Swimming is one of the best of aerobic exercises. It burns a great many calories and is much easier on the joints than many other strenuous activities. You will find that when you begin swimming, your will use muscles that you normally do not. You may that your body is sore all over. But don’t worry: This is a good thing! It means that your muscles will grow bigger and stronger and you will burn more calories, leading to weight loss.
To burn the most calories and to get into the best shape, the efficiency of your swimming stroke is the key. If your stroke is highly efficient, it will reduce wasted energy output through less drag in the water. You will also accomplish a cleaner execution of hand and arm entry and recovery.
So, you will find that little extra energy may give you a faster time. When your energy resources are almost at the end and your lungs and limbs are burning, holding onto your technique will give you a bit of an edge. Every swimmer knows how easy it is to forget your technique at the end.
A proper swimming stroke focuses on the following factors:
1. Leg kick
2. Timing
3. Arm cycle
4. Breathing
Your leg kick controls your body position, and the arm cycle propels you forward. It is the timing between the leg and arm motions that is key to your efficiency at any particular stroke. Also, you should analyze your breathing technique to make sure that your overall form is not lost in any way.
In swimming, the five strokes in competitions are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley.
In freestyle events, you can swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is an alternate stroking of the arms over the water surface and an alternating flutter kick. On turns and finishes, you need to touch some part of the wall. Most competitive swimmers use a flip kick.
The backstroke is an alternating motion of the arms with a flutter kick while on the back. On turns, you can rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and some part of you needs to touch the wall.
The breaststroke is the oldest stroke dating back hundreds of years. It requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. Your hands are pressed out from in front of the breast in a heart shaped pattern. They are recovered under or on the surface of the water. The kick is a somewhat circular motion similar to a frog’s motion. On turns and at the finish, you must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously.