One of the most beneficial sports is swimming. Since all the muscles of the body are in motion during swimming, swimming is more advantageous than many other sports. Without the need to use any weights, swimming helps to develop muscles by applying force only against the resistance of the water. In the most basic sense, swimming is the act of moving the body in water with strokes and foot strokes.
Swimming is a competition in pools prepared in accordance with international standards, where athletes compete in their own lanes without the need for any equipment. Swimming competitions consist of various rules. Competitions are organized in different distances and styles. In order to be fully informed about the sport of swimming, it is first necessary to learn swimming styles. There are four different swimming styles that have their own characteristics.
These styles, called freestyle swimming, backstroke swimming, breaststroke swimming and butterfly swimming, have theoretical knowledge. People who start swimming with theoretical knowledge about swimming styles can improve their technique more easily during practice.
Freestyle swimming is the first and easiest technique to learn. This technique is learned in a much shorter time compared to other techniques. A person who trains in swimming starts with freestyle swimming technique before learning other techniques. The most important feature that distinguishes freestyle swimming technique from others is that it is the fastest of the four swimming styles. In this style, the traction mechanics consist of a right and a left arm pull, as well as a variable number of foot strokes. Let's analyze freestyle swimming in detail.
In freestyle swimming, the position of the body in the water must be tense. The important thing in this technique is to swim without tightening and contracting while moving in the water. In freestyle, the swimmer sticks his/her head out only during breathing and applies a mouth breathing technique. He exhales through his nose and mouth.
In breaststroke, the arm and foot are equally effective. The critical point to emphasize in this style is timing. In timing, you need to pay close attention to the arm, foot and breath. Each of them is very effective on speed. In this technique, where we think that the swimmer's arms and feet are tied like the ropes passing through a pulley on the ceiling are tied to a puppet, the body is in a tense state. The taut ropes pull the swimmer's arm and the heel of the foot towards the hip.
The swimmer inhales during the arm pull and exhales during the arm extension. Breaststroke is one of the most technical styles in swimming. Unlike freestyle, if a swimmer makes a mistake in the competition, they are disqualified from the race. Let's examine the details of the breaststroke swimming technique, which is basically based on the double arm pull and push, as well as the stroke with both legs bent at the knee.
Basic stance position; this position consists of 4 stages. Starting with a warm-up, the basic stance position continues with stretching the muscles, lying in the water and pushing the wall. Starting with the warm-up, the swimmer works with various warm-up movements in the water for about five minutes. The swimmer, who needs to stretch his/her muscles, stretches all muscle groups as much as he/she can and keeps them tense for 10-15 seconds. The swimmer stretches his/her arms forward in the water and does stretching exercises with his/her face parallel to the bottom of the pool. The last stage of the basic stance is the push against the wall. At this stage, the swimmer pushes his/her body forward in the water with the support of the soles of the feet. Then, he/she applies the lying position. Thus, he/she can quickly restore his/her balance.
Leg movements in breaststroke swimming; leg movements in this style are in two forms as passive and active movements. In passive leg movements, the legs should be shoulder-width apart after sliding. At this stage, the swimmer, who bends his knees slightly, should pull his heels towards his hips. The swimmer, who pulls his/her heels towards his/her hips, starts to push the water with the soles of his/her feet and pushes the water outwards. In breaststroke swimming, the swimmer is in active leg movement with knees bent and heels pulled towards the hips. He turns his feet outward at this stage. With the help of the soles of his/her feet, he/she pushes the water forcefully from the side to the back. Having completed the active movement, the swimmer then straightens his/her legs together. The feet should remain in the sliding position until it is time for the next stroke.
Arm movements in breaststroke swimming; arm movements are divided into two as passive and active, just like leg movements. During passive arm movements in breaststroke swimming style, the swimmer takes his/her arms forward. At the same time, his/her hands should look forward along with his/her shoulders. The passive movement continues until the arms are straight.
The backstroke technique is known to be very close to the freestyle technique. However, in the backstroke, the body takes a completely different position in the water. This technique is easier to learn after learning freestyle. In 1912, during the Stockholm Olympic Games, the backstroke technique was first practiced by the American swimmer Hebner. After its success, it was taken seriously as an innovative technique.
This proven backstroke technique was emphasized for a very long time. Backstroke is a style of swimming that involves lying on your back in the water. The hands are placed at head level and move backwards with the help of the feet. The backstroke swimmer should feel comfortable in the water. Unlike freestyle, the position of the head is fixed. In the backstroke technique, the elbows are never bent during the stroke. The swimmer puts his/her hands in the water from the farthest point as far as possible and after the water is drawn out, he/she takes them out from the side of the leg.
When the swimmer needs to hold his/her hands in the air, he/she determines the position with the palms facing outwards. The pinky finger should enter the water first. In the backstroke style, the feet are free and must be moved from the hips. Since the head is facing upwards in the backstroke, there are no breathing problems, as in freestyle. Once the swimmer starts swimming backstroke, they need to keep their feet and toes under the water.
Swimmers also have the right to swim up to 15 meters under water from the moment they start swimming. A backstroke swimmer can also facilitate foot flapping by keeping the waist upright. It is more correct to clap the feet with the toes stretched out. The swimmer can throw his/her head back while swimming on his/her back, and it is observed that most good backstroke swimmers swim with their chin down.
