Swimming Tips

Posts Tagged ‘Competitive’

Meet Your Merchant: Competitive nature ‘breeds success’
Jim Phalan opened High Sierra Brewing Co. in December of last year. What: High Sierra Brewing Co. Where: 302 N. Carson St. Contact: 884-BREW (2739) Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday (or later) Online: www.highsierrabrewco.com

Read more on Nevada Appeal

When sprinting in a competitive butterfly stroke swimming race, hold your breath and go as fast as possible. Get tips on doing butterfly sprints in this free swimming video lesson. Expert: Phillip Toriello Contact: www.PhillTheFlyingFish.com Bio: Phillip Toriello has been a competitive swimmer, a surfer, a lifeguard, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard instructor. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves

When swimming the breaststroke, take a breath with each stroke. Get tips on the correct breathing technique for the breaststroke in this free swimming video lesson from a health and fitness expert. Expert: Phillip Toriello Contact: www.PhillTheFlyingFish.com Bio: Phillip Toriello has been a competitive swimmer, a surfer, a lifeguard, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard instructor. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves

Butterfly distance racing takes a lot of endurance and strength. Get tips on swimming distance races with the butterfly stroke in this free swimming video lesson. Expert: Phillip Toriello Contact: www.PhillTheFlyingFish.com Bio: Phillip Toriello has been a competitive swimmer, a surfer, a lifeguard, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard instructor. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves

In western civilization, the subject of sport has historically been a primarily male activity.  As societal attitudes toward gender have evolved, the concept of women engaging in sporting activity has slowly become more generally accepted within society.  Modern competitive sports are mostly divided into various classes to allow for greater fairness of competition across a wide variety of ability levels.  Being that gender is one of these dividers, sports equipment designers have developed a wide range of women-specific equipment that provide women with a level of competition virtually unprecedented throughout recorded history.

In the area of triathlon specifically, the triathlon wetsuit is a piece of equipment first designed with the male athlete in mind.  Being that wetsuits are a fairly recent development in triathlon, it wasn’t long before companies began producing women’s triathlon wetsuits as the market of female triathletes continues to expand.

Using wetsuits for triathlon events is a bit controversial for many athletes, but an overwhelming majority of competitors exist who fully embrace the idea of wearing a wetsuit during the swim portion of a triathlon.  Both sides have been able to produce valid arguments for either side of the issue, but the fact remains that triathlon wetsuits provide a quantifiable edge over those traithletes who choose to swim without one.  If you are a female competitor and are contemplating the purchase of a women’s triathlon wetsuit, there are a few things of which to be aware while searching for the perfect suit.

Be sure that what you are purchasing is truly a women’s triathlon suit on not some type of unisex suit.  Since women’s and men’s body shape differ a great deal, you want to be certain you are getting a suit that is best tailored to your body.  Always look for women specific sizes as well, since the small-medium-large-xl type suits will most likely not fit properly.

Triathlon wetsuits perform best when the fit is snug, generally not more than a quarter inch between the body and the suit throughout.  The greater room between you and the suit, the greater drag you will experience while swimming due to water and air pockets in the suit.  Excess material also increases the possibility of chaffing and blisters, something that will be a great hindrance throughout the rest of your race.  You’ll know the suit you are wearing is too tight if it pulls up at the groin or down on the shoulders.  If the suit does fit properly and you fear chaffing may still occur, use a good lubricant such as Bodyglide, which won’t damage the suit like petroleum-based products.

Buoyancy is one of the great advantages of wearing a triathlon wetsuit for many reasons – aids weaker swimmers, conserves energy for the bike/run, provides warmth, hydrodynamic properties.  That being said, buoyancy in wetsuits is a result of their primary construction material, neoprene.  Triathlon in general does not allow suits with neoprene greater than 5 mm in thickness, and triathlon wetsuit manufacturers have pretty well gotten neoprene panel placement down to a science when it comes to wetsuit design.  Thicker neoprene reduces flexibility but increases buoyancy characteristics, and the reverse of this is also true.  Experienced triathletes will tell you the most efficient combination is approximately this – 5mm neoprene body panels, 1.5mm on the arms and 3mm for the lower legs.  Once you find a women’s triathlon wetsuit with these ratios, finding the proper fit and surface material is all you really need to worry about.  Also, avoid sleeveless wetsuits as well, since arm opening on these suits allows in water, increasing drag and using up body heat.

