Swimming (sport) | Swimming Sports and Recreation

Back Float

November 14, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

: Image by pnoeric via Flickr

Even the most complex swimming stroke involves only two skills: floating and adding propulsion to get a swimmer to move. The first step might be the most frightening for novices.

Floating is the basis of all swimming, and it should be easy for most people to master with a little practice. For the vast majority of people holding a full breath makes it impossible to sink. Human bodies are inherently buoyant, which means that it is not a skill that needs to be learned. Three elements control buoyancy: breath control, body position and relaxation. Relaxation might be the key in the beginning because even though human bodies float a large percentage of a person’s body will still be submerged in the water. Panicking while attempting to keep one’s head above water could result in a failure to float.

The back float is one of the easiest and most important skills for a swimmer to learn. It allows a person to rest and breathe in deep water. A back float requires almost no effort and it may save lives in the event of an accident on open water. The back float is also important when trying to learn one of several strokes that require swimmers to be on their backs.

A proper back float has a swimmer lying down in the water so that his or her ears are submerged. When holding steady in the water it is time to practice breathing techniques. Take short quick breathes through the mouth, while holding in breath for periods.

A full back float is achieved when a swimmer is able to extend his or her arms above the head. The feet will rise as the arm move up and a simple and potentially life saving technique has been learned. Rather than treading water for hours the back float can keep people breathing and rested while waiting for help to arrive.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Business, Learning, Proprioception, Shopping, Swimming (sport), Swimming pool, Treading water, Water

Cheating in Swimming

November 7, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Is it cheating to wear a suit that makes swimmers so streamlines that they have the ability to shatter world records? The question must now be asked to due to the invention of the the Speedo LZR Racer. The suit forces swimmers’ bodies into an aerodynamic shape and pushes water to the side as they swim.

This is not the first time that technology has entered sports and it surely will not be the last. The suit gives swimmer the advantage of being able to glide through the water as if the normal drawback of a primate pushing through the water did not exist. Swimming is not the only sport to be impacted by scientific advancements that render athletic achievement less dependent on hard work then on careful planning.

Swimming has previously been affected by a steroid scandal. In the 1970s female swim teams from the Communist Bloc heavily abused steroids for a competitive advantage. In the 1976 Olympics the America male swimming team was victorious in 12 of their 13 events. The women lost all but one of their events despite setting eight American female swim team records. The East German women’s swim team won 11 events and the Russian swim team won another. The drug abuse severely affected the East German swim team. The women reported side effects including unnatural body hair, voice changed and rapid muscle growth. Women swimmers who became pregnant during their steroid treatments were ordered to have abortions so that the deformities of their children would not be revealed.

The drug abuse of the East German swimmers is cheating that goes far past the open wearing of a swim suit, but the legacy of attempting to circumvent rules to achieve superior is established. Swimmers like other athletes are tend to seek out methods to achieve victor rather than worry about ways to make the sport more transparent.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: California, Fran Crippen, Sports, Swimming (sport), Swimming and Diving, Swimsuit, United States, Water Sports

Friendly Competition

October 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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One of the greatest aspects of sports is the friendly competition that you can experience against the people that you compete with on a regular basis. In swimming, you do not usually play on a team. Instead, it is you against the other swimmers. There are all kinds of different areas where you can pit yourself against other swimmers to see who is best, including technique and speed. Friendly competition is a great way to challenge yourself to do better than the other swimmers, and it may provide you with the drive that you need to truly succeed.

Say there is another swimmer that you envy, because his or her breast stroke is better than yours. The friendly competition and rivalry that comes with this jealousy or envy can drive you to practice more and perform better until you have the same level of expertise as that other swimmer. In this way, a little bit of friendly competition can really be a good thing for you. It will allow you to really challenge yourself so that you can improve. Friendly competition is healthy in many aspects of life, such as team sports, in school and even when playing video games or online casino games.

If you are a swimmer, or an athlete in any sense of the word, friendly competition can be healthy. Challenging other swimmers and other athletes in order to better yourself is an important aspect of improving who you are. Be willing to find other athletes that are in the same arena as you, and challenge yourself to beat them, to be better than them, so that you can find areas of improvement in your technique. Swimming technique is something that you can consistently improve upon if you really set your mind to it. So what’s stopping you from challenging yourself today?

