SWIMMING FASTER
Preface Foreword by George Raines xix xxi Introductions Historical Perspective PART One Stroke Mechanics CHAPTER 1 The Hydrodynamics ot Competitive Swimming Strokes Lift Aerodynamic Lift Theory 11 The Application of Aerodynamic Lift Theory to Swimming Propulsion 14 Propeller Theory and Swimming Propulsion 15 The Physics of Analyzing Swimming Strokes for Their Propulsive Capability The Combination of Forces 17 Determining the Direction of Propulsive Force 18 Force Magnitude and Propulsion 18 11 11 17
VI The Importance of Limb Direction, Pitch, and Velocity to Efficient Swimming 19 Limb Direction 19 Pitch 20 The effects of paddling on propulsion, 25. The significance of air bubbles behind the hands and feet. 26. Velocity 27 / Applying Lift Theoryio Competitive Swimming Strokes 28 Stroke Terminology 28 The Four Sweeping Motions of the Competitive Strokes 29 Outsweep, 29. Downsweep, 32. Insweep, 33. Upsweep, 37. The Importance of Conservation of Momentum 41 The Dropped Elbow 42 Chronic Shoulder Pain 43 The Role of the Legs in Hydrodynamic Propulsion 43 Teaching Swimmers to Use Lift for Propulsion 44 The Downsweep of the Armstroke 46 The Insweep of the Armstroke 46 The Upsweep of the Armstroke 46 The Downbeat of the Kick 46 Reducing Water Resistance to Forward Motion 46 Laminar Versus Turbulent Flow 46 Types of Drag 49 Form drag, 49. Wave drag, 49. Frictional drag, 51. The Effect of Speed on Drag 52 References 52 CHAPTER 2 The Front Crawl Stroke The Armstroke Entry 53 Common errors on entry, 54. Stretch 55 Catch 62 Downsweep 63 Common errors in the downsweep, 66. Insweep 68 Common errors in the insweep, 69. 53 53
Upsweep 69 Common errors in the upsweep, 70. Recovery 70 The high-elbow recovery, 71. The hand-swing recovery, 72. Common errors in the recovery, 73. / Timing of the Arms 74. - ^ VU Instructions for Teaching the Sweeps of the Front Crawl Stroke to College, High School, and Older Age-Group Swimmers 76 Instructions for Teaching the Sweeps of the Front Crawl Stroke to Younger Age-Group Swimmers 76 The Flutter Kick Downbeat 78 Upbeat 78 Lateral Leg Motion 78 Timing of the Arms and Legs The Six-Beat Kick 79 The Two-Beat Kick 81 The Two-Beat Crossover Kick The Four-Beat Kick 84 /s the Flutter Kick Propulsive? Variations in Style Body Position Horizontal Alignment 91 Lateral Alignment 93 The Importance of Body Roll Breathing Common Errors in Breathing 95 Alternate Breathing 96 Breathing Frequency in Freestyle Competition 97 References 25 and SO races, 97. 100 races, 98. Longer races, 99. 81 94 76 79 87 90 91 94 99 CHAPTER 3 The Butterfly Stroke The Armstroke 100 100
VJJJ Entry 104 \ Common errors on entry, 108. ^\ Outsweep 108 Common errors in the outsweep, 111. Catch 111 Downsweep 111 Common errors in the downsweep, 112. Insweep 112 Common errors in the insweep, 113. Upsweep 114 Common errors in the upsweep, 114. Recovery 115 Common errors in the recovery, 118. Instructions for Teaching the Butterfly Armstroke to College, High School, and Older Age-Group Swimmers 118 Instructions for Teaching the Butterfly Armstroke to Younger Age-Group Swimmers 118 The Dolphin Kick Upbeat 119 Downbeat 119 Is the Dolphin Kick Propulsive? 121 Common errors in the dolphin kick, 123. Timing of the Armstroke and Kicks Asymmetry of the Two Dolphin Kicks 124 One-Kick Butterfly 125 Body Position Common Errors in Body Position 125 Breathing Breathing Sequence and Frequency 126 Common errors in breathing, 127. Breathing Frequency During Butterfly Races Breathing to the Side 128 127 119 124 125 126 CHAPTER 4 The Breaststroke Body Position and Breathing 129 129
