NA Senior High School

Prone position-strokes that use prone, or face down position are Front crawl and Breast

Supineposition- strokes that use supine, or face up-on back position are theelementary back and back crawl.

Pool Length= 25 yds.

Buoyancy is the upward force thatkeeps things afloat. The net upward buoyancy force is equal to the magnitude ofthe weight of fluid displaced by the body. This force enables the object tofloat or at least seem lighter. Lungs and body fat aid in buoyancy.

Heart rates during water aerobics are generally10-12 beats per minute lower than land aerobics.  Researcherssay that this is because the water temp is a bit lower than your own body tempand water pressure on the body helps circulate your blood requiring lessaerobic work by your heart.

WHAT CAN SWIMMING DO FOR YOU?

Swimming is a great activity.It tones your entire body while providing an excellent cardiovascular workout;it strengthens your heartmuscle and improves delivery of oxygen to muscles.  

SWIMMING PROVIDES …

·        A LIFETIME FITNESS OPPORTUNITY.

·        AN EXCELLENT CARDIOVASCULARCHALLENGE.

·        A NON IMPACT WORKOUT.

·        A REFRESHING WAY TO BE ACTIVE.

·        A CHANCE TO develop life skills suchas sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, goal-setting, and anincreased sense of self-worth.

·        A GREAT TONING ACTIVITY.

Treading Water/Water Running

• Treading water is an important safety skill for all swimmers.  The water provides resistance to movement requiring muscles to work against the resistance, to build strength.  This resistance can be augmented by increasing the speed of movement and using equipment such as resistance paddles.
• Anyone can benefit from water running. For athletes, it is a great form of cross training and an excellent way to rehabilitate an injury and prevent injuries. Water running can allow an injured athlete to recover without losing fitness.  It can also help with improving running form and decreasing risk of sustaining injuries by decreasing the stress on running on hard surfaces.  Typically water runners use an Aqua Jogger that straps around the waist and keeps the body afloat to allow training without stress on the body.

What are the benefits of swimming? There are plenty of reasons toswim! Here's a list that should get you motivated.

Low impact-There's no ground impact when you swim,and so you protect the joints from stress and strain. Water aerobics classesare also desirable for this reason, because even if you do jump and hit thebottom of the pool, you do so with less force because you're buoyant in thewater.

Can be continued for a lifetime-Because there'sno impact with swimming, it can be continued for a lifetime. 

Builds cardiorespiratory fitness-Swimming improvesendurance. In one study of sedentary middle-aged men and women who did swimtraining for 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption improved 10% and strokevolume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat which indicates heartstrength) improved as much as 18%.

Builds muscle mass-In a study of men who completed aneight-week swimming program, there was a 23.8% increase in the triceps muscle(the back of the arm). My take on muscle mass and swimming is that if you havebeen doing no resistance exercise at all and you start to swim, you willcertainly get more toned.  It's wellworth the strength and tone that you will almost certainly gain.

An alternative when injured-When athletes areinjured, particularly in the lower extremities, they are frequently told toswim to maintain their fitness level. Swimming helps them stay in shape, andit's even part of their rehabilitation. That's because the resistance of thewater makes the muscles work hard without the strain or impact that isexperienced on land.

It's a family affair-Swimming and other wateractivities are something the entire family can share. With rising levels of obesityin children as well as adults in the United States, family physicalactivities and good role-modeling may be one way to stem the epidemic of inactivityand obesity facing our nation. 

Burns calories-Swimming burns lots of calories, anywhere from 500-650 per hourdepending on how efficiently you swim (you burn more flopping around thanswimming cleanly!) and how buoyant you are (the more body fat you have, themore you float and the fewer calories it takes to swim). Very early andoriginal research on swimming and calorie expenditure showed that swimming,regardless of the stroke, burned about 89% of the calories burned during runningand 97% of the calories burned during cycling for the same time period. Oneimportant caveat about this data is that calorie expenditure is dependent onthe intensity of exercise, and so it's entirely possible to burn more caloriesswimming than running in the same period of time as long as you swim hardenough, and particularly so if compared to running at light intensity.

What are the swimming strokes?

Breaststroke, backstroke, and crawl (freestyle) are the mostpopular swim strokes. The breaststroke is more difficult to learn than thebackstroke and crawl.

Breaststroke  The breaststroke involves exquisite timing, and in fact, you can bedisqualified from competition if you miss even one stroke. The stroke involvesform that causes your body to bob up and down as you glide forward through thewater.  The basics are that your armspull, you breathe, you kick (arms alternate with the kick), and you glide. Hereare details.

• The leg kick:
• Bring the knees to chest.
• Thrust the legs backward and straight.
• Snap the legs together to push the water and propel you forward (frog kick).
• The arm stroke:
• Start with the arms overhead.
• Pull on the water, and bring arms toward the chest.
• Keep the hands cupped.
• Return arms to starting position.
• The breathing:          
• Breathe every time you stroke with your arms.

Backstroke   The backstroke is easier than the butterflyor breaststroke and similar to the crawl in that you use an alternate windmillarm stroke and flutter kick. Two keys to a proper backstroke are (1) that yourarms move with equal strength, otherwise you will swim off to one side, and (2)that your body rolls from side to side so that your arms catch enough water topropel you forward.

