Winning a gold medal in the Olympics is among the most impressive and recognized accomplishments in sports. Avid sports fans and casual observers are both likely to follow competitions in the summer Olympics, which occur only once in every four years. Freestyle races for men and for women range from short sprints to longer endurance events.
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Mono causes extreme fatigue, making it unlikely you could participate in competitive swimming even if you wanted to during the early stages of the disease. Recovery from mono takes weeks or even months; during this period, you ...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, basic swimming skills are critical for every child. Once you've finished with basic lessons, though, your child may want more. Having a child swim competitively provides ...
The sport of competitive swimming requires muscular strength and endurance. While the act of swimming itself can help with the endurance part, swimmers must also engage in cross-training exercises -- often called dryland exerci...
Competitive swimming provides girls of any age with exercise and can teach them life lessons from participating in a team sport. Swimming also is a sport in which girls can engage throughout their lives, reaching even Olympic l...
A competitive swimmer is someone who swims in competitions or meets regularly against other swimmers. USA Swimming governs competitive swimmers, which is a 300,000-member organization that provides resources for swimmers and c...
Competitive swimming is a high calorie-burning activity. To stay competitive, what you eat is just as important as how hard you train. Without proper nutrition, including hydration, your training may sink before it ever gets ...
In competitive swimming, the margin between first and fourth place can be measured in fractions of seconds, so swimmers and coaches look to swimsuits for any possible advantage in the water. Originally just a concession to mode...
A competitive swim meet may have events spread out over several days, from a Friday night to a Sunday afternoon. If you or your child is participating in a swim meet, you need to manage nutrition throughout for optimum performa...
Competitive swimming in the U.S. is governed by USA Swimming, the body responsible for producing and selecting the country's Olympic swimmers. To help reduce the difficulty associated with filtering through all of the nation's ...
Competitive swimming requires extensive technical skill knowledge, strength, conditioning, coordination and training. While strength and coordination can be developed outside of the pool with weight training programs and variou...
Jantzen Knitting Mills made the leap from manufacturing sweaters and woolen hosiery to bathing suits in 1913, after a member of the Portland Rowing Club requested a pair of rowing trunks. The athlete asked that the trunks be ma...
A devastating loss, over-training or simply swimming burnout can affect a swimmer's motivation in the water. As a coach, parent or team member of a faltering swimmer, it's up to you to offer encouragement and motivation to keep...
The second you dive into the water, your body goes into oxygen debt; the higher the intensity of your actions, the greater the debt. At low exercise intensity, the cardiovascular system can "pay back" much of the debt by increa...
It can feel like anything from ice water to bath water, and anywhere in between. Competitive pools, on the other hand, have strict rules regarding their temperature. FINA, or the Fédération Internationale de Natat...
Competitive swimmers work for years to hone their skills in the water in pursuit of faster and faster performances. Despite that, certain obstacles remain, even for the most accomplished swimmers. Among these is the friction cr...
There are many components to successful competitive swimming, including cardiovascular endurance. Your training will vary depending on the distance, style and type of competition -- pool versus open-water swimming, for example....
Overtraining for swimming can be tempting, especially if you are not advancing as fast as your teammates or you have an important competition coming up; however, overtraining can be dangerous to both your physical and emotional...
But constantly pushing yourself at the pool might not be the best way to improve. Swimming burnout can affect even professional swimmers. Constantly spending time at the pool and completing the same drills and tasks can lead to...
Competitive swimming for adults can be a fun, challenging activity whether you are a former college competitor, a triathlete or a novice swimmer. Organizations such as United States Masters Swimming, or USMS, provide workouts, ...
Competitive swimming can start as young as 4 years of age in many recreational leagues. It typically ends at age 18, when swimmers are eligible for masters programs and college teams. Over this time, puberty sets in, which can ...
While itsy bitsy bikinis and board shorts are standard on the beach, competition swimming needs a more substantial suit. Competition swimsuits are made for speed, so they offer wider coverage and a tighter fit than casual swims...
Performed correctly, the butterfly is graceful and fast, but it is not an easy stroke to learn and young swimmers have better luck learning it than adults. You can improve your performance in butterfly events at any age by refo...
Imagine yourself on the pool deck, with your whistle and clipboard in hand, as you watch your young swimmers tear up the lanes. Coaching teenagers to swim competitively is an important and satisfying position. To get your kids ...
Competitive swimming races are held all over the world and have been popular Olympic events. Different events are defined by the length of the races and even the length of the pools in which they take place. Most competitive sw...
Swimming is one of the most popular fitness activities for amateur athletes to participate in due to the low-impact, full body workout swimmers receive. With four competitive strokes to learn, there is plenty to challenge swimm...
Competitive swimming -- whether at the Olympics, college or high school meets -- has been a staple of the sporting world for so long that it's difficult to imagine a time when people didn't race one another in the water. Howeve...
In the United States, the national governing body for swimming is USA Swimming. The rules and regulations regarding competitive swimming, covered in the USA Swimming Rule Book, are updated yearly following the U.S. Aquatic Spor...
