Prone Float: Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners

Danila Novikov

All- American swimmer owner of Danswim

If you are trying to figure out how to float in the water, look no further! This step-to-step guide will help you to learn how to prone float.✌️

Floating allows your body to stay balanced on top of the water. Swimming and floating go hand in hand. When we say floating, we mean swimming. When we say swimming, we mean floating.

Learning how to float is the most fundamental skill you should learn to understand how to swim. It's pretty simple; you can't swim if you don't know how to float.

How to prone float?

Prone floating position is the most fundamental skill that a beginner swimmer should learn. Follow this steps to learn how to float in the water while swimming.

Position yourself the proper way in the water before starting the prone float.

Take a deep inhale before starting your float.

Start your floating the right way.

Position yourself the proper way inside the water.

Propel In the water.

End the float in the good order.

Before going to the pool, we need to understand an important concept. Anything on our planet is affected by gravity. But there is a place where you can escape gravity. You can sort of escape gravity in the water. This ability is brought to you by buoyancy.

Buoyancy is the ability of an object submerged in the water to stay closer to the surface. Simply, being able to stay up and not drowning while swimming. You don't have to put any effort into being able to float. You make yourself buoyant if you position your body correctly in the water.

You don't have to put any effort into being able to float. You make yourself buoyant if you position your body correctly in the water.

Prone float step-by-step-guide

First, let's figure out what is a prone float. Front/ prone float is used in 3 out of 4 Olympic strokes. It's the butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle.

Floating is the most fundamental skill; learning the proper form is crucial. The ability to float correctly allows the body to stay on the surface.

The wrong floating technique slows your swim down. The good float allows your entire body to stay aligned on the surface. The bad floating technique, in contrast, positions your body lower inside the water.

The higher your body stays in the water, the faster you move from point a to point b.

Step 1. Position yourself the proper way.

Bend your knees to submerge your chest and shoulders in the water. Have your arms right next to each other extended in front of you.

Keep your feet separate. One in front, another behind, so it looks like you are about to start the race.

Step 2. Take a deep inhale before starting your float.

Take a deep inhale with your mouth. Hold the air inside of your lungs for the time you are floating in the water.

You wouldn't always have to hold your breath while swimming. We need to keep as much air as possible inside the lungs since we focus on the prone float and try to avoid the gravity force in the water.

The more air you have in your lungs, the more buoyant your body is inside the water.

Step 3. Start your floating the right way.

First, put your head inside the water. Keep your arms extended in front, hands should stay close to each other.

Start leaning forward with your torso and arms while your feet remain on the bottom of the pool. Keep on sliding in until you feel your feet taking off the floor.

You will feel your rear foot taking off while the front stays down. Give your body some boost by pushing off the floor with your front foot.

Step 4. Position yourself the proper way inside the water.

Tuck your chin down and keep your eyes open while floating. Keep your entire body aligned. Let's call it the streamline body position.

Arms extended in front, legs stretched out behind. Keeping your legs and arms slightly separated will help to maintain your muscles and joints relaxed.

Keeping your muscles and joints loose allows you to float higher and have more balance in the water.

Step 5. Propel In the water.

Some people are naturally buoyant and can stay up close to the surface naturally, while others would sink even if they are doing everything correctly. If your legs are sinking, allow your body to propel through the water to stay up. Pull and kick.

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Step 6. End the float in the good order.

To end your float, you need to switch from a horizontal plane of motion to the vertical one. The goal is to place your feet against the bottom of the pool.

With your head in the water and arms extended in front, bend your knees and tuck them under your stomach. You would feel your hips falling as you bring your legs under your torso. Wait until your legs are low enough for your feet to be planted against the floor.

Once you reach the bottom with your feet, get your head out of the water and breathe. Consider helping yourself with your arms to speed up this process.

Push your arms down towards your hips after tucking your knees and see how fast you can transition from horizontal to vertical.

Mistakes to avoid while learning to prone float

It is essential to mention that everyone's ability to float varies. Everyone's body is built differently, which affects how we buoy.

Your composition - from natural bone and muscle structure to percentage of fat or lung capacity - all make a difference! It's easier to float with a higher fat percentage.

The heavier your muscles and the denser your bones are, the harder it is to be buoyant.

Here are some mistakes that might keep you from performing the correct prone float.⚓

Staying too high above the surface before starting the float.

If you start your float with your chest and shoulders above the water level, you risk falling too low under the surface, at least.

At most, you are threatening to catch some panicky experience where it feels like you are dropping the same as you do on the land. Not the most pleasant experience...

Keep your entire body in the water, excluding your neck and face as you staring your float to experience more buoyancy.

Breathing in with your nose.

There is nothing wrong with breathing in with your nose when you are out of the water.

Get used to breathing in with your mouth when you are swimming. Firstly, you breathe deeper when you use your mouth. Secondly, it's annoying when the water gets inside your nose and burns it. Isn't that right?

Exhaling while floating.

There is nothing wrong when you exhale under the water. As a matter of fact, you should learn how to exhale under the water while performing swimming strokes.

Since we are focusing on floating in this video, I want you to try and keep the air inside your lungs. It will keep you buoyant while floating. If you continuously exhale under the water, you will eventually drop down and lose your bouncy.

Not keeping your chin tucked.

It is natural to see what's coming your way. However, picking your chin up and trying to look forward might change your positioning in the water.

Your lower body drops if you look forward with your chin staying too far away from your chest.

Do you ever feel the water coming into your nose while swimming? One of the reasons it happens to you is your head position in the water. Tuck your chin down and see the difference.

Keeping your muscles and joints too tight.

The tenser you are in the water, the less buoyant you are. Unlock your muscles and joints for better mobility, balance, and buoyancy.

Keeping your arms and legs attached while floating.

When we look at Olympic swimmers, we see them holding a perfect stream line under the water. It looks beautiful, but you should remember that you are just learning to swim.

Keeping your arms and legs attached might cause your muscles and joints to lock, which we are trying to avoid. Keep your legs and arms slightly separated. Have your elbows slightly bent. Relax and see how much easier it is to float this way.

Avoid bending your knees and pointing your toes down while floating.

If you bend your knees while floating, expect your legs to fall. Pointing your toes down toward the bottom will have the same result. Stretch your toes out and keep your legs extended, but don't lock them up to keep your muscles as relaxed as possible.

Drop your feet down before getting your head out of the water.

Other wise you are risking to experience the gravity and sink. Transition your body to a vertical position before getting your head out of the water.

Tuck your knees under your stomach instead of tucking your heels towards your butt.

Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to transition your body from a horizontal to a vertical position.

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Take your time and find out what works for you. Don't rush; take time to perfect your floating skills to improve your balance and increase your speed and efficiency in the water.

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