Body Position 132 Breathing 134 Common Errors in Body Position and Breathing 134 The Armstroke \ Outsweep 136 \ Common errors in the outsweep, 139\ Catch 141 \ Downsweep 141 Common errors in the downsweep, 142. Insweep 142 Common errors in the insweep, 143. Recovery 144 Common errors in the recovery, 144. The Downsweep: An Alternate Way to Begin the Armstroke 144 IX 134 Instructions for Teaching the Armstroke to College, High School, and Older Age-Group Swimmers 144 Instructions for Teaching the Armstroke to Younger Age-Group Swimmers 146 The Kick Outsweep 149 Common errors in the outsweep, 151. Downsweep 151 Common errors in the downsweep, 151. Insweep 151 Common errors in the insweep, 153. Leg Glide 154 Recovery 154 Common errors in the recovery, 154. The Dolphin Kick: A Recent Innovation in the Breaststroke Sore Knees 146 155 155 Instructions for Teaching the Breaststroke Kick to College, High School, and Older Age-Group Swimmers 156 Instructions for Teaching the Breaststroke Kick to Younger Age-Group Swimmers 157
X Timing of the Armstroke and Kick Breathing Frequency During Breaststroke Races The Underwater Armstroke Initial Glide 162 Outsweep 162 Catch 163 Downsweep 164 Insweep 165 Upsweep 167 The Second Glide 167 Kick-up to the Surface 167 References 157 157 158 168 CHAPTER 5 The Back Crawl Stroke The Armstroke Entry 169 Common errors on entry, 172. Catch 175 Common errors at the catch, 176. Initial Downsweep 178 Common errors in the downsweep, 179. Upsweep 179 Common errors in the upsweep, 180. Final Downsweep 182 Common errors in the final downsweep, 183. Recovery 183 Common errors in the recovery, 186. Timing of the Arms 187 169 169 Instructions for Teaching the Backstroke Armstroke to College, High School, and Older Age-Group Swimmers 188 Instructions for Teaching the Backstroke Armstroke to Younger Age-Group Swimmers 188 The Kick Upbeat 190 Common errors in the upbeat, 190. 189
Downbeat 190 Common errors in the downbeat, 190. Timing of the Legs 190 Timing of the Arms and Legs Is the Backstroke Kick Propulsive? Body Position Horizontal Alignment 194 Lateral Alignment 195 The Importance of Body Roll 195 The Importance of Diagonal Kicking 196 Common Errors in Body Position 196 Stroke Drills to Improve the Backstroke 196 Breathing References One-arm swimming, 196. Kicking on the side, 196. 191 191 194 197 197 CHAPTER 6 Starts, Turns, and Finishes 198 Standing Starts for Freestyle, Butterfly, and Breaststroke Races 199 Mechanics of the Grab Start 202 Preparatory position, 203. Faster reactions to the starting signal, 204. The dive, 204. Common errors in the grab start, 207. Relay Starts 207 Backstroke Starts 209 Mechanics of the Conventional Backstroke Start 209 Preparatory position, 209. Drive from the wall, 211. The flight, 211. The entry, 212. The glide, 213. Arm position during the backstroke start, 213. Common errors in the conventional backstroke start, 213. Standing Backstroke Start 214 Turns 214 Freestyle Flip Turn 217 The approach, 217. The turn, 217. The push-off, 218. Common errors in the flip turn, 219. Backstroke Turns 220 The spin turn, 221. The Naber turn, 223. The roll turn, 228. Butterfly and Breaststroke Turns 228 Turning in short-course competitions, 230. Common errors during the butterfly and breaststroke turns, 231. Important differences between the butterfly and breaststroke turns, 231. Turning in long-course competitions, 232.
