When you think of swimming, first thing that comes into your mind is maybe going to your local pool and playing pool basketball with some friends or just cooling off midst a summer heatwave. Perhaps you’re going to the beach with your family and sprinting through the tide. At that point, you might be pondering what you should have for lunch, how long you are going to stay at the pool, or maybe what you’re going to do at night. You’re not thinking about the angle your hands go into the water, the optimal amount of times to kick depending on your oxygen levels, or your head position. These cues among many others are always on a swimmers mind. Today we will dive into what it takes from a physical point of view to become a competitive swimmer.

 

Coach Mat Mediterra Swim – 2017

 

If you visualize a competitive swimmer, you probably visualize a balanced athlete. An athlete that doesn’t have any underdeveloped areas physically probably swims or has swam in their past. Elite athletes like Russell Wilson and Tim Duncan both swam in their past, with Russell Wilson mentioning that he wakes up early and swims, attributing his durability and longevity to being in the water. On the other hand, Tim Duncan surprisingly aimed to swim in the 1992 Olympic Games. Duncan “was a lock to make the Virgin Islands swimming squad” as a standout in the 50m, 100m, and 400m freestyle (before basketball). He then had to switch to basketball due to unfortunate circumstances.

EssentiallySports – Jacob Gijy 2021 (article) – Tim Duncan as a young swimmer

 

Although swimming requires a balanced physical body, it demands specific technique, strategy, and cardiovascular endurance. Technique improvements can be miniscule, but any improvement shaves off time over time. Some technique improvements that swimmers think about are staying level with your hips and your head, as dropping your hips will lift up your head, and putting your head down will lift your hips. The angle and length that your arm goes in at changes the amount of water you pull. There’s many small technique cues that they swimmers need to be precise about and find the middle ground with. Everything makes a difference in the water, and as we see all the time, races come down to milliseconds. One less breath, one more breath, one stronger pull can give you the edge in a close race. To focus on technique, however, swimmers need to be in the water as much as possible. The repetitive nature of swimming rewards those who are in the water more (to an extent as with everything), as a big metric that competitive swimmers focus on is how many yards a week they swim. Michael Phelps in his peak swam at least 80,000m a week, close to 50 miles. It definitely worked for him as the most decorated Olympian of all time.

 

SwimTeach.com – 2008-2024

 

Next week we have sumo wrestlers!!!