my legs tend to sink a little when i swim and sometimes i try to overcompensate by kicking too much...any suggestions to get help my lower half float better? thank you!!!
It is not a matter of getting your legs to float better, you need to change your center of gravity.
About midpoint on your chest is the center of gravity, what I was taught was to try to push your chest down, it feels like swimming down hill, this will bring the legs up, you also need to be sure you are not lifing your head up, this is common. Make sure you are rotating your body to breath and not lifting the head to breath. anything that is "up" in the front will cause the back end to sink.
pcp
ppedersen gave some excellent advice. I had been swimming all my life, even took lifeguarding classes, but it was not until I did my first tri at 33 and came out of the water dead last did I go looking for advice on how to swim better. 'Total Immersion Swimming' was a book I read that helped alot. It describes swimming downhill like the earlier post. Try to keep your body long, and always keep one arm extended in front of you. This also adjusts your center of balance.
better yet, take a total immersion weekend clinic. check out totalimmersion.net, you'll be amazed how it changes your whole outlook on swimming and how you swim. it took me 32 to years to understand how to glide efficiently through water rather than churn it. good luck!