XU Breathing After Turns 232 Finishing Races 233 Finishing Freestyle Races 233 Finishing in the Butterfly, Breaststroke, and Backstroke 234 Butterfly, 235. Breaststroke, 235. Backstroke, 235. Breathing While Sprinting to the Finish 236 References 236 PA R T Two Physiology Applied to Training Swimmers CHAPTER 7 Energy Metabolism Related to Swimming Performance 241 Energy Metabolism During Swimming Races 241 Fuels for Muscular Contraction 241 The ATP-CP Reaction 243 Glycolysis 244 The anaerobic phase of glycolysis, 245. The aerobic phase of glycolysis, 245. The production of lactic acid during anaerobic glycolysis, 246. The interaction of aerobic and anaerobic processes during exercise, 248. Relative Energy Contributions of Different Metabolic Processes 248 Liver Glycogen: A Backup Source of Energy 249 Lipid Metabolism 250 The Causes of Muscular Fatigue 250 Fatigue in 25- and 50-Yard/Meter Sprints 251 Fatigue in the 100, Middle-Distance, and Distance Events 251 Muscle Glycogen Depletion and Fatigue 252 Delaying Fatigue During Swimming Races 254 Improving Efficiency of the ATP-CP Reaction 255 Increasing Lactate Production 257 Delaying Fatigue Caused by Lactate Accumulation 257 Reducing the rate of lactate accumulation, 257. Increasing lactate removal from working muscles, 258. Circulatory mechanisms involved in lactate removal, 259. Enzyme activity involved in lactate removal, 260. Lactate permease activity, 261. Increasing Lactate Tolerance: The Oxygen Debt 261 Improved buffering capacity, 261. Increased pain tolerance, 262. References 263
xiii CHAPTER 8 The Importance of Oxygen Consumption, the Anaerobic Threshold, and Muscle Structure to Swimming Performance 268 Oxygen Consumption The Effects of Training on V0 2 Max 270 Circulatory Adaptations That Increase V0 2 Max 270 Cardiac output, 271. Capillary density, 272. Blood flow to working muscles, 273. Blood volume and red blood cells, 274. Adaptations in Muscle Cells That Improve Oxygen Consumption The Importance of Myoglobin to Oxygen Consumption 277 The Concept of Limiting Factors in VO 2 Max 278 275 269 The Anaerobic Threshold: A New Training Concept 280 The Significance for Swimmers of Slow Twitch and Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers 282 The Properties of Fast Twitch and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers 283 A New Classification of Muscle Fiber Types 285 Can Sprint or Distance Ability Be Predicted from Muscle Biopsies? 286 How Are Slow Twitch and Fast Twitch Fibers Used During Work? 287 Can Fiber Types Be Changed by Training? 292 Can Distance Training Reduce Sprint Speed? 295 References 295 "CHAPTER 9 Applying Physiological Principles to the Conditioning Program 301 The Principles of Training 301 Specificity of Training: A Different Interpretation 301 Overload 303 Progression 303 Internal Training 304 Training the Metabolic Processes That Contribute to Improved Race Performances 306 Improving Sprint Speed 309 Sprint-assisted Versus Sprint-resisted Training 310 Improving Maximal Oxygen Consumption 313 Training the Anaerobic Threshold 317
XIV Treffene's Anaerobic Triangle Theory 323 The Danger of Excessive Speeds 325 Increasing Lactate Tolerance 325 Race-Pace Training 330 Blood Lactate Studies 332 Training for Other Circulatory and Muscular Adaptations 334 Circulatory Adaptations 334 Muscular Adaptations 335 Myoglobin content, 335. Enzyme activity, 335. Muscle glycogen content, 336. Shifts and splitting within the FT muscle fibers, 336. Buffering capacity, 337. The Importance of Distance Training for Sprinters 337 The Importance of Sprint Training for Distance Swimmers 338 Training Middle-Distance Swimmers 339 Special Forms of Training 339 Broken Swimming 339 Marathon and Fartlek Training 340 Hypoxic Training 340 Running Versus Swimming 341 A Model for Monitoring Swim Training 343 Phase I 343 Phase II 344 Phase III 344 Phase IV 344 References 345 CHAPTER 10 Planning the Swimming Season 348 The Yearly Plan 348 The Early Season Period 349 Sprinters, 350. Middle-distance swimmers, 350. Distance swimmers, 350. The Competitive Season 351 Sprinters, 351. Middle-distance swimmers, 352. Distance swimmers, 352. The Taper Period 353 Physiological factors in the taper, 354. General guidelines for the taper, 355. The first week, 355. The second week, 356. The final week, 356. Psychological factors in the taper, 357. The minor taper, 357. The retaper, 358. Yardage 358
