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Contribution of the legs in front crawl swimming

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... It is widely accepted that swimming performance is highly dependent on power and muscular strength [14][15][16][17][18], with the latter identified as a major determinant of success in competitive swimming [19]. Specifically, upper body strength is imperative in swimming as the majority of propulsive forces [20][21][22] and swimming velocity [22][23][24][25] are generated by the upper body musculature. Previous research [20] has also found strong correlations (r = 0.93) between upper body strength and swimming performance. ...
... It is widely accepted that swimming performance is highly dependent on power and muscular strength [14][15][16][17][18], with the latter identified as a major determinant of success in competitive swimming [19]. Specifically, upper body strength is imperative in swimming as the majority of propulsive forces [20][21][22] and swimming velocity [22][23][24][25] are generated by the upper body musculature. Previous research [20] has also found strong correlations (r = 0.93) between upper body strength and swimming performance. ...
... Toussaint and Vervoorn [36] used the MAD device, a specific in-water system to measure mechanical power output as well as active drag during front-crawl swimming, in their study [22]. The MAD device consists of 16 pushoff pads, 1.35 m apart on a 23 m horizontal rod 0.8 m below the water surface. ...
Article
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Background The majority of propulsive forces in swimming are produced from the upper body, with strong correlations between upper body strength and sprint performance. There are significant gaps in the literature relating to the impact of resistance training on swimming performance, specifically the transfer to swimming performance. Objective The aims of this systematic literature review are to (1) explore the transfer of resistance-training modalities to swimming performance, and (2) examine the effects of resistance training on technical aspects of swimming. Methods Four online databases were searched with the following inclusion criteria: (1) journal articles with outcome measures related to swimming performance, and (2) competitive swimmers participating in a structured resistance-training programme. Exclusion criteria were (1) participants with a mean age <16 years; (2) untrained, novice, masters and paraplegic swimmers; (3) triathletes and waterpolo players; (4) swimmers with injuries or illness; and (5) studies of starts and turns specifically. Data were extracted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was applied. ResultsFor optimal transfer, specific, low-volume, high-velocity/force resistance-training programmes are optimal. Stroke length is best achieved through resistance training with low repetitions at a high velocity/force. Resisted swims are the most appropriate training modality for improving stroke rate. Conclusion Future research is needed with respect to the effects of long-term resistance-training interventions on both technical parameters of swimming and overall swimming performance. The results of such work will be highly informative for the scientific community, coaches and athletes.
... On the one hand, both arms and legs are considered the main contributors for force exertion in the water [14,15], thus Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Article ID 563206 being of major importance for performance enhancement over short distance events. Within these segments, their contribution seems to differ, with the leg kicking being commonly considered a factor of secondary importance for front crawl propulsion [16]. It has been stated that its participation enables the achievement of higher velocities by an average value of ∼10% [17], but its contribution to overall swimming remains uncertain [14]. ...
... To the best of our knowledge, few studies have aimed to analyze the importance of leg kicking in front crawl swimming [16,17]. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relative contribution of arm stroke and leg kicking to force production in front crawl fully tethered swimming. ...
... Even though these are pioneering results, they are in accordance with the expectations, as propulsive capacity decreases in each situation. Previous studies pointed out that the arm stroke generates 90% of the total propulsive thrust in sprint freestyle [16,17]. Using the 20 m swimming speeds with no constraints and using only the arm stroke, Deschodt and colleagues [17] indirectly reported that 10% higher speed was achieved when using the leg kicking. ...
Article
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The relative contribution of arm stroke and leg kicking to maximal fully tethered front crawl swimming performance remains to be solved. Twenty-three national level young swimmers (12 male and 11 female) randomly performed 3 bouts of 30 s fully tethered swimming (using the whole body, only the arm stroke, and only the leg kicking). A load-cell system permitted the continuous measurement of the exerted forces, and swimming velocity was calculated from the time taken to complete a 50 m front crawl swim. As expected, with no restrictions swimmers were able to exert higher forces than that using only their arm stroke or leg kicking. Estimated relative contributions of arm stroke and leg kicking were 70.3% versus 29.7% for males and 66.6% versus 33.4% for females, with 15.6% and 13.1% force deficits, respectively. To obtain higher velocities, male swimmers are highly dependent on the maximum forces they can exert with the arm stroke (í µí±Ÿ = 0.77, í µí±ƒ < 0.01), whereas female swimmers swimming velocity is more related to whole-body mean forces (í µí±Ÿ = 0.81, í µí±ƒ < 0.01). The obtained results point that leg kicking plays an important role over short duration high intensity bouts and that the used methodology may be useful to identify strength and/or coordination flaws.
... The importance of the lower limbs remains inconclusive for the various swimming techniques. Although their role has been overlooked and thought of as a minor factor [70,[78][79][80], these results need to be quantified. Previous studies have performed an indirect measurement, i.e., they have calculated the contribution of lower limb action by subtracting the contribution of upper limb action from the value of the complete swim. ...