• The leg kick:
• It's a flutter kick where the legs kick in an alternating order.
• Bend the knees slightly.
• Relax the feet and ankles (they should be almost floppy).
• Emphasize the up-kick for propulsion.
• The arm stroke:
• Move the arms in an alternating, windmill pattern as they rotate and pass your face.
• Cup the hands, and the thumb leaves the water first.
• Move the hands in an "S" pattern when they are pushing the water.
• The breathing:
• Keep your head back and eyes toward the ceiling.
• You can find your own breathing pattern with the backstroke because the breathing is less coordinated with the arms and kick than other strokes since your head should always be out of the water.

Crawl (freestyle)  This is the most popular stroke and theeasiest for beginners to learn. It is a simple flutter kick and windmill armmotion, like the backstroke, only on your belly. The most difficult part iscoordinating the breathing since your face is in the water most of the time.

The leg kick:

·        It's a flutter kick where the legs kickin an alternating order.

·        Bend the knees slightly.

·        Relax the feet and ankles (they shouldbe almost floppy).

·        Emphasize the down-kick for propulsion.

The arm stroke:

• Move the arms in an alternating windmill motion.
• Pull each arm through the water with equal strength and arm reach to ensure that you swim straight.
• Pull arms underwater in an "S" pattern.
• Cup the hands but keep the wrist and hand relaxed during recovery.

The breathing:

·        Raise one arm to begin the stroke. Asthe shoulder rises, turn the head to catch a breath.

·        Turn the head only enough to leave thewater to breathe. Do not lift the head because it will slow you down.

·        Take as many breaths as necessary andthen exhale through the nose and mouth when the head returns to the water.

·        Repeat the head turn to the other sidein coordination with the beginning of the opposite arm stroke.

The freestyle flip turn (when swimming the crawl)

There are a couple of options for turning around when you reachthe wall during lap swimming. You can simply touch the wall and turn around andstart swimming again or you can do a flip turn. The flip turn is essentially asomersault in the water where you flip and turn and use your legs to power-kickoff the wall. The flip turn, when completed properly, is fast, efficient, andtime-saving. If you've ever watched Olympic swimming, you see the swimmersgracefully execute their flip turns. Here are the basics.

• Start the somersault before reaching the wall by tucking the chin and pulling the knees into a tuck position.
• Blow out air to avoid inhaling water.
• Straighten out the body-tuck halfway through the flip and extend the legs toward the wall.
• You will be on your back at this point.
• Push off the wall.
• Roll over onto the belly and glide toward the surface of the water.
• Hold the glide until you break the surface of the water, and then start stroking immediately.

·        The flip turn takes practice, but with consistent work, you canmaster it. It's worth trying if you swim laps for exercise.

Swim Workout Equipment

Kickboards  -Kickboards come ina variety of shapes and sizes. The main purpose is for you to hold on and stayafloat while your legs do all the work. It's good exercise for coordinatingyour kicking, and it gives your arms a rest. 

Pull buoys - Like kickboards, pull buoys are flotationdevices that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but unlike a kickboard,which gives the upper body a rest, pull buoys are placed between the legs tokeep the legs afloat without kicking so that you can work your upper body. Pullbuoys are excellent training devices for building upper-body strength,endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness. They can also help you work on yourform because you can swim slowly and deliberately without sinking.

Fins - Fins fit on your feet and add propulsionto your kicks (think of a duck's webfoot). They are great training for yourlegs and will help you swim faster. They come in long fins for beginners whowant to work on their stroke and build up leg strength and ankle flexibility andshort fins to help you go faster without overworking your legs. Fins should fitsnugly but not so tight that they cut into your foot or cut off circulation.

Hand paddles-   Hand paddles attach to your hands and addpropulsion to your arm stroke because they move more water. They can be a lotof work for the arms and shoulders because of the resistance in the water, andfor this reason, they are used in water aerobic classes to mimic the resistanceexercises that you do on land with dumbbells (for example, biceps curls).

     Swim WorkoutComponents:

The frequency, intensity, and time of the workoutdepend on your current level of fitness and swimming ability.  Over time the workout should progressivelyand gradually increase (overload) in frequency, intensity, and time (duration).  Do not increase more than one trainingprinciple at a time.

Warmup-Beginningeasy portion to raise the body temperature and prepared an individual forswimming.  At least 5 minutes or about20% of the total workout time should be allotted for warm up kicks, tread, orswim.

Skillrefresher- apiece built into the workout to concentrate on mechanics and technique.  Approximately 20% of the workout can bededicated to skill building.

MainSet- at least50% of your workout.  Time to check heartrate.

Cooldown- a fewlaps at the end of your workout to loosen the body and let one’s heart rategradually return to normal.

FITTPRINCIPLE- helps remind us how often, how hard, how long and what type ofexercise to do to maintain optimal health.

FITT- Frequency (Most days of the week-at least 5), Intensity (70-85% maximum heart rate), Time (at least 30 minutes in your target heart rate zone, Type (aerobic or anaerobic, somethingyou enjoyJ)

THRexample:  220- 17 = 203 (MHR)  X 70% = 140 BPM        Moderate Intensity

                                                                X 85% = 170 BPM        Vigorous Intensity