Good Swimming Skills - Essay Example

Analysis strokes affiliation Introduction Thefundamentalgoal of swimmingprogram is providing an opportunityfor swimmers to developgoodswimmingskills in the four availablestrokes. Thestrokes are the butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke. In this video analysis, we are going to access three of thestrokes; backstroke, butterfly stroke, andthe breaststroke. In thisessay, we will access at thebodyposition, action of thearmsandlegsandthe breathing aspects in the three strokes. Breaststroke It is one of theoldestswimmingtechniques. One can traceit from thewaybackwhenmandiscoveredtheidea of swimming. It is theslowestcompetitivestrokebecause of thesignificantvariations in velocity that happen within eachstrokecycle. In the breaststroke style, a swimmer swims on his chestandtorso. The swimmers headremains out of waterwhileheswims. Before 1950, there wererules in theswimmingcompetitionwere one race under thewater in the breaststroke (Hannula,2003). Theunderwaterracingproved to be dangerous as swimmers suffocatedwhile under thewater. To date, thesetechniqueshavebeenimproved as peoplechangetherules, swimmers nowrace on thewatersurface. Swimmers are allowed to stay under thewater during one strokecyclewhenstartingand after eachturn. Breaststrokers createlargeforces during the propulsive phases of eachstrokecycle. In the breaststroke, there are three phases during themotion of thebody. The out-sweep, the in sweepandtherecoveryphases. Out- sweepandthe in sweep are both propulsive movement with in-sweep beingthemorepowerful of the two. The out-sweep begins after a swimmer extend their legsfully. Armssweep outwards as shoulders medially rotateand adduct. Theyhave to remainstraight until thepressure of thewatercausesthearm to flex. Thebodylies horizontally as itforms a Y shape. One pitches their palms outandbackandhandstossed outwards at near 90 degrees as well as backwardangle of up to40 degreesfortheforwardmovement. Upperarms should be parallel to thewatersurface, andshoulders medially rotated to allowpulldirectlystraightback (Maglischo, 2003). In the in sweepphase, handscontinue to circle to facedownwardandinward, becominginwardandupward. One has to reachapproximately 100degrees of theelbow flexion, with maximummedialturning of theshoulder to permitgreatestsurfacearea to pushback on thewater.Elbows should remainparallel to thewatersurface. Handspass under theelbows, as theelbows flex maximally. Asthehandsbegin to moveupward, thehipsdrop, initiatinghipandknee flexion (Ferrauti, A., Pluim, B. M., & Weber, K. 2001). In therecoveryphase, handscometogether with palms opposite of eachother. They can reachtheheight of just above thesurface of waterbut should be keptclose to thesurface of water to allowfasterextension. During thistime, headandshoulders will reachpeakheight. Thisheightdecrease by a forwardlean, theheadandtheshouldersleft above thewater. Increasedspeed of recoveryis permitted with a smaller displacement. Elbows should be squeezedclose to thebody, reducingdrag, andshoulders should be addicted. Kneesandhips should reachfull flexion in their recovery at thistime. Palms are turned down, as theelbowsbegin to extend, andtheheadandshouldersreturn to thewater. Legsstart to sweepoutward, as thearmsreachforward, propellingthe swimmer forward. Backstroke Itis alsocalled back crawl. It is a swimmingtechnique that involvesmovement on your back. In terms of speed, it is slower than thefront crawl and butterfly andfaster than the breaststroke. Back stokers float on their backs with thehead in a neutralposition, theface on top of thewaterhipsheld near thesurface of thewater by tighteningthecore (Hannula,2003). A swimmer arms are stretchedbackwards as fingertips are extended, andlegsmovebackward. Thespine is keptstraight in order to attainthecorestrength. Thelegsexecute a flutter kick as thetoesare pointed, andthelegs alternately kick upwards and downwards. In the backstroke, thearmsmove from theinitialposition of thehips to overhead in semi-circular movements. Armsmakethelargestcontributor to theforwardcirculation in thisstroke. Theysweep under thewater from theoverheadback to thehips to providepropulsion. Thearmstrokeinvolves two mainparts, thepowerphase, andtherecoveryphase. Armsmove one under thewaterwhiletheotherrecovering alternately. In thisstyle, one keepskickingthelegsclosetogether, andthe kicking is from thehips. Thesekicks are hardandfast (Maglischo.2003). In backstroke, breathing is relaxed as compared to theotherstrokes as mouthandnose are usually above water. Professionalandcompetitivebackstrokersbreathe through their mouths on therecovery of one armandalsobreathe through mouthandnose in pullandpushphase of thearms. Masters of swimmingsaythat backstroke is theleastpopulartype of stroke as