... Using a new ergometer (in a terrestrial environment), Swaine et al. [81] observed contributions to the upper limbs of 62.7 ± 5.1% and to the lower limbs of 37.3 ± 4.1%, contrasting with the assumption of 90% of propulsion obtained by the upper limbs [70,[78][79][80]. As these data needed to be verified in water, Morouço et al. [43] idealized and performed evaluations with restrictions, as shown in Figure 3. ...
Article
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Swimming coaches know that a swimmer’s assessment must be specific and ecological. Thus, it is critical to select and employ adequate methodologies. The tethered swimming method can be useful and valid, in addition to being simple to apply. Regular use of this methodology can give coaches tools to intervene with their swimmers and increase performance. The main objective of this manuscript was to analyze the potential for measuring the propulsive forces exerted in water as a biomechanical tool for evaluating and training competitive swimmers. The key results demonstrated that this methodology allows (i) the assessment of upper limb bilateral kinetic asymmetries; (ii) the evaluation of the contribution of the upper and lower limb actions, inferring about the (un)balance between strength and coordination; (iii) the examination of the relationship between the intracyclic variations in speed and force; (iv) the evaluation of the effective application of force to the speed of high-level swimmers. Furthermore, this manuscript suggests advances using mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence (AI) that will provide significant insights into swimming performances. AI developments will promote its integration into sports optimization, and swimming will be no exception.
... The muscular adaptations influenced by land-based endurance training improve the aerobic processes and increase the maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2max) measured during incremental exercise, lactate threshold, and long-term endurance capacity. In contrast, swimmers and coaches favoring running and cycling exercise should keep in mind that these should be considered dissimilar mode cross-training options, as the contribution of leg kicking to the overall swimming speed has a partial contribution of only approximately 10-13%, whereas most of the propulsive force is generated by the upper body with approximately 87-90% [38,39]. ...
... The propulsive phase in swimming (force and swim velocity) is mostly based on the upper-body musculature [38]; therefore, upper-body strength and power are imperative in swimming [29,31]. Additionally, lower-body strength and power are also key components to enhance start and turn performance in swimming, in addition to the initial swimming part of the race [45,46]. ...
Article
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe effects on communities globally, leading to significant restrictions on all aspects of society, including in sports. Several significant decisions were made to postpone or cancel major swimming events by FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation). Swimmers were no longer allowed to continue their usual training in swimming pools and were confined to their homes. These unusual circumstances may represent a good opportunity to strengthen different areas of swimmer preparation and potentially enhance performance when resuming regular aquatic training. We searched major databases for relevant information, and the present article provides practical information on home-based training for swimmers of all ages. The COVID-19 crisis and its consequences on the swimming community have created a myriad of challenges for swimmers around the world, including maintaining their fitness level and preparing to return optimally and safely to pool training and competitions. Unfortunately, the mental consequences that might arise after the pandemic may also have an impact. We strongly recommend encouraging the swimmers to consider quarantine as an opportunity for development in specific areas of preparation and learn how to best cope with this special situation of self-isolation and/or "physical distancing" for their mental health and in case a similar situation is faced again in the future.
... A positive transfer to swimming performance should be achieved through improvements in both physiological and biomechanical parameters. Upper-body strength in particular is imperative in swimming, as most of the propulsive forces [11][12][13] and swimming velocity [11,[14][15][16] are generated by the upper-body musculature. Indeed, Carl et al. [17] reported a strong correlation between one repetition maximal lift (1RM) for the bench press, in-water force generation as measured during tethered swimming, and a timed 22.9 m swim. ...
... A positive transfer to swimming performance should be achieved through improvements in both physiological and biomechanical parameters. Upper-body strength in particular is imperative in swimming, as most of the propulsive forces [11][12][13] and swimming velocity [11,[14][15][16] are generated by the upper-body musculature. Indeed, Carl et al. [17] reported a strong correlation between one repetition maximal lift (1RM) for the bench press, in-water force generation as measured during tethered swimming, and a timed 22.9 m swim. ...
Chapter
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This chapter covers the impact of strength training for swimming performance (free swimming, starts, and turns); its effects on swimming biomechanics; dry-land and in-water strength training methods; and the periodization of strength training for swimming performance.
... In the crawl stroke, the arm stroke made by the upper limbs, accompanied by rolling of the trunk, and the flutter kick made by the lower limbs are performed for propulsion. Although the propulsive force is thought to be produced mainly by the arm stroke, the flutter kick is also considered important for efficient propulsion (Hollander et al., 1988). It was reported that the contribution of the flutter kick to the propulsion is 10~30% (Hollander et al., 1988;Deschodt et al., 1999). ...
... Although the propulsive force is thought to be produced mainly by the arm stroke, the flutter kick is also considered important for efficient propulsion (Hollander et al., 1988). It was reported that the contribution of the flutter kick to the propulsion is 10~30% (Hollander et al., 1988;Deschodt et al., 1999). On the other hand, it was pointed out that the flutter kick has an important role in reducing the drag by raising the lower half of the body upward (Yanai and Wilson, 2008;Nakashima, 2007). ...
