sure you tell the lifeguards in your pool what you are doing, because to them a person face down in a prone position in the water is a sign of drowning.

[The Parrot]

This explanation may be helpful for some but it seems to me that this is isn't a million miles from how we end up at the end of a good superman glide? After about 12 metres I eventually just come to a halt and float horizontally until I have to breathe. I have never tried to consciously use my back muscles for this as I feel I would end up floating/swimming with a banana shape. I'm also pretty certain that, apart from my kick-off and glide - my freestyle swimming at present is nothing like as flat as my superman glide - that's a work in progress!

Strange how a presenter should think that distracting attention away from the subject being considered - by appearing to be a clown - would help his message.

Martin T.

[CharlesCouturier]

Well, some would rather be known than be right (A.Coggan), I may add, at all costs! LOL

I am perfectly in line with your ideas, ie what you probably mean by the superman's glide is something *everyone* without any single exception can experience. Everyone should feel the buoyancy provided by minimal momentum forward.

I think that in order to carefully test this authors beliefs, one has to wear a snorkel.

[CoachSuzanne]

Originally Posted by CharlesCouturier

Well, some would rather be known than be right (A.Coggan), I may add, at all costs! LOL

As in Andy Coggan the cyclist? How does that fit in? and what do you feel is not right with what he writes?

[WFEGb]

@Charles,
I'm not a sinker. About 10kg fat too much (has been 23kg before started with swimming). To do this exercise I have to get a little hollow back to get my "bridge cables" work. (The guy in in the clip does this too.)

@ Rincewind,
the center of gravity has to change if the levers to the connected masses change. Otherwise when straight as steel it will remain at the same body point. You did understand that right.

@ haschu33,
an interesting link, thank you. I'm not as firm as Charles to argue against. But the floaters as small as they might be have big impacts. (I noticed it astonished far from theory a month ago, when I changed my old smaller trunks to shorts of the same material..) Think the strived body position in your link is exactly Shinji's in his long SGs. But if I remember right it was CoachSuzanne who told us, that this is not exactly the bodyline for Shinji's swim. Think (I!) he's adopting a flowing moment in his stroke in contrast to the postulated steel beam...
The way of working with tiny fingertips is alike my Alexandertechnique teacher worked. In this way he showed me where to relax unneccesary tension.

Regards,
Werner

PS: Haschu33, you are in HH or nearby?

[haschu33]

Werner,

Working in HH, living north of HH (between HH and Kiel)

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by WFEGb

@Charles,
I'm not a sinker. About 10kg fat too much (has been 23kg before started with swimming). To do this exercise I have to get a little hollow back to get my "bridge cables" work. (The guy in in the clip does this too.)

Really my point in this debate (if there's a debate), is that this can not work for all. If like it's the case for several of my athletes, you're a male with 5-8% body fat, no way that you can perform this. I'm not mentioning those who literally have a negative buoyancy, ie that can not float no matter how.

Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IKbtPzk1s8

The subject on this clip can at least float in this position. But some just can not. Period. And if you can not float in this position lungs full of air, then there's absolutely nothing you can do I'm afraid, since your buoyancy center is not strong enough to support your body even with the gravity center perfectly aligned.

[borate]

Originally Posted by WFEGb

@Charles,
I'm not a sinker. About 10kg fat too much (has been 23kg before started with swimming). To do this exercise I have to get a little hollow back to get my "bridge cables" work. (The guy in in the clip does this too.) Regards, Werner.

Jamie Shaules is a coach with a comedic bent. Some years back this clip came under discussion here. Knowledgeable contributors decried his advice on pelvis positioning and recommended just the opposite.

I put the question to Jamie via e-mail and he graciously replied that the issue was being scientifically studied at his facility. Yet I never received his conclusions.

The consensus of the forum at the time seemed to favor a flattened back with moderate core tension. No extreme emphasis on a tilt - one way or the other.

Check out the threads here for additional insight.