If you are considering purchasing a women’s triathlon wetsuit, also think about the time and energy the suit may save you during the swim in relation to the time and effort you will expend during transition.  If you find that wearing a wetsuit saves you say two minutes on your swim, will you later lose this time during transition?  Some swimmers claim to save around five seconds per one hundred meters, which can be particularly valuable on a long swim.  Also some triathletes report a bit of placebo affect just knowing they’re wearing a triathlon wetsuit, which may up your intensity level during a competition.

Triathlon wetsuits provide a distinct edge to those who choose to wear them, so why give up a legal advantage?  If you find a women’s triathlon wetsuit that best meets your budget and personal comfort level, you’re going to come out with an advantage, so make full use of it.

In breaststroke sprinting races, such as the 50 meter and 100 meter race, shorten your glides to swim as fast as possible. Get expert tips on sprint races for the breaststroke in this free competitive swimming video lesson. Expert: Phillip Toriello Contact: www.PhillTheFlyingFish.com Bio: Phillip Toriello has been a competitive swimmer, a surfer, a lifeguard, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard instructor. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves

Chances are pretty good that even if competitive sports were a part of your childhood, you aren’t playing now. We are all familiar with the emphasis that America places on college and professional sports. Most of us, however, don’t play competitive sports past the high school or, if we were lucky, the college years. We have fond memories of playing and we would have a blast if we participated in a friendly game with our friends or co-workers, but we don’t. I’m here to tell you that we should.

Competitive sports get us moving. Face it; most of us really need to get moving. We may not be as fast as we once were. In fact, most of us are sure to have been slowed down a bit by age. Fortunately, the same applies to most of our friends and family as well. On top of that, our friends and family could all benefit by getting outside and playing a nice rousing game of the sport of our choosing. We’ll all breath deeper, laugh harder, and, in the end, rest better after a bit of friendly competition.

Competitive sports also help us to stay in touch. We often get so wrapped up in the necessities and mundane tasks of daily life that we forget to socialize. Humans are social creatures and we are healthier when we get a chance to interact meaningfully with friends, family or friendly co-workers.

Though we may want to play, actually getting out and playing can be a challenge. We have to battle schedule conflicts for ourselves and our potential team mates and we always have so many other things on our endless “to do” lists. Getting set up with a local league in the sport of your choice may help you get out and play. Sometimes we need to make a commitment to ourselves and others in order to ensure that we will follow through with our plans to play.

Many cities offer competitive sports leagues through their parks systems. These offer locations for practices and games and game schedules. Though some just offer the basics like baseball, basketball and football, some cities also have soccer, volleyball, or even tennis. Leagues vary from competitive to casual and teams can even be set up as a family, friend or work group who wants to play together.

If you are more interested in a casual game setting, then getting a smaller group together regularly for a game of three on three basketball using the basketball hoops in your driveway or at the park. Or maybe a game of touch football might be the perfect thing for you. You get all of the benefits of revisiting your glory days with a group of friends without the long-term commitment to a team schedule.

Playing sports made you happy in your younger years. It might be just the thing now. There are so many benefits to getting moving and competitive sports are a great way to do it.

i’m writing an essay on the history of competeive swimming so if anybody knows any good sites please tell me!

The freestyle swimming stroke uses side breathing. Learn how breathe while swimming freestyle in this free swimming lesson video from an expert on health and fitness. Expert: Phillip Toriello Contact: www.PhillTheFlyingFish.com Bio: Phillip Toriello has been a competitive swimmer, a surfer, a lifeguard, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard instructor. Filmmaker: Patrick Eaves

Anti-fog swim goggles have a film inside of the goggles that prevent them from fogging up, however, repeated use can cause this effect to wear off over time. Find out how to combat goggles from fogging up by keeping them securely on the head with help from a competitive swimmer in this free video on swimming. Expert: Angela Bennion Bio: Angela Bennion is a competitive swimmer throughout the year. She is on a USA competitive swimming team, and has been swimming since she was a child. Filmmaker: Michael Burton