Article
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For the crawl stroke in swimming, it is important that the stroke made by the upper limbs and the flutter kick made by the lower limbs are well coordinated in order to enhance swimming performance. However, the training method to acquire the appropriate flutter kick timing has not been sufficiently established. In the present study, a biofeedback training system for swimmers to acquire appropriate kick timing was proposed. In this system, the most difficult and important part is the estimation of the appropriate kick timing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a kick timing estimation algorithm in the crawl stroke for biofeedback training system using neural oscillators. First, a CPG network which outputs the kick estimation timing according to the input was constructed. In order to synchronize the roll angle in the CPG network with the actual one measured by a sensor, a special algorithm to change the cycle of the oscillation for the CPG network was introduced. Validation for the output of sinusoidal input accompanying sudden change in cycle was examined. It was found that the output signal for the roll tracked the input signal well, despite the sudden change in cycle. Validation for the actual input obtained in the experiment was next examined. It was found that the output from the CPG network was sufficiently consistent with the experimental values, suggesting sufficient performance of the proposed estimation algorithm.
... In front-crawl, the contribution of the arm's stroke to the overall swimming speed (i.e. full stroke performing the strokepull and the kicking) is approximately 87-90% (Hollander, de Groot, van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988;Ribeiro et al., 2015;Watkins & Gordon, 1983). On the other hand, leg kicking seems to have a partial contribution to the overall swimming speed of approximately 10-13%. ...
... Overall, the velocity for front-crawl AS found in the present study is in agreement with the 87-90% reported on segmental velocity for this stroke (Hollander et al., 1988;Ribeiro et al., 2015;Watkins & Gordon, 1983) with slight differences between males and females also as reported in other previous interventions in the same topic (Watkins & Gordon, 1983). Similar results obtained in the remaining swim strokes. ...
Article
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The aim of our study was to assess the effect of the limbs’ actions on the nonlinear properties of the four competitive swimming strokes. Forty-nine swimmers performed all-out sprints at front-crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, each one at full stroke (FS), only the arms’ stroke (AS), and only leg kicking (LK), in a total of 12 bouts, 6 per day. A speedo-meter cable was attached to the swimmer’s hip, to collect the speed-time raw data (f = 50Hz). Velocity, speed fluctuation, sample entropy and fractal dimension were derived from the speed-time series. Significant and moderate-strong effects were noted for both stroke and condition in all variables in the study (p ≤ 0.001; 0,560<η2 < 0,952). The four competitive strokes and their three conditions exhibited nonlinear properties. The swimming pattern was less complex and more predictable for LK in comparison to AS and FS. Breaststroke and butterfly have more complex but more predictable patterns than backstroke and front-crawl.
... The arms have been reported to contribute more than 85% of the total thrust (propulsive force) in some circumstances [8,9], whilst the legs have been shown to contribute as little as 10-15% of front crawl speed during maximal intensity swimming trials [10]. These studies highlight the critical importance of the arms to propulsion in front crawl swimming. ...
... The dominance of the arm contribution to the thrust indicates that optimising the arm stroke technique is more critical for maximising the thrust at high speeds than the kicking technique. The predicted thrust contribution from the arms for the racing stroke rate at 71% is close to the value of 85% reported in earlier experimental studies [8,9] given the differences in how the forces are quantified for free swimming (directly from the forces exerted on the swimmer model for the simulations whilst indirectly and often quite intrusively for the experiments). The almost equal force contributions from the arms at the lowest frequency indicate that the six-beat kicking is equally effective as the arms, and that perhaps, the temporally scaled arm technique is not optimally suited to the lower stroke rates. ...
Article
Understanding the relationships between front crawl swimming technique and the corresponding fluid dynamics is important to athletes seeking improved performance and an edge over their rivals. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) swimming modelling provides a controlled and unobtrusive capability that provides many previously immeasurable quantities including full flow fields and information on the forces experienced by the body throughout the stroke. In this study, a coupled biomechanical-smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is used to determine when peak arm thrust occurs and how the ratio of arm–leg thrust changes with stroke rate. A dynamic biomechanical model of a female national-level swimmer was generated from a three-dimensional laser body scan of the athlete and multi-angle videos of sub-maximal swimming trials. This was coupled to the SPH method to simulate the fluid moving around the body during front crawl swimming. Two distinct peaks in net streamwise thrust were found during the stroke coinciding with the underwater arm strokes. The peak arm thrust occurred during the transition from pull to push (left arm) and midway during the push (right arm). Finally, the ratio of arm thrust to leg thrust was found to increase with increasing stroke rate.
... Taking into account the mean value of the swimmers´ cycle time, the analyzed peak power frequency (PPF) takes a value of around 5.9 Hz without fatigue and 5.1 with fatigue. Although most of the propulsive forces generated during swimming (~85-90%) correspond to arm movements (Hollander et al., 1988;Deschodt et al., 1999), we need to explain foot action as the second most important oscillator in our analyses. This work has its limitations. ...
