Swimming Tips

Archive for the ‘Competitive Swimming’ Category

In a recent study, Chatard and Wilson (2003) investigated the metabolic and hydrodynamic effects resulting from different distances separating two swimmers. This article and very important for coaches and athletes, and because one of the few to provide empirical data on the best position to be adopted in tests of open water swimming or triathlon. Most of the evidence and tactics made based only on experience of the athletes, with many preferring to place himself heading away so you can swim in the waters ‘clean’. This fact often and easily influenced by the comfort of not engaging in ‘race for space’ which usually occurs in the first moments of the competition. The tactic of evidence must be considered carefully, since making a swim without the use of ‘vacuum’ apparently generates a significantly higher metabolic demand compared to swimming in a position of ‘vacuum’.

The study consisted of two investigations. The first was the comparison between four minutes of swimming (95% of the intensity corresponding best pace swum 1500m) with a swimming held in four positions behind the vacuum of a second swimmer (distances of 0, 50, 100 and 150cm *).

Later was measured the drag force generated on the swimmer (in the passive position) when towed and positioned at different distances (lateral and posterior * **) compared to a second swimmer.

The results showed that oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood lactate, perceived exertion (Borg scale) and rate of stroke decreased significantly as the distance of stroke increased significantly in all positions of vacuum (0, 50, 100 and 150cm ) compared with performance in position without vacuum.

The positions that generate less drag force were from 0 to 50cm (swimmer swimmer positioned behind the leader), down 21% and 20% respectively. In the lateral positions of 50cm and 100cm (distance measured from the hands of the leading swimmer) the drag was reduced by 6% and 7% respectively.

The authors concluded that the metabolic responses decreased in all positions (0 to 150 cm behind the leading swimmer), but the largest reductions occur at distances of 0 and 50cm (decreased metabolic expenditure by 11% -38%) compared with the distances 100 and 150cm (decrease of 8% -31%)

As for the lateral positioning, the authors concluded that the distances of 50 and 100cm generate better responses. In this position the athlete’s head is positioned at the waist of another swimmer.

This study produces empirical data to the swimming area, which generates benefits to the science of swimming training in open water and triathlon. This information can help in decision making at various points of evidence. For example, swimming alongside a swimmer at the same level throughout the stage of swimming does not show a consistent tactic. And always good to remember that metabolic economy and password for a better income. Therefore, the drag reduction and metabolic expenditure and of fundamental importance in making decisions about trial or just for swimming tactics.

Pine Island needs to cut about $110,000 from 2011 budget
PINE ISLAND — Considering the amount of local government aid Pine Island will receive from the state is still uncertain, city council members discussed during a special meeting Tuesday how to best balance the 2011 budget. Among items discussed to save money were furloughs and the closure of the swimming pool.

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SPORTS NOTEBOOK – Sept. 3
See what’s new in local and area sports.

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The Man Behind the “Ground Zero” Mosque
Scott Pelley Chats with Real Estate Developer Sharif El-Gamal, the Man Responsible for the “Ground Zero” Islamic Center

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Having the finest resources to master swim technique is possibly the best option you can determine. It may help you achieve your aspirations in swimming.

Swim experts or coaches be able to explain about how swimming drills get faster and harder. This is because of the increase in drag. If swimmers do not get the correct technique, they will need to put in more muscle force or power because of the increased drag or resistance. First steps to practice to be faster in swimming is rotating, positioning, pressing and grabbing.

The first thing to do is in rotating. Rotate your body from the top of your head through your neck, back then down the legs. Rotate the body when the arm is grabbing. The arm side that is grabbing should be under water and the other side should be above the water. The rotation of the body should be united. It must be from your shoulder through the hips and the shoulders should be aligned as well. Use your inner muscles to hold them together. Then once the water has been grabbed, press on the water. Rotate your body as you press the water and move your body a little in advance of the press. Try to picture a thread or a string that goes from your hip towards your palm. Pull on that imaginary string to move your hip and start press. The hip will then begin to rotate from deeper to shallower place. Work on this to be a faster swimmer.

To swim faster with better swim technique is just knowing how to align your body correctly. Move your body in the best position to lessen the drag and raise your muscle power. Your body have to be straight and maybe longer to be parallel to the surface of the water as you swim. Your eyes should be looking down at the water or sideways as you breathe but never frontward. You will tend to loose your position and your alignment in the water if you look forward. The top of your head should always be towards your destination. Train your positioning to improve your alignment in the water.