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Competition, Swimming (sport), United Arab Emirates

Popular Swimming Games for Adults

September 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Tired of lounging around sipping drinks and soaking up rays? Feel like doing something entertaining and downright hilarious? These popular swimming games for adults are sure to bring about many laughs and many amusing memories!

Aqua Ball

Enjoy the fun sport of basketball in the water! Just create two nets out of regular inflatable pool rings, and be sure to get a ball. Separate swimmers into two teams, and to keep it fun and interesting create crazy team names that will be sure to rake in the laughs! The object of the game is to see which team can score the most points, or a pre-set amount. Switch players around to create different teams and to keep the game interesting.

JUMP

The game JUMP is always a blast! Those that are not afraid to get a little crazy line up against one side of the pool. Everyone else can sit out to be judges. Someone is selected to go first. They decide on a jump such as a cart wheel into the pool, and then they must do it. Everyone else has to try and copy the jump. Those who are unable to do it receive a card from one of the judges with the letter “J” on it. The next person in line picks the next jump, and continues on until there is only one person left who has not spelled the word “JUMP” with the cards in their hands. This is your winner. This game is sure to be a hit amongst friends!

Relay Race

Partner up teams of two and then have one person from each team go on either side of the pool. Designate a judge to say go and to decide which team wins. Players must swim across the pool to their partners and tag them on the hand. This player then races back to the other side, and the team that finishes first wins. This swimming game is sure to keep the energy up and the competitiveness even higher!

Filed Under: General, Sports, Swimming Tagged With: Commonwealth Games, Shopping, Sport, Swimming (sport), Swimming and Diving, United States, Water, Water Sports

Tips to Help You Achieve Swimming Success

September 4, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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When you are beginning a swimming program as a novice swimmer you have your work cut out for you. Swimming is challenging enough, but it is harder if you are not experienced. You will need to make sure you know the tips and tricks of swimming before you commit yourself to a program. So, here are a few tactics that can help you become the expert swimmer you want to be.

Work Your Breathing

Breathing is the biggest part of swimming. If you can’t put your head underwater to swim, then you are losing out on big distances and will tire that much easier. This means learning to control your breathing underwater. Similar to online sports betting, it is easy to master the concepts but not easy to put them into practice. So, spend as much time as you need learning how to manage underwater breathing, and then learn how to combine that with the rest of your form.

Form First

It does not make sense to worry about distance until your form is correct. Your form is the only thing that is going to give you the results you want. Plus, it works all the muscles to give you a lean body. It is important to make sure that everyday when you get into the pool the first thing you do is work on your form. This means doing things such as making sure you are drawing your thumb against the side of your body as you come up for a stroke. Also, make sure your hands are closed and are slicing through the water, and that you are pulling as much water with you as possible. Once you have mastered your form, the rest is a simple matter of endurance.
Don’t gamble on your swimming success. Master the concepts and practice them until you are strong, skillful, and capable to be a champion.

Filed Under: Sports, Swimming, Swimming Pool Tagged With: Sport, Swimming (sport), Water

Triathlon: The Gateway Exercise

August 17, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

For those training for their first triathlons, take this as your fair warning; triathlons are the gateway drug of endurance sports. If it seems silly to compare something good for you (like exercise) to something bad for you (like drugs), then you haven’t been doing triathlons long enough.

There are two surprises that await you at the finish line of your first triathlon. The first is an overwhelming surge in emotions. Perhaps you don’t realize it as you spend months and months training, but by the time you are 100 yards away from the finish line, it all floods back to you at once. Flashbacks pop into the mind, reminding you of how far you’ve come. You’ll see the first time you went for a run, the first time you struggled in the pool, the first time you thought you couldn’t do it and about a dozen other memories. This internal highlight film eventually gives way to the overwhelming excitement and energy that is present at the finish line. As strangers cheer for you as you cross the finish line, and as you sit back and take stock in how far you’ve come, it’s hard not to feel just a tiny surge in emotions.

