Swimming is a popular form of exercise that many people enjoy as recreation or competitively. Becoming a successful swimmer takes a lot of hard work and time, but with the help of a coach or a better understanding of the science of swimming anyone can improve. Science can help fine tune your stroke and be beneficial to your success.
Mechanics
According to USA Swimming, water naturally impedes the forward motion of a swimmer. To help counter the resistance of the water you must have the correct body position and technique. The friction due to the flow of the water over your body causes drag and slows you down. Specially designed body suits and swim caps cling to the body to reduce surface friction. Body hair can create drag, so many swimmers shave their heads and their bodies to reduce resistance in hopes of improving their race time.
Strength
Swimming power and upper body strength are important in swimming sprints. In a 25 m sprint, 86 percent of your ability to move forward come from strength and ability to generate power, according to the Curtin University School of Physiotherapy. In distance swimming, however, the strength component is lower. The body has two types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. During low-intensity swimming, the body incorporates slow-twitch fibers. In sprinting events, as muscle tension increases, the fast-twitch fibers are used to reach maximal strength. Swimmers tend to have more slow-twitch muscle fibers in their shoulders, but the composition of the muscle appears not to be a deciding factor in competitive swimming.
Men also tend to be faster swimmers than women. This is due to the fact that men have more muscle weight than women. Also women have higher body fat percentage than men.
Energy Generation
The amount of energy used in swimming depends on the stroke and the intensity. The demand for energy decreases as a swimmer becomes more advanced. Swimming performance is more dependent on the skill of the swimmer than VO2max values. In swimming, energy is consumed to maintain buoyancy, to generate horizontal movement through the arms and the legs to reduce drag. The speed, size and shape of the swimmer result in the drag. Skin friction and waves also contribute to the drag forces. Technique is essential to reduce body drag. Skilled swimmers use more of their energy to overcome drag forces than recreational swimmers. Also, skilled swimmers cover a greater distance per stroke.
Endurance
Endurance is defined as the ability to repeat muscular contractions without fatigue or a decline in the level of performance. Aerobic endurance is the ability of the body to supply oxygen to the working muscles while removing waste product through the blood stream. Anaerobic endurance is the ability to maintain high levels of work intensity. The anaerobic threshold is the highest work intensity until lactate develops in the blood. Lactate endurance is anaerobic metabolism at sub-maximal intensity. The intensity and duration of a swim determines the energy system used. In short sprints, the majority of the energy, about 95 percent, comes from the anaerobic systems, according to Curtin University. A longer race will use both more of the aerobic energy system, with 75-80 percent of energy from the aerobic system. Long-distance swimming relies only on the aerobic system.
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