Preprint
The present study analyzes the changes in acceleration produced by swimmers before and after fatiguing effort. The subjects (n=15) performed a 25-meter crawl series at maximum speed without fatigue, and a second series with fatigue. The data were registered with a synchronized system that consisted in a position transducer (1 kHz) and a video photogrametry (50Hz). The acceleration (ms-2) was obtained by the derivative analysis of the variation of the position with time. The amplitude in the time domain was calculated with the root mean square (RMS); while the peak power (PP), the peak power frequency (PPF) and the spectrum area (SA) was calculated in the frequency domain with Fourier analysis. On one hand, the results of the temporal domain show that the RMS change percentage between series was 67.5% (p<0.001). On the other hand, PP, PPF, and SA show significant changes (p<0.001). PP and SA were reduced by 63.1% and 59.5%, respectively. Our results show that the acceleration analysis of the swimmer with Fourier analysis permits a more precise understanding of which propulsive forces contribute to the swimmer performance before and after fatigue appears.
... Hand fins, kickboards, pull-buoys, snorkels, and fins are all examples of equipment used in swimming (Matos et al., 2013;Jagomägi and Jürimäe, 2005;Agopyan et al., 2012). Studies have indicated that flutter kicks contribute to around 10% of the overall stroke rate (Hollander et al., 1988). Fins are utilised during training to enhance the flutter kick and improve ankle flexibility. ...
Article
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The present study sought to examine the freestyle proficiency of juvenile swimmers deploying various accessories, namely fins, kickboard, and pull-buoy. Twenty-three participants, comprising 14 females and 9 males aged between 10 and 11 years, who reside in Istanbul, pursue activities in exclusive clubs, have held an athlete license for no less than three years, and expressed a keen interest in swimming opted to take part in the study. The research was implemented voluntarily in a private club's indoor swimming pool (25 m short lane). First, the swimmers' body weight, height, and arm length were measured. They then demonstrated their freestyle performance at distances of 25 m, 50 m, 75 m, and 100 m using different equipment: maximal, fins, pull-buoy, and kickboard-only flutter kick. Swimming performances with each piece of equipment were performed two days apart, and all swimmers' performances were recorded with an SJCAM 4k external camera. After conducting the test, the captured images were transferred to the computer and processed using the Kinovea 0.9.5 program in MP4 format. Individual calculations were made for each swimmer's finish time, lap times and velocity for each distance and equipment. The data were evaluated using the IBM SPSS 24.0 analysis program. It was ensured that the data followed a normal distribution ("±1.5"). The comparison of finish times, lap times and velocity of swimmers using different equipment was analysed using repeated measures variance. There was a statistical difference between the fins, kickboard and pull-buoy in finish time, lap times and velocity (p
... The present study found a similar trend in the hand force's HFD under both arm-pull conditions. Propulsive force is a strong predictor of swimming velocity, and being the upper limbs the main contributors to velocity (Deschodt et al., 1999;Hollander, 1988), this link between the nonlinear properties of the swim velocity and hand force was somewhat expected. ...
Article
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Human locomotion on water depends on the force produced by the swimmer to propel the body forward. Performance of highly complex motor tasks like swimming can yield minor variations that only nonlinear analysis can be sensitive enough to detect. The purpose of the present study was to examine the nonlinear properties of the hand/feet forces and describe their variations across the four competitive swimming strokes performing segmental and full-body swimming. Swimmers performed all-out bouts of 25 m in the four swimming strokes, swimming the full-body stroke, with the arm-pull only and with the leg kicking only. Hand/foot force and swimming velocity were measured. The Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD) and sample entropy (SampEn) were used for the nonlinear analysis of force and velocity. Both the arm-pull and leg kicking alone were found to produce similar peak and mean hand/foot forces as swimming the full-body stroke. Hand force was more complex in breaststroke and butterfly stroke; conversely, kicking conditions were more complex in front crawl and backstroke. Moreover, the arm-pull and kicking alone tended to be more complex (higher HFD) but more predictable (lower SampEn) than while swimming the full-body stroke. There was no loss of force production from segmental swimming to the full-body counterpart. In conclusion, the number of segments in action influences the nonlinear behavior of the force produced and, when combining the four limbs, the complexity of the hand/foot force tends to decrease.
... However, it is the cyclic movements of the upper limbs that are the main drive during swimming. They constitute (according to different authors): the primary propulsive force, in the kraul (Richardson, 1983;Hollander et al, 1988;Toussaint and Beek, 1992;Troszczynski, 1999;Przybylska, 2010); about 65% of the swimming speed in backstroke and butterfly (Dybinska, 2011); about 70-80% (Bartkowiak, 1984(Bartkowiak, , 1999; or almost 90% of the overall propulsion force (Pink and Tibone, 2000); and up to 80% of the propulsion force in kraulic sprint events, and up to 100% in longdistance events (Przybylska, 2010). ...