XV Planning Weekly Training Programs 360 Planning Daily Training Sessions 362 Special Training Considerations for Events Other Than Freestyle 363 Training Butterfly Swimmers 363 Training Backstroke Swimmers 364 Training Breaststroke Swimmers 364 Training Individual Medley Swimmers 365 Training Age-Group Swimmers Overtraining The Stress Syndrome 368 Diagnosing Overtraining 372 Relieving Overtraining 374 Preventing Overtraining 374 Breaks in Training References 365 368 375 377 PA R T Three Other Aspects of Training CHAPTER 11 Preparing for Swimming Pacing Race Plans 382 1500 and 1650 Freestyle 384 800 Meters 385 400-Meter and 500-Yard Freestyle 200-Meter and 200-Yard Freestyle 200-Meter and 200-Yard Butterfly Races 386 388 389 200-Meter and 200-Yard Backstroke and Breaststroke 100-Meter and 100-Yard Freestyle 390 100-Meter and 100-Yard Butterfly 390 100-Meter and 100-Yard Breaststroke 391 100-Meter and 100-Yard Backstroke 391 Individual Medleys 392 200-meter and 200-yard individual medley, 393. 400-meter and 400-yard individual medley, 394. Exceptions to the Recommended Pace Patterns 394 Teaching Swimmers to Pace 395 381 Strategy 396 389 381
XVI Warm Up 397 The Effect of Increased Muscle Temperature on Body Physiology 397 Other Aspects of Warming Up 398 Warm-up Procedures 399 Other Competition Procedures 400 Massage 400 Hyperventilation 400 Cooling Down After Races 402 References 402 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 Muscular Strength and Joint Flexibility 404 Muscular Strength 404 Establishing Training Programs for Improving Stroking Power 407 Training Procedures for Improving Muscular Endurance 408 Power Training and Muscular Endurance Training for the Legs 409 Joint Flexibility 410 Measuring Flexibility 411 Ankle plantar flexion and dorsiflexion, 412. Foot eversion and inversion, 414. Exercises for Increasing Flexibility 415 References 419 Nutrition Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins Carbohydrates 422 Fats 424 Proteins 425 Applying Nutritional Guidelines Daily Caloric Intake 426 Fluids 427 Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Vitamins 430 421 The B-complex vitamins, 430. Vitamin C, 430. Vitamin E, 432. Vitamins A and D, 433. Vitamin K, 433. Pantothenic acid, 433. Vitamin M (folic acid), 433. Vitamin H (biotin), 433. Minerals 433 Iron, 433. Calcium, 435. Potassium, magnesium, sodium, and chlorine, 435. Phosphorus, 435. Sulfur, 436. Cobalt, 436. Iodine, 436. Zinc, 436. Fluorine, copper, and manganese, 436. 421 426 428
xvii General Guidelines for Using Food Supplements 436 The importance of potatoes, 437. Carbohydrate Loading 438 Body Fat and Swimming Performance 440 The Scales Will Mislead You If You Don't Watch Out 440 Selecting Your Ideal Competition Weight 442 Changing Body Composition: Bulking Up and Slimming Down 443 The Danger of Dieting During Hard Training 444 Maintaining Weight During the Off-Season and After Retirement 445 The Precompetition Meal 445 The Postcompetition Meal 446 Food Intake During Hard Training 447 References 447 APPENDIX Evaluating Body Composition 451 The Easiest Method With Limitations 451 Skinfolds The Best Method for Coaches and-athletes 451 Using Skinfold Measurements to Estimate the Percent Body Fat of Children and Teenagers 455 Using Skinfold Measurements to Estimate the Percent Body Fat of Young Adults 455 Index 463