The second surprise is the feeling that immediately follows the finish line. Instead of focusing on how tired or sweaty or bruised or sore you are, most often the very first though that pops into the brain is “when can I do it again?” This is not normal behavior. It is the behavior and thought patterns of somebody who has just developed an addiction to endurance sports, and chances are good it won’t end with just triathlons.

Duathlons, 5ks, 10ks, half-marathons, 100-mile bike races and open water relay races are just some of the endurance sports that await the newly crowned triathlete. Since triathlon is a combination of swimming, cycling and running, those who compete in them are treating themselves to the “sampler platter” of endurance sports. Often times it is not long before they find themselves signing up for a main course in any of the individual disciplines.

Filed Under: Fitness, Tips, Training, Workout Tagged With: Events, Multi-Sports, Swimming (sport), Triathlon

Three (and a half) Strokes to Maximize Recovery

August 12, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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For the swimming workhorses of the world, there is one stroke and one stroke only: the freestyle. However the freestyle is not an easy stroke to sustain. For this reason, having a few recovery strokes in the arsenal is a good idea.

The first and most accessible recovery stroke is the breast stroke. The breast stroke, like the freestyle, keeps the swimmer on his or her stomach. The main differences lie in the motion of the arms and legs. In the freestyle, the arms and legs remain in a state of constant motion. The breast stroke, however, keeps both of the arms and both of the legs moving in unison, which means they work at the same time but also rest at the same time. Even though this actually requires more energy per pull, the reward is a full-body rest achieved between pulls, allowing for a more complete and rapid recovery.

Another stroke that is excellent for recovery is the back stroke. Although this stroke requires a full-body shift in positioning, placing swimmers on their backs instead of stomachs, the reward here is the ease of floating. This stroke works the legs and arms about equally as much as the freestyle, however it allows for almost a total rest for the abs and core, which are usually busy maintaining the body’s parallel position to the water during freestyle. Although this stroke is easier, the main disadvantage is a complete loss of navigational sight. So unless there is something fixed and consistent to spot (like the ceiling of a pool), this stroke is not practical for prolonged use.

The final stroke (and a half) is the side stroke. Although this stroke is the least effective, it is also the least tiring, working only half of the body at a time. This stroke is ideal for those determined to keep moving forward despite exhaustion. The best part about the side stroke? It actually serves as two strokes, since it can be performed on either side.

By mastering these strokes, swimmers can minimize time spent in recovery and maximize their over-all efficiency in the water.

Filed Under: Swimming, Tips Tagged With: Breaststroke, Stroke, Swimming (sport)

Ways to Improve Your Kick

August 5, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

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One of the most important parts of any swim stroke is the kick, as the legs are the main source of propulsion. Most inexperienced swimmers believe the upper body is their power source and that the kick is just ancillary. In fact, the opposite is true.

The legs represent 40% of the total mass of a human. This means for the average 200 lb man, the legs weigh 80lbs. Most beginning swimmers don’t realize this fact. If they did, they would most likely stop thinking about the legs as secondary sources of power and start honoring them as their primary method of moving through the water. Eighty pounds is a lot to drag, which means the more work the legs can do, the better off the rest of the body will be.

For those swimmers who do appreciate the importance of the kick, it is remarkable to see how many perform it incorrectly. Many novices kick with an emphasis on the feet. However, the effective swimming kick originates much higher up the leg in the thighs. The thighs are where most of the mass of the legs resides, and most of that mass is muscle. By keeping the thighs close together and making strong, rigid kicks originating in the thighs, the rest of the legs will follow suit and act much like a whip, naturally falling into place and helping propel the swimmer with much more efficiency.

One final aspect of the kick to keep in mind is where in the water it occurs. Most beginning swimmers think it should occur deep within the water, as splashing the top with the feet is often viewed as sloppy or rude. However the higher in the water the kick, the more efficient it will be, which means splashing the water is actually a good thing.

Although the swimming kick is taught to young children in most swimming lessons, most swimmers over the age of seven don’t give it a second thought. When they do, however, the results are quite rewarding.

Filed Under: Swim Tagged With: Swimming (sport), Swimming stroke, Water Sports