Tuesday, August 19, 2008

What Muscles Do We Use to Swim?

Here is a fun and interesting video I found on YouTube. It is a computer model of a person swimming each of the four strokes. The muscles light up purple whenever they are activated or used. This was developed by a Dr. Nakashima at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. I am not sure how this was created or what methods were used to determine when certain muscles are activated, but it is interesting to look at nonetheless. One thing to notice - look at how often the abs light up in each stroke - see, dryland really is important!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Another Reason Why Swimming Rules

I just finished watching the women's uneven bar finals from Beijing, and the now perfunctory commentary from Bela Karolyi about the unfair and ridiculous scoring procedures. This week there have been countless occasions where the scoring system seems to be unequally applied to some gymnasts, and NBC has been quick to bring up situations where an American athlete has been shortchanged.

To me the essence of sport is that the winners and losers are determined solely by the actions of the participants. It seems that in gymnastics this is many times not the case. Instead, the outcome is determined by the supposedly objective but truly subjective opinion.

Thank goodness that we will never have this problem in our sport. We have the clock, which never lies. Though it can be a cruel taskmaster, the clock is the most honest tool we can have to evaluate our performance. The time you swim is the time you earn. Nobody else can change it or affect it. No one can take it away. That is the beauty of swimming.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Six Truths of Fast Swimming - Truth #5

Myth #5 of Fast Swimming: "That little technical thing won't make a difference."
The 5th Truth of Fast Swimming: "The little things ARE the big things."

First, there is no such thing as a 'little thing.' Drag is a huge factor in determining swimming speed, and each small technical adjustment can have an impact. Not only that, but a bunch of these small technical adjustments can add up to so much more.

Think about the last time you saw a penny on the ground. Was it worth picking up? Would you have been more likely to pick it up if it was a nickel? How about a dollar? What if every time you walked down the street, there was a penny, and every day you picked it up? Eventually, you would begin to accumulate enough money to be able to purchase something of value.

As swimmers and coaches, we sometimes get stuck in this "penny on the sidewalk" mentality, one that says the changes we can make are so small as to be insignificant. But the truth is that it is the sum of these changes that make a difference. Thus we must strive daily to make small incremental improvements. Some days, we may be able to make a dollar's worth of improvement. Other days, just a penny. But if we strive for improvement each and every day, the sum will be well worth the effort.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

What it looks like when... you breathe low on butterfly

The world's top butterfly swimmer of the last several years is of course Michael Phelps. While he does some things that are unconventional that may not be right for age group swimmers to duplicate, he does one thing in particular very well which often goes unnoticed. He breathes very low to the water, keeping his chin scraping right along the surface of the water. You can see what I mean by this in the top picture. This is very important in butterfly. By doing this, Phelps eliminates any unnecessary up-and-down motion, which cuts down on his drag.

Many young swimmers make a mistake (like the swimmer in the bottom picture) by coming up too high out of the water to breathe. Because they are tired and concerned about getting enough air, these swimmers breathe high. This requires extra work and in turn makes them get tired more quickly and need more air, beginning a cycle that is nearly impossible to break.
To make your butterfly as fast and efficient as possible, be sure to breathe low to the water. You can do this by keeping the following things in mind:

1. Use your hips and legs to make the dolphin motion -- don't pick your head up and down.
2. Focus on pushing your forehead toward the other end of the pool, even when you aren't breathing.
3. Snap your kick as you push yourself forward to breathe.
4. Use your hands to push water backwards rather than down!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

What it looks like when...you have a perfect streamline


It may be the simplest of all swimming skills, yet one that most swimmers have not yet perfected. It is STREAMLINING.

This picture is of Natalie Coughlin, the world record holder in the 100 backstroke and a member of the U.S. Olympic Team this summer. She may be the world's best underwater dolphin kicker, in part because she has a near-flawless streamline.

To make your streamline like Natalie’s, be sure to do these things:

1. Place one wrist on top of the other, and wrap your top thumb around the bottom hand to hold it secure.

2. Stretch your arms overhead and lock your elbows.

3. Squeeze your ears with your biceps while keeping your head and neck straight.

4. Lengthen your spine with very straight posture.

5. Squeeze your butt cheeks together as you push off the wall.

6. Point your toes and kick like crazy!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Here's Hoping for Beijing


In almost exactly one week, the world's greatest athletes will gather as the Olympic flame is ignited at the Bird's Nest in Beijing. As a swimming coach, an sports enthusiast, and simply as a human being I find the Olympics to be the most exciting, inspiring and interesting sporting event there is. So here are my hopes for the 2008 Olympic Games:
  • That the Games are peaceful like Athens and Sydney
  • That they have a long-term positive effect on human rights in China and improve relations between the most populous country in history and its global neighbors
  • That we hear more about the athletes and their stories of sacrifice and determination than about who might be cheating.
  • That the cheaters will be caught before they get to stand on the medal podium.
  • That team USA dominates in the pool.
  • That Michael Phelps gets his eight gold medals. Nothing could be better for our sport.
  • That someone (preferably an American) beats Michael Phelps in something. Just to keep it interesting.
  • That we get to see a tearful playing of the Star-Spangled Banner for an athlete nobody thought would win.
  • That our athletes who win will do so with humility and those who lose do so with grace.
  • That Lebron James and company have at least one competitive game on their way to the gold medal in men's basketball.
  • That somewhere in that 2,900 hours of live coverage (more than that of all the previous Games combined) I remember to sleep.