The next technique is grabbing. To transfer your muscle force from your body to the water, you should “catch” or “grab” the water. To make this happen, position your hand and arm first. Do not try to grab the water by using the hand only. You be likely to lose your grip. You can also try to use your hand and forearm. Try to visualize or think about reaching forward and down a wall as you swim and your elbow is at the edge of the wall. You finger tips should be pointed towards the bottom and your elbow up in the surface. Grab the water as if your whole arms are like a paddle.

The last thing to keep in mind is pressing. Using you power muscles, press on the water to attain faster movement. Think of your self grabbing the water ahead then press the water. You body will feel rising and falling as you press. Remember to make use of your muscles in your chest and back and not the other part of your body to press.

Finally, remember that techniques in swimming must be religiously practiced to improve your way of swimming.

Greek version of the well known song by Renato Carosone. Mando is a Greek singer with many hit songs, mainly during the 1990s. She was born 13.04.1966 in Piraeus, Greece and was considered since childhood as a child-wonder for her phonetic possibilities. Mando was grown up surrounded by music as the daughter of jazz pianist Nikos Stamatopoulos and soprano Mairi Aperghi. As a child she had many activities as, beside musical studies and school, she did competitive swimming. At the age of 13 she appears for the first time at the Kalouta theatre taking part in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar under the supervision of Mimis Plessas and Dimitris Malavetas, while in 1981 she enters the Greek discography participating with the name Mandy in Granny Motorcycle with music and lyrics by Jimmy Panousis, With this penname she issues her first maxi single Fill me up / Love me baby, and the following year Set Yourself in motion / Where do I begin, in a production of Costas Charitodiplomenos. After the success of these two maxi singles she goes to America where she takes phonetic lessons with Hal Shaefer, under whom Barbra Streisand and Liza Minelli have also studied, and kinesiology lessons. In 1987 she makes another appearance in the Greek discography with her participation in the collection The 10 tens together with Paulina, Kaiti Gharbi, Sophia Vossou, Andreas Mikroutsikos, Lavrentis Machairitsas, Sakis Boulas and Stelios Stavrakis, and performs the amazing Sta zesta feggaria …

If you are too busy with your work in the office, you may get difficulty to spend your time to teach your child to swim. The best solution that you can take for solving this problem is to look for a good swim instructor for your child. You have to be very careful in the selection process and make sure that you choose a professional and trusted swim instructor. By checking out the following tips, you will know how to find a good swim instructor for your child.

The first thing that you have to do is to search for the information from your family or friends who have children. They may know where to find a good swim instructor to teach your child swimming. Also, you can ask about their experience so that you will know more about the instructor.

Secondly, you can try to go to local swimming clubs in your area. Try to ask them if they have swimming lesson so that you can get your child to join the class there.

Thirdly, you need to watch the way the instructor teaches the children. Just come to the swimming class and check out whether the children having a good time, enjoying the lesson, and so forth. Just make sure that the instructor can be really care of the children so that you will feel safe to get your children joining the class.

Fourthly, you have to talk with the instructor you like. It is important for you to know the lesson that will be learned by your child. Besides, you need to know the schedule of the swimming class so that you can choose the convenient time for your child.

Lastly, you can search for the information about a good instructor from the local swim coaches. They may know the information about it since they often attend many swim competition. Thus, they may know a good swim instructor for your child.

Peirsol to attend Missoula clinic
MISSOULA — Olympic gold medalist and world-record holdingbackstroker Aaron Peirsol is scheduled to participate in a swimclinic in     Missoula today. Peirsol will be joined by OlympianNeil Walker and Missoula native David Cromwell at the clinic hostedby the Missoula Aquatic Club. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at theUniversity of Montana ’s Grizzly Pool.

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It is no brainer that to be a better swimmer you have to do swim training regularly. But did you know that a lot of people get very little out of their training and most people train just to maintain their swimming performance? I’m sure you would agree that something must be done to improve the efficiency of each swim training if we want to improve as quickly as possible.

The most important thing when doing swim training is that you have to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy what you do then you will never achieve anything out of it. In fact most people quit because of the simple fact that they don’t enjoy it. Some people might argue that all it takes is willpower and discipline but how far can that take you? Forcing yourself to do something that you do not enjoy will only make your life miserable and we already had enough misery in this world.

To make swimming fun it is very important to have like minded people and train together. That way it won’t be boring and you can come up with fun activities such as a mini competition or something and the loser will be thrown into the pool 10 times.