Article
Strength training is an important part of the preparation of competitive athletes. The subject of interest of the scientists connected of sports swimming was the level of strength ability of the competitors practising this sport and the influence of this ability on the final sports result. The purpose of this review is to describe and consider the impact of strength training of the shoulder muscles in sports swimming. A literature review was conducted in Embase, Medline PubMed, DOAJ, EBSCO and Google databases. Basic search terms are: training in sports swimming, strength tests, evaluation of muscle properties, rotation of the arm, strength measurement methods. Results: 235 results were found and 148 professional publications were selected and analysed. A thorough review of scientific publications indicates that strength parameters of the shoulder girdle muscles played a very important role on the sports performance of swimmers. The programmes combining swim training with 'on land' strength improvement or electrical stimulation are more effective than swim training alone. Significant fatigue of the rotator muscles can impair shoulder stability and result in injury. Increased strength in the internal rotation movement may result pathological conditions of the shoulder.
... The contribution of the arms to total propulsion during freestyle has been reported to exceed 85% of the total thrust in studies by (Bucher, 1975) and (Hollander et al., 1988). The legs were shown using swimming trials with and without leg kicking to contribute only about 10% to maximal freestyle speed (Deschodt et al., 1999). ...
Thesis
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Swimming is a very demanding sport which requires extreme muscle strength and endurance. Only fractions of a second may separate the winner from the opponents. The swimming performance, specifically, is influenced by complex interactions between physiological, morphological, neuromuscular, biomechanical, and technical factors. These factors not only depend on training, genetics, and opportunity but also can be influenced by a “warm-up,” recognized as a primary factor in athletic performance. Completion of a warm-up prior to a competitive exercise bout is a widely accepted practice within modern sport; athletes and coaches believe that warm-up is very essential to attain optimal performance. Consequently, this thesis proposes an easy method for coaches to implement during the competition warm-up or before the race in call room to improve the performance of their athletes. This technique is called post-activation potentiation (PAP). However, the effects of PAP and swimming performance remains limited. Consequently, our three studies contributed to the knowledge of this subject. Our results provided practical information for coaches to develop appropriate training paradigms for their swimmers. The revealed data reported the importance of PAP individualization to enhance swimming performance and described some basics that should guide the warm-up structure in the competition. Many factors can affect the PAP impact on performance such as the transition time between the PAP stimulus and the subsequent main activity (swimming race), the typological profile and muscle strength of swimmers (the percentage of fast, slow fibers...), the level of training experience and the load or intensity of the PAP stimulus. Nevertheless, PAP effect in swimming still lack the information to understand how it works and specially to allow better application in practice. However, it is necessary for each trainer or physical trainer to proceed by trial and error to determine, for each athlete, what is the optimal recovery time in order to enhance the performance. According to the literature, the potentiation effect can be measured between 1min to 12 minutes before the race. This duration should be short enough to maintain potentiation but long enough not to induce an accumulation of fatigue. The optimal average time is often around 6 to 8 minutes, which corresponds to the time the swimmer waits in the call room. However, many protocols are to be tested, science must continue to study this phenomenon to know its most effective use in swimming performance
... At the entry of the arm into the water and the extension of the elbow, the shoulder and the side of the body start to rotate below the surface of the water. The main contribution to total thrust comes from the upper limbs (Bucher, 1975;Hollander et al., 1988), accounting for 90% of the total propulsion (Morais et al., 2020a), while the lower limbs intervene only for a relatively small percentage on the maximum speed (Deschodt et al., 1999), with the propulsion power mostly coming from the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Different phases, whose durations may be different among athletes, can be recognized. ...
Article
Human movements, such as walking and running, are able to generate rhythmic motor patterns, with the consequent appearance of hidden time-harmonic structures. Such harmonic structures are represented (at comfortable speed) by the occurrence of the golden ratio as ratio of durations of specific walking and running gait sub-phases. Preliminary experimental evidences suggest that front crawl swimming may behave, under this point of view, like walking and running. This paper aims to demonstrate that a mathematical connection between the golden ratio and the front crawl swimming stroke actually exists, at a pace that plays the role of the comfortable speed in walking and running. Generalized Fibonacci sequences are used to this purpose. They rely on the durations of aggregate phases of the front crawl swimming stroke with a clear physical meaning, while characterizing self-similarity of front crawl strokes in its simple nature and enhanced (stronger) variant. Experimental data on front crawl swimmers illustrate the theoretical derivations, suggesting that the pace playing the role of the comfortable speed in walking and running is the middle/long-distance one, while the self-similarity level increases with swimming technique and the enhanced self-similarity is associated with the performance of top-level swimmers.
... In other words, as biceps brachii, flexor carpi ulnaris, triceps brachii, vastus deltoids and pectoralis major are involved in the pull motion (Ikuta et.al, 2010), the same muscles are considered to be activated by the MBTD. As the upper limbs contribute 70-90 % of the propulsive force (Adrian et al., 1965;Bucher, 1975;Deschodt et al., 1999;Hollander, 1987;Holmer, 1974;Kamata et al., 1995), force generated from upper limbs is essential for acquiring propulsive force. In addition, a study on the relationship between swimming speed and upper limb power in both 50m and 400 m freestyle has proved that there is a significant correlation between 50m freestyle and muscular power (Hawley et al. 1992). ...
