Fundamentals for reducing resistive drag

Water is a 1000 times more dense than air, so when the body moves forward through it, the water resists its movement with a force substantially greater than the resistance of air. That force is resistive drag. Swimmers will accelerate forward so long as the propulsive forces they apply are greater than the resistive drag forces holding them back. They encounter resistive drag as they move forward because they must actually push streams of water molecules out of their way to open a hole in the water for the body to pass through. The resistive drag is directly proportional to the turbulence they create as they swim down the pool and is determined by four factors:

• the space swimmers take up in the water,
• the shape they present to the water,
• limb movements that push water forward instead of backward, and
• the friction between the body and the streams of water that come in contact with it.

Choosing a suitable pool for baby swimming

There are a number of important points you should bear in mind before you select a pool in which to teach your child. Think of the care that you put into looking after your baby, and make sure that this extends to choosing a suitable swimming pool for your baby. Take your time and carefully check out the pools near where you live. The pool and changing facilities must be clean, and the water clean, clear, and warm.

 

Back to the pool!!!!

Today was my first day in the pool in the last few months and it was just great to be in the water again. Although the weather was cloudy I really enjoyed it. In the videos below it's me swimming the four different strokes. I apologize for the low quality of the videos, this is something I'm going to work on. From now on, I'll try to perform all the drills in the videos that I will post in this blog.

I would really like to read your comments on my videos (be gentle on these ones, as I said it's been a few months since my last training).

Basic endurance training

There are six broad categories of training that athletes must use to maximize the potential of the various physiological systems in their bodies. These are:

1. Endurance training
2. Sprint training
3. Race-pace training
4. Recovery training
5. Strength and power training
6. Flexibility training        

Today I'm going to write about endurance training and more specifically about basic endurance training.

Aqua yoga

Aqua Yoga is a series of yoga exercises done in water that combines the therapeutic and afloat nature of water with the stimulating and balancing of yoga. In short it takes the principles and movements of yoga and adapts them to the environment of water. With the release of gravity the body is able to find the most advantageous stretching. Aqua Yoga combines slow stretching with the use of breathing and relaxation as the water provides resistance for the muscles to work against. Aqua yoga is a natural and all-encompassing way to promote and sustain fitness and health.

Stroke length and swimming speed

Swimming speed is determined by two factors, stroke rate (SR) and stroke length (SL). SR is represented as the number of strokes a swimmer takes per minute and as you have already found out reffers to how fast you can move your arms. This is something that is predermined due to hereditary factors and it takes very little improvement through training. The other factor that determines swimming speed is SL which refers to how far your body travels during each stroke cycle and not how far your hand moves. What a swimmer does between strokes affects SL more than how he pushes the water back. Thus minimizing drug will improve SL far more than an increase in propulsion.