By doing swim training together you can also help guide each other when swimming. Most of the time when we swim it’s hard to notice the mistakes that we made but the person that watches us swim can see it clearly. Take turns watching each other swim and be attention to it. After your observation tell the person where he or she had done wrong. Please be mindful not to be too aggressive on your observation as some people don’t like it. The last thing you want is to turn this into a fist fight.

Moreover most drills are best practice by the help of another person. For example when training balancing where your back is facing the water, it would be good to have someone to hold your head while you try to float your body by kicking your legs. Doing it alone is possible as well but a person that is not so good in balancing will face much more difficulty in doing so.

So make your swim training count by getting like minded people to train with you.

The swim is the one thing that strikes fear into most beginner triathletes. Many veteran triathletes still struggle to be competitive in this event also.  The swim is a humbling experience for many beginning swimmers. Even the fittest athletes will be very winded after only a few laps in the pool if they have bad form.  The freestyle stroke is similar to a golf swing in that you could have all the strength and power in the world, but if you have poor technique, you will not be very successful.

Swimming isn’t natural for humans and it takes more practice to master technique as opposed to cycling and running.  Once you do master the technique, you will have a big advantage over other athletes who have not taken the time to refine their stroke.  Even though there are many parts of a swim stroke that can be off, there are a few major mistakes most people make that, when corrected, can make a noticeable difference in swim speed and energy expenditure.

Next time you go to the pool, consciously think about your stroke and try to figure out if you make any of these mistakes.

Head position:

This is, by far, the most common mistake I see in athletes.  The good news is that it’s also the one that gives the most benefit when fixed.  While swimming, people tend to lift their heads too much, especially when breathing.  When your head is tilted up in the water, you hips will drop lower in the water automatically. When your hips and legs drop in the water, you will create more surface area and will be plowing through the water instead of slicing through it like a torpedo.

Try to keep you head and neck in a neutral position, just like if you were standing straight up on land.  Your face should be pointed to the bottom of the pool (ocean, lake, etc.) and your eyes should be looking ahead.  You do need to see where you’re going, but look with your eyes, not your head.  Keeping your head down will make your body more hydrodynamic and will help you go faster while expending less energy.

Body roll:

The old school way of swimming was to swim with your chest and stomach pointing down at all times and use your arms and legs to propel you.  This is a recipe for shoulder problems, rapid fatigue, and slow swimming.  Your body is most hydrodynamic while on its side, so incorporating more body roll into your stroke could work wonders.

When you take a stroke and extend your lead arm, try rotating on your side.  When your right arm is extended, your chest will be pointing left.  A complete 90-degree rotation isn’t necessary, but rotate as much as you can while still feeling comfortable.  This should lift your shoulder out of the water and will make it easier to take your next stroke. When you do take your next stroke, you will rotate or “roll” to the opposite side.  Just imaging you are on a giant BBQ skewer while you roll back and forth.  This does not sound pleasant, but it is a good example of rotating on an axis.

This rotation will allow you to engage your core muscles, lats, and hips to generate more power and conserve your arms and shoulders.  It will also make it easier to breath without lifting your head and causing your feet and hips to sink.  Look up a few side-kick drill variations to help with feeling balance in the water on your side.

Kicking:

Focusing on kicking is not as necessary as some may think.  Relatively speaking, kicking does not apply that much forward force to swimmers and uses a lot of energy.  The last thing a triathlete wants to do is expend energy, especially in the legs, during the first portion of the race.  If you do kick, make sure you are kicking correctly. I only kick for balance purposes and get little, if any, propulsion from my feet.

A lot of times I see swimmers’ legs separating and flailing around, kicking way too much, and bending too much in the knees.  All this does is create additional resistance in the water.  Keep kicks short, legs close together, knees only slightly bent, and ankles limp.  Don’t point your toes unless you would like some calf cramping later in the swim.

Glide:

The swim should be smooth, fluid, graceful and almost easy compared to the pounding of the run and burn on the bike, but all too often people struggle most in the swim and are constantly battling the water.  Don’t battle the water by constantly windmilling your arms, but glide through it like a fish.

After every stroke, pause for a moment or two with arm extended while on your side.  With each stroke you also create forward momentum, which is wasted if you hurry to take another stroke before gliding a bit.  This is free speed; take advantage of it and save energy.

Hopefully you will be able to recognize if you are making some, or all, of these mistakes.  Don’t worry; these are not impossible to fix with the right drills and some practice.  A good coach would be even better since they will be able to see what you cannot.  Stop logging more miles in the swim, ingraining bad technique in your brain and muscle memory.  Make the decision today to fix your stroke and become a whole new swimmer.