Article
It is becoming common for top-level swimmers to perform the medicine ball throw down sets (MBTD), consisting of an exercise of throwing a medicine ball downward forcefully onto the ground prior to the race event. However, MBTD effectiveness remains controversial. We investigated the effect of completing the MBTD on sprint front crawl performance. Eight national level male swimmers with 21.5 ± 1.5 years of age (personal best 50m freestyle time of 24.14 ± 1.07 secs) participated in this study. In a randomised crossover manner, swimmers underwent a standard pre-race procedure (CON condition) and a standard pre-race procedure including the MBTD sets (MBTD condition). Swimmers performed a 50m all-out front crawl pull time trial after each condition. Force measurement and subjective sensation were quantified before and after the time-trial, respectively. Seven out of eight swimmers swum faster under the MBTD condition with a significant tendency between each condition (𝑝 = 0.78). There was no significant difference in the maximum and average force values between the conditions. Regarding subjective sensation, significant difference was demonstrated between two conditions (𝑝 = 0.006, 0.033 and 0.007). In conclusion, the MBTD before a 50m all-out performance improves subjective sensation; therefore, 50m swimming performance may be improved.
... This result indicates that understanding how the water flows are created could improve propulsion in the water, and 3D water flow measurements would help in understanding the details of water flow. It is known that 90% propulsive force is created by the arms of a swimmer, while that created by legs is 10% in sprint freestyle [9,4]. Therefore, revealing the mechanism of the jet stream caused by the movement of the arms has considerable importance in understanding swimming. ...
Conference Paper
Water flow is strongly related to swimming speed; thus, technologies for measuring the three-dimensional movement of water are highly desired in the water sports industry. However, existing fluid measurement methods are not suitable for use with humans because they introduce tiny plastic particles (known as tracer particles) that contain fluorescent ink, which is used to visualize water flow. A laser then irradiates the environment to make the particles brighter than the surroundings to track their movement with cameras. This method has potential adverse effects to humans, such as accidental swallowing of the particles and laser burns to the skin and eyes. In this research, we propose a human-friendly water flow measuring technology using tracer particles made of food-grade materials and a harmless light source. To visualize tracer particles, we give the particles an optical property, which makes them sufficiently brighter than the surroundings when placed between circularly polarized plates. We tested the proposed setup for water flow measurement in an actual swimming environment with swimmers. We observed that tracer particles moved in accordance with the water flow caused by a swimming stroke.
... More expert swimmers used six-beat kicking rhythm, i.e. they executed six leg kicks during each stroke cycle. This synchronization allowed a greater direct contribution of the legs to propulsion (Hollander, De Groot, Van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988). In contrast, the greater number of kicks per stroke used by the less experienced group of swimmers was associated with specific arm movement modification in a way to maintain a streamline body position. ...
Article
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We tried to determine the perceptions of experienced swimming teachers and coaches (hereinafter “experts”) regarding common mistakes in backstroke swimming. Moreover, we compared their evaluation with the evaluation of participants with no professional expertise in teaching/coaching swimming (hereinafter »non-experts«). 70 participants were recruited and divided either in the experts group (E) or in the non-experts group (NE). Group E consisted of 21 swimming coaches (11 males and 10 females; ages 34 ± 11 years) with the certificate of Slovenian Swimming association and with lengthy experience (at least 10 years) in teaching and coaching swimming. 49 undergraduate students (29 males and 20 females; ages 18 ± 1 years) without any teaching or coaching experiences in swimming were assigned to Group NE. They were asked to mark 42 mistakes that most commonly occur in backstroke swimming. They evaluated these mistakes on a seven-point scale of importance for backstroke swimming performance. For 27 of 42 mistakes significant differences existed in evaluations between both groups. Group NE marked them with a significantly lower score, i.e. as less important than Group E. In light of the results obtained by Group E, a scale of importance of mistakes for backstroke swimming was established. This scale could be used for future swimming teachers’ preparation in a way to understand the principles of backstroke with greater ease. Moreover, it could help swimming teachers and coaches classify swimmers according to their backstroke technique performance.
... These general characteristics have been identified previously 26,27,1 . It is a generally acknowledged that arms contribute more to force generation than the legs in swimming 28,29,30,31 , with broad shoulders and a long arm reach useful for a swimmer across strokes, especially when combined with a long torso. A long torso, particularly relative to leg length, shifts a swimmer's centre of mass toward their hips, achieving a more horizontal body position improving hydrodynamic efficiency by reducing drag and allowing for maximum propulsion, the centre of mass and the centre of buoyancy being closely related 32 . ...