We can say that butterfly swimming is a difficult technique. In freestyle swimming, the legs move in a scissor-like fashion, but in butterfly style, both legs must move at the same time. In freestyle, the arms are used alternately. In butterfly style, on the other hand, both arms can be used at the same time. The butterfly swimming style is quite enjoyable to watch. In the butterfly swimming technique, where the body needs to be tense, the swimmer lies in the water with his arms while performing a dolphin stroke with his legs.
During the stroke, the swimmer's arms move away from each other and come back together when the hands approach the abdomen. The swimmer keeps the head in the water before extending the arms forward for the stroke. During butterfly swimming, the swimmer exhales while swimming strokes and inhales with the head out of the water while the hands are in the water. It is not easy to learn the movements in butterfly swimming technique. It is necessary to be challenging during training.
Training should be continued with coordinations appropriate to the level of the swimmer candidate. Butterfly style is a difficult swimming style due to the fact that both arms come out during recovery. First of all, the candidate swimmer should be placed face down in the water. His/her hands stand next to the body and his/her head is allowed to fluctuate with up and down movements. Slowly move forward. In order for the butterfly swimming style to be more effective, arm and foot exercises are added with the fluctuation movement.
Thus, technical exercises are started. The shoulder joint must be in the correct position. At the same time, it is an important detail that the ankle flexibility is at the appropriate level.
In butterfly style, one arm stroke is accompanied by 2 foot strokes. When the swimmer's hands enter the water and when the hands come out from under the swimsuit, 2 footstrokes are applied. In the first movement, the swimmer moves his/her body to cover distance in the water with his/her arms. His/her arms are under the water and he/she performs the outward sweeping downstroke upstroke movements. In the second foot stroke, recovery takes place.
We mentioned 4 types of swimming above. In competitions, swimmers can also use mixed swimming. Individual and team competitions are organized in men's and women's categories. In competitions, swimmers compete in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Competitions are organized in various meters that require several laps of the pool where the race is held.
Swimmers who rank in the swimming tournaments in their country are entitled to participate in the international championships of important continents such as Europe and Asia. Especially in the world swimming championships, the aim is to carry the flag in team competitions. Freestyle and mixed swimming styles are used in competitions.
WHAT SHOULD YOU PAY ATTENTION TO BEFORE AND AFTER SWIMMING?
Breath control is an essential part of swimming. You should know how to control your breathing, where to inhale and where to exhale. Regular sports have an important place in terms of physical and mental health. Today, many people lead a more sedentary life. However, it is seen that those who do regular physical activity have a healthier and more aesthetic body and a healthier mood. Doing sports reduces body fat and increases lean tissue mass.
Thus, you increase your chances of having a healthier body and mass index. It will be very beneficial for your physical and mental health if you see sports as an enjoyable activity, not an obligatory one. You should incorporate sport into your daily life as much as possible. Practicing sports as a lifestyle brings significant benefits. One of the sports that allows most of the muscles in the body to work at the same time is swimming. In addition to being a fun activity, swimming helps you stay in shape.
What should you pay attention to before and after swimming, which will help you have a healthier body? Let's examine it together.
Before you start swimming, you should warm up; warming up is very important in swimming as it is in every sport. Thanks to warm-up movements, both your performance increases and you are mentally prepared for the sport. With warming up, there is an increase in muscle and body temperature in the swimmer's body. Various hormonal changes also occur in this process, which also supports the expansion of blood vessels. Thanks to warming up, your risk of injury is reduced.
All kinds of sports have positive effects on health. Swimming contributes to the regular functioning of metabolism. Swimming regulates blood circulation. One of the important benefits of swimming is that it protects athletes from diseases as it contributes to the body becoming more resistant. As it is known, people living in northern countries have made a habit of swimming in very cold waters to increase their body resistance.
Swimming should not only bring professional athletes to mind. The structure of the human body is suitable for standing on water. By acquiring some theoretical knowledge and applying it correctly, the body can be made to swim properly. People who are not confident in themselves can also get used to being in the water quickly with a little training. The cleanliness and hygiene of the environment in which you swim is a very important criterion. A clean environment positively affects one's health. Let's examine the positive effects of swimming on human health in detail.
Another of its social benefits is that it eliminates the problem of adaptation. It also prevents distraction. Discipline is one of the biggest benefits of swimming and all other sports. This discipline is reflected in the whole life of the person and encourages the person to live a more planned life. People who are interested in swimming are very active individuals in their social lives. Especially as individuals who are more beneficial to society, they can make a name for themselves in different studies.
Swimming may seem difficult at first, but after frequent training it will become quite enjoyable as your fitness will increase. Before you start swimming, gather all your courage and listen carefully to all the details explained to learn the techniques. With a little courage and confidence, you can start swimming in a very short time. When you gather your courage and put yourself in the water, you will see that there is actually nothing to be afraid of.
Thanks to the techniques you learn over time, you can not only start swimming much better and faster, but you can also witness improvements in your general health and body structure. Thanks to the warm-up movements, your practice will start to increase in a short time. Warm-ups will not only prevent cramps, but also help you adapt to swimming movements in a short time. You can gain speed by training frequently.
You cannot fully learn any sport without training. Swimming is a sport that requires frequent training. You can adapt to swimming much more easily by learning and practicing the techniques that will be needed during swimming. Swimming, which will always make you feel stronger and healthier, is also an important opportunity for you to socialize. You will also feel psychologically relaxed thanks to your increased self-confidence over time.
When you decide to start swimming, it will be easy to get swimming equipment that will help you increase your fitness and comfort. Thanks to the technical knowledge and comfortable equipment you have, you can have successful swimming experiences.