Flippers. Flippers magnify your kick strength, you have NO IDEA by how much (like literally it must be 10x or more). They're inexpensive, and there's no shame in having them. They're easy to put on and take off.

I also scuba dive, and flippers are a necessity in that circumstance. There is a MASSIVE difference in propulsion with flippers. Since you can encounter currents in open water scuba diving, they're a lifesaver. (Scuba is super cool too, btw. But that's like... super advanced swimming. Baby steps.)

Also, arm strength. I actually think most of my propulsion when swimming comes from my arms, not my legs (I'm not saying this is the most efficient... it's just what I do... I never said I was a PERFECT swimmer, lol). Hold your fingers together in like a shallow "cup" shape, push front to back, then either lift them out of the water back to the front OR do what I do when I breast stroke and just point your fingers forward and push them through the water back in front of you in as "waterdynamic" a shape as you can figure out. And then reform the cup with your fingers/hands and push yourself through the water again.

> (Scuba is super cool too, btw. But that's like... super advanced swimming. Baby steps.)

I've met more than one scuba diver who were weak swimmers but avid divers. To your previous point, flippers turn a weak swimmer into > an olympian.

There are paralympic swimmers with no arms or legs who can swim a length faster than me, and I'm a competent swimmer. I wouldn't worry about your foot size.

I parsed that on first read as "no (arms or legs)" instead of "(no arms) || (no legs)" and was very surprised!

Your first read was correct, there's a guy with no limbs and he's surprisingly fast!

I did the same thing..

Found the programmer :)

You don't really need your feet to swim. In my personal experience when swimming most propulsion comes from my hands, not my feet. Once you can tread water with just your arms you'll have plenty of time to figure out how to swim with your feet without having to worry about sinking.

I've found the same (I think most of my propulsion is from my hands) but I always assumed I was doing it less efficiently (but didn't care)

Additional comment:

I did some googling and found these fins designed specifically for pool lap swimming: https://myswimpro.com/blog/2018/03/01/8-benefits-of-swimming...

They're smaller than your traditional "scuba" style fins but probably still WAY more effective than your feet alone.

They look fun! Wow, now I want to swim again. So fun. lol

Experiment! Google! Have fun! Ignore haters! Let go of your negative experiences!

Are you talking about small feet now? In general, I don’t really think foot size is all that important for swimming. Especially if you’re kicking.

Larger feet are a genetic advantage for swimming but are in no way required.

Like most other sports there is a body type that is advantaged in swimming.

- Tall overall height (max speed is limited by length at water line just like boats)

- Lower than usual ratio for torso length to leg length

- Large feet

- Long arms (positive ape index)

- Large hands

Michael Phelps is a perfect example of this.

People that can swim can do so without using their feet or legs.