Article
Purpose: Previous research has captured point estimates for population means of somatic variables associated with swimming speed across strokes, but have not determined if predictors of swimming speed operate the same at the upper tails of the distribution (τ =0.9) as they do at the median levels (τ =0.5) and lower levels (τ =0.1). Method: Three hundred sixty-three competitive-level swimmers (male [n=202]; female [n=161]) participated in the study. To identify key somatic variables associated with 100-m swimming across and between strokes controlling for age, we used a Bayesian allometric quantile regression model, refined using Bayes Factors and Leave-one-out cross validation. Results: High probabilities (>99%) were found for arm-span, seated-height and shoulder-breadth being the strongest somatic predictors across strokes. For individual strokes, Bayesian quantile regression demonstrated that the relative importance of predictors differs across quantiles. For swimmers in the 0.9 quartile, shoulder-breadth is a more important than height for front-crawl, wide shoulders are important for breaststroke swimmers but can be detrimental when combined with narrow hips, seated-height and hip-width are important for backstroke swimming speed, and calf girth for butterfly. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of considering key somatic variables for talent identification in swimming and ensure young swimmers focus on strokes compatible with their somatic structure. The most important new insight is that predictors differ for the best swimmers compared to average or poorer swimmers. This has implications beyond swimming, pointing to the importance of considering the upper tails of distributions in performance and talent identification contexts.
... This study identified consistent beliefs among highperformance swimming coaches with regards to the velocity contributions of the upper and lower limbs in front crawl that are congruent with the observations of existing experimental research. 24,42 However, large variability was observed in the reported metabolic contributions of the limbs. The allocation of swim, pull and kick training also varied among coaches, with coaches highlighting numerous parameters (i.e. the distance specialisation of the swimmers, injury status, stroke technique and physiological conditioning status of the upper and lower limb muscles) that influence their decision-making process when planning training programs for their athletes. ...
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The perceptions of high-performance swimming coaches regarding the relative contribution of the upper and lower limbs are crucial in optimising athletic performance through subsequent prescription of training. Problematically, examination of these perspectives is lacking. To develop knowledge in this area, perceptions regarding the upper and lower limb velocity and metabolic contributions and reasoning surrounding whole body, arms-only and legs-only training prescription (referred to as swim, pull and kick, respectively) were garnered from seven male expert swimming coaches. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim by the lead researcher. Thematically analysed through open and axial-coding, results revealed that all coaches believed the upper limbs were the primary velocity generators but placed great importance on having well-conditioned muscles of the lower limbs. All coaches identified multiple interrelated parameters contributing to velocity generation and metabolic cost. In a typical training week, coaches allocate, on average, 58% (40–85%), 19% (0–30%) and 22% (10–40%) of the total training volume to swim, pull and kick training, respectively. All training prescription was based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience. Considering the variability in training allocation reported by these high-performance coaches, sport scientists and developmental coaches are encouraged to understand how factors such as the distance specialisation of the swimmers, injury status, stroke technique and physiological conditioning status of the upper and lower limb muscles influence the prescription of swim, pull and kick training within a typical training season.
... As shown in Fig. 1, one front crawl stroke includes a pull phase and a recovery phase of the upper limbs [22]. The legs are not referred in this paper due to the small contribution to propulsion (approximately 10%) [23]. During human swimming, the performance mainly depends on the pull phase and can be determined by two independent variables: stoke length and stroke frequency. ...
Article
Oscillating propulsion is widely used in underwater robots, which is inspired by the fin of fish. However, the negative force generated during the locomotion is affecting the propelling efficiency. To tackle such a problem, a swimming mode called front crawl stroke, which gets inspiration from human competitive swimming, has been proposed in this paper. It was implemented in a wheel-paddle-integrated mechanism. This mechanism is capable of flexible transformation among various locomotion modes, permitting more choices when facing complex application environment. The proposed front crawl stroke was studied both theoretically and experimentally. The results suggest that when generating the same maximum propelling force, the front crawl stroke can produce less negative force than the oscillating mode, so as to larger effective net thrust. Furthermore, the propelling efficiency of the front crawl stroke is 2.7 times higher than the oscillating mode. The stroke was also explored with various periods and duty factors. It was found that shorter period and lower duty factor can generate larger net thrust, whereas the force of longer stroke period and higher duty factor is comparatively stable.
... Differences between "arms only" and free swimming have underlined the importance of an effective FK (Deschodt et al., 1999), but propulsion cannot be estimated effectively by comparing "arms only" swimming to swimming with the complete stroke because these methods inhibit swimmers from interacting with the water flow. Similarly, propulsion from FK cannot be accurately inferred by measurements of the arm stroke alone (e.g. using the MAD system (Hollander, De Groot, Van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988) or calculating forces from hand speed (Gourgoulis et al., 2014). Methods that estimate propulsion from uninhibited movements of front crawl swimming, for example CFD and PIV, are more effective estimates than methods that isolate parts of the stroke. ...
Article
Propulsion, one of the most important factors in front crawl swimming performance, is generated from both the upper and lower limbs, yet little is known about the mechanisms of propulsion from the alternating movements of the lower limbs in the flutter kick (FK). The purpose of this systematic review was to review the literature relating to the mechanisms of propulsion from FK in front crawl. There was limited information about the mechanisms of propulsion in FK. Since movements of the lower limbs are similar between FK and the dolphin kick (DK), mechanisms of propulsion from DK were reviewed to better understand propulsion from FK. Recent evidence suggests that propulsion in DK is generated in conjunction with formation and shedding of vortices. Similar vortex structures have been observed in FK. Visualisation and simulation techniques, such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), are non-invasive tools that can effectively model water flow without impacting swimming technique. These technologies allow researchers to estimate the acceleration of water and, consequently, the propulsive reaction forces acting on the swimmer. Future research should use these technologies to investigate propulsion from FK.