itinvolvesextraenergyand swimmers feelnervousswimming on their backs. Backstrokersenhancetherate of thestrokewhenthevelocityincreases. Shortdistance backstrokers showed a higherstrokeratecompared to thelongdistance stokers. Whenspeedincreases from submaximal to the maximal that is during theshortdistancestroke, there is improvedarmstrokepropulsionphasetimeandreducethe non-propulsive one. Specifically, both thethrustandthepullphasesshowed a dissimilarbehavior between theshortdistantstrokeandthelongdistantstroke. Theyalsodetermine a moreeffectualrelationship between the propulsive and non-propulsive phases in theshortstroke swimmers. Theshortdistantstrokeseemed to be moreable to modifythearmstrokephasesdurationwhenincreasingtheswimmingvelocity in backstroke. On thecontrary, thelongdistance swimmers showedsimilarbehavior at maximal and submaximal speedsregardingtheduration of time. Thisfindingimroved a loweradaptationcapability of swimmers specialized inlongdistance in modifyingtheratio between propulsive and non-propulsive phases (Maglischo, 2003). With this upside downmovementone cannot seewherehe is going,and swimmers getdifficulty in controllingwaterentering their noses. However, this has beenimprovedbecause swimmers nowusenose clips, and one getsthoroughtraining before anycompetition. Butterfly stroke Thenamewas after the butterfly. Movements of thearms are thesame, and their performance is simultaneously as the one of thelegs. Thelogic of thiskind of stroke is thatmovements of thearmsalternate with the one of thelegs. Thealternationsdo not favor propulsive continuity, butitleads to highresistances that are overcome by thelegundulations. Whenswimmingusingthe butterfly stroke, fingersget into the water as thetoesget down finishingthefirstkick. The Arms go into thewater in front of theshoulders as thechestpressesdown, andthehipsmoveup. The forearms interchange under theelbowsand in towards thebellybuttonandhandspushingyouforward through thewater. Asyougo frontward, theymovefasterandfaster. Speedhelpsliftthearms out of waterfortherecovery. You can breatheeverysecondstroke as forearms startpushingdownandback. In thisstroke, theheadandshoulders are not raised. When one has taken a breath, theheadgoesdown. Thearmscome out of thewater with thumbspointing towards thepoolbottom. Wehave two kicks in eachstrokecycle. Thefirstiswherethehands are near to enterthewater. Thesecondone is whenthehands are exiting thewater. Whencoachingthisstroke, instructorsinsist on not pointingtoesbecauseitcauses a cramp in thearch of thefoot. One has to relaxtheankleandlettheforce of thewatermovetheanklejointformaximumforce from thefoot. One has to pullbackthekneeand not thefootbecausedoingthis, causes a cramp in thecalf (Hannula, 2003). Butterfly procedure is all about timing rather thanphysicalstrength. Eachone of thestrokecontainsperiods of speeding upmovement that providethe ‘power’ signature of everyswimmer’s style. The top butterfly swimmer maketremendousbursts of powerbutmoresignificantly as compared tofewerprofessionalswimmers, apply their controlpower through a long, smoothstrokepattern. Combiningpracticalpowerapplication with active streamlining allows butterfly strokes to acquirespeedsonlyexceeded by the swimmers that usefreestyle freestylers because of thecontinuouspowerapplicationadvantage that freestylers enjoy. Conclusion There areseveraltypes of strokesusedwhenswimming. They can be done in professional which is alwayscompetitiveor during workouts. The three strokesdiffer with theposition of thebody while, on thesurface of water, themovements of armsandlegsandthetime to breathewhenswimming. Westarted with thebreaststroke that involves a swimmer to float on thesurface of water as his armsandlegsmove into three phases; the in sweep, out-sweep andtherecoveryphases. In backstroke, a swimmer floats on thesurface of waterandmoves on his back his armsandlegsmoving in the three faces that are thesame as in the breaststroke. Thelast on, the butterfly strokeinvolves a swimmer swimmingfacingthebottom of thepool, butthemovements of thearms are simultaneous with thecirculation of thelegs. The biomechanical techniquesalsodiffer with thetype of strokeandthedistance a swimmer has to cover. There are several biomechanical variables definingthecompetitive swimmer’s performance. Forinstance, some of those are strokelength, strokefrequency, speedfluctuation, limbs’ movement Reference Ferrauti, A., Pluim, B. M., & Weber, K. (2001). The effect of recovery duration on running speed and stroke quality during intermittent training drills in elite tennis players. Journal of sports sciences, 19(4), 235-242. Maglischo, E. W. (2003). Swimming fastest.Human Kinetics. Hannula, D. (2003). Coaching swimming successfully.Human Kinetics. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More