Take a look at the tiny area at the top of your feet and how far away they are from your heart. Compare the huge muscles of your thighs and calves to your biceps and admire the large skin area of your long arms.
Now it should be obvious that arms will always be more efficient. An over emphasis on the front crawl leg action in learning can have a negative effect, draining much needed energy.
Children only need to develop a flexible leg kick, not powerful. Only in competition is the front crawl leg action significant, and then only for developing stamina.
Many adults take up swimming lessons because they are looking to improve fitness. Heavy duty leg action may help with cardiovascular fitness but will slow down their progress in learning to swim.
Men’s flexibility reaches a peak at the age of ten. So, asking a middle aged man to introduce a high level of flexion to his ankles as he tries to learn to swim is pointless.
A gentle flutter should be all they need for balance and to stop the (men’s) legs sinking.
Educate the men (and some thin ladies) that their legs will never float.
Men do not generally carry extra fat on their legs, more around the waist. They have large feet, big bones and muscle that are heavier than water. It is rare for a man to float horizontally. In deep water they will float vertically.
Ladies often have the opposite problem, they float too well, making them feel as if they are going to topple forwards.
In both cases continued reassurance that this is all natural – we cannot change the way we are.