The declared false start is a scenario all too common in the world of swimming. Whether to gain a competitive edge in an event or to deal with an unforeseen calamity, a swimmer is forced to drop out of a particular event. Since...
Competition swimming is exciting for participants and spectators. Rules have been established for competition meets to ensure all participants have an equal advantage at the start of, and during each event. The rules define swi...
A good swimming technique allows you to gain the maximum amount of speed while conserving the most energy. This is especially important when swimming competitively. Maintaining the correct form and breathing style are two of th...
Competitive swimming dates back to B.C., although it didn't debut in the Olympics until 2,000 years later. The sport has grown from its early beginnings of men-only, open-water competitions to pool events that include any gende...
Competitive swimming combines endurance, speed and stroke skill in a race. Swimmers race at swim meets held at local pools. Swim meets are governed by a set of rules and regulations set forth by the USA Swimming organization. S...
Getting off to an outstanding start in a competitive swimming race requires the swimmer to dive smoothly, efficiently and quickly into the water. A powerful leaper who can get further out into the pool gives himself a better ch...
The shoulders are especially susceptible to injury since they are in constant motion while in the water. If you're a competitive swimmer, you know how important it is to stay injury-free for upcoming competitions. By taking pre...
A truly international sport, swimming is a long standing marquee event at the Olympic games and is included in countless school athletic programs. Competitive swimming's popularity is due in large part to its numerous benefits.
Swimming can require a lot of sacrifice. Most competitive swimmers practice every day, and some have multiple workout sessions several times a week. Swimmers also have to deal with the effects of chlorinated water drying out th...
Competitive swimming requires a great deal of training both in and out of the water. When hundredths of a second can mean the difference between victory and defeat, nothing can be left to chance. Your genetics and training regi...
A successful motivational program utilizes whatever motivates the competitor. Though motivation can be complex, the main drive is to satisfy a want or goal. That goal is personal to each competitor and could be the idea of comp...
Over the years, Canadian swimmers have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally in many categories and competitions.
In reality, swimming is a year-long sport that does not require an outdoor venue for its meets. The best places in America to train provide not only opportunity for competitive growth but also high-quality facilities and a trac...
Competitive swimming is a popular sport for young children. The United States Swimming Association hosts clubs from all over the U.S. offering year-round local, regional and national meets. Age group swimming begins with 8 and ...
It can be complex to determine the right amounts and types of foods for swimmers, since different phases in training and competition require different meal plans. Competitive swimming requires a high-energy exertion, however, t...
Women didn't always have longevity in the sport of swimming, but thanks to pioneers, the sport has opened up to more women and expanded the ages at which women can swim competitively. League requirements for competitive swimmin...
Swimming competitively begins at an early age for many athletes, and over time, swimmers begin spending more time in the pool and the competitions become more intense. There are many levels of swimming meets, including collegia...
Recreational and masters leagues are readily available in most locations. Knowing the training of the staff involved as well as the time commitment can help focus your choice and ensure you get the right training to become comp...
You might only get asthma when you work out, or might have existing allergic asthma that worsens when you swim. When you have an asthma attack, your athletic ability suffers, but with proper medical treatment you c
Goggles fog when the temperature of your face is significantly warmer than the air or water around you. The cold and hot coming together causes condensation to form on the inside of the lenses, giving them a fogged appearance. ...
Swimming is a highly competitive sport that requires the use of just about every muscle in your body. It's effective at toning your physique and even burning fat. However, injuries to the shoulders and elbows can be quite commo...
Competitive swimming has existed since the 19th century and possibly for many centuries before that, according to the Federation Internationale de Natation, or FINA, the governing body for international competitive swimming. Me...
Competitive swimming incorporates four style of swimming, called strokes. Some strokes are swum individually and others are swum as part of a relay team. The strokes can also be combined in a race called an individual medley, w...
Competitive swimmers must follow specific rules regarding race conduct and the execution of particular strokes. USA Swimming, the governing body for competitive swimming in this country, follows most FINA rules and regulations....
Competitive swimming and swim workouts are designed to help improve your swimming speed, quickness and overall agility. In addition, competitive swim workouts are designed to help boost endurance as well as strengthen your arm ...
The Speedo LZR revolutionized international competitive swimming. Speedo's design team created the suit to maximize buoyancy, water flow and support for the swimmer's body. Now outlawed from competition, swimmers wearing the su...
Rules exist in order to ensure fairness and safety in athletic competitions. High school swimming rules prohibit athletes from overexertion, and keep noncompeting swimmers from accidentally falling into the pool. Each state has...
Bodybuilding has been used for many years to develop a swimmer's strength and speed. Swimming requires powerful arms, legs and core strength, so a bodybuilding routine that focuses on developing these muscle groups from every d...
The abdominal muscles are used with every stroke and kick you take while swimming competitively. As you pull water with your arms, your abdominal muscles are constantly working. Your lower abs also get a workout as you kick wit...
