Philippe Croizon was the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel. According to Disabled and Productive, Croizon swam the 21-mile crossover without the full use of his arms and legs in just 13 1/2 hours. Doctors amputated the Frenchman's limbs after he suffered a massive electric shock in 1995 but, after many years of physical therapy and training, Croizon is able to swim at 2 mph, only slightly slower than the 3 mph an athlete with arms and legs might achieve.
Physics
You use your arms and legs to propel yourself through water. You employ lift, rather than drag, when you move your arms in water. According to Sports Science, researchers once believed a swimmer used drag forces by pushing against water with his hand. In 1971, R.M. Brown and J.E. Counsilman proposed a theory that a swimmer pitches his hand slightly to employ a sculling action to create lift in the same way an airplane propeller cuts through air, rather than by pushing himself through the water.
Roles
Your kicking motion controls your body position in the water and assists your arms in moving you forward. Your legs mainly provide stability, especially when your arms are at their weakest point in the swimming stroke. According to sports coach, Brian Mac, your legs add only about 10 percent of your total speed in the water when you do the freestyle stroke. Timing between your arms and lets is integral to an efficient swimming rhythm, providing maximum forward motion and minimum wasted energy.
Arm Exercises
You will swim faster with strong arms and legs. You can strengthen your arms and legs for swimming by performing exercises out of the pool. Focus arm exercises on those motions in which you pull your arm downward to simulate the way you move your arm in a swimming stroke. Use a high pulley machine to perform front and back arm pull downs to strengthen the muscles you use to move your arm from over your head to down at your side and back up again. Increase arm strength by adding more weight.
Leg Exercises
Leg exercises enhance the way you kick your legs while swimming. Focus on alternating hip flexion and extension movements. Begin hip extension exercises by standing next to a low pulley machine with the ankle strap attached to one leg. Kick that leg backward to simulate the leg motion you use while swimming. Perform hip flexion exercises by kicking your weighted leg forward. Strong legs are essential to dive starts and push-off turns in swimming. Perform exercises that provide dynamic extension of your ankles, knee and hip joints and trains the calf, quadriceps and gluteal muscles to enable you to dive further and turn around faster at the edge of the swimming pool. Starting in a squat position with your weight over your heels, jump explosively to a starting position to strengthen your legs. Perform this exercise while carrying a barbell across your back will make your legs even stronger.
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