... Among the techniques for competitive swimming, the arm stroke in freestyle was focused in the present study. The arm stroke is very important in freestyle, since the main component of the thrust is considered to be generated by the arm stroke (Hollander et al., 1988). For this reason, many studies related to the arm stroke have been conducted to date (Schleihauf et al., 1983, Schleihauf et al., 1988, Berger et al., 1995, Bixler and Riewald, 2002, Sato and Hino, 2003, Rouboa et al., 2006, Pai, 1987, Kudo et al., 2007, Sidelnik and Young, 2006, Nakashima and Takahashi, 2012a, Nakashima and Takahashi, 2012b, Takagi and Sanders, 2002, Matsuuchi et al., 2009, Ito and Okuno, 2003, Ito, 2007. ...
Article
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The objective of this study was to solve the theoretically ideal arm stroke for a swimmer with hemiplegia by using the optimizing simulation. The method of optimizing simulation for non-disabled swimmers was extended to a swimmer with hemiplegia. In order to evaluate the arm strokes in the optimizing calculation, the swimming human simulation model SWUM was employed. As the design variables, the joint angles in the three time frames, in which the arm was performing underwater strokes, were used. The objective function was the swimming speed. Three constraint conditions including the maximum joint torque characteristics were imposed on the optimizing calculation. The swimming motion of an actual swimmer with hemiplegia was measured and put into the simulation as the original motion. In the simulation, significant increase in the swimming speed was obtained in the case of the optimized stroke with the actual swimmer's wrist motion at the slower stroke cycle. From the comparison between the optimized stroke and the actual swimmer's stroke, several differences were found as follows. First, at the entry phase in the fastest optimized stroke, the left elbow was more extended than the actual swimmer's stroke. Second, at the catch phase in the fastest optimized stroke, the forearm in the side view was more tilted with respect to the vertical line, while that in the actual swimmer was almost vertical. Third, at the pull and finish phases in the optimized stroke, the hand pushed the water sufficiently to the end, while that in the actual swimmer went out from the water earlier. Overall, it was found that the optimized stroke effectively utilized the joint torque at the shoulder and elbow to the maximum extent, by selecting the more natural positions and the slower stroke cycle.
... Hollander, De Groot, Van Ingen Schenau, Kahman,& Toussaint, 1988;Deschodt, Arsac, & Rouard, 1999). However, these results may be uncertain due to the calculation of the contribution of legs by subtracting the arms contribution to the value of the whole body while swimming. ...
Article
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It is presented a qualitative review of the specialized literature on fully-tethered swimming, with the scopes of summarizing and highlighting published knowledge, identifying its gaps and limitations, and motivate future research. The major research conclusions can be summarized as follows: (i) tethered swimming is a reliable test to evaluate force exerted in water by swimmers; (ii) higher maximum values of force are obtained in breaststroke and butterfly, while average values are higher in front crawl; (iii) tethered forces present moderate to strong relationships with swimming velocity, and associations between forces diminish as swimming distance increases; (iv) 30 s maximal tethered swimming may be used as an adaptation of Wingate test for swimming; (v) differences in stroke mechanics can occur in tethered swimming but there is no evidence to suggest that they affect swimming performance; (vi) Tethered swimming is a valid methodology to evaluate aerobic energy contribution in swimming and recent investigations concluded that it can also provide information on the anaerobic contribution. Based on and stimulated by current knowledge, further research should focus on the following topics: (i) the usefulness of tethered swimming as a valid tool to evaluate other swimming techniques; (ii) differences in force parameters induced by gender or competitive level; (iii) defining accurate variables for estimation of anaerobic power and/or capacity using tethered swimming; (iv) bilateral asymmetries in exerted forces, and corresponding influence of breathing; (v) relative contribution of arms and legs for whole-body propelling forces.
... Further investigations are required to verify the results during elbow extension exercises in which the TB acts as an agonist muscle and has a major contribution to movement. [78,79] showed that forward propulsions require 85% contribution from the upper limbs in swimming due to the horizontal movement and anatomical positions of the body during swimming. Table 5 Studies on fatigue analysis in elbow flexion involving the TB. ...
Article
Objective The objective of this research was to summarize and analyse the research findings regarding analysis of fatigue in the human triceps brachii (TB) muscle through surface electromyography (sEMG) observations. Methods We systematically searched through five major online scientific databases namely the PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley Online, Springer Link and SCOPUS databases, for articles written in the English language from the year 2001 to March 2017. We specifically searched for the words/phrases “surface electromyography” OR “sEMG” AND “muscle fatigue” AND “triceps” in the title, abstract and keywords to narrow our search and identified 291 articles, of which, 52 were found potentially the most relevant. Results Of 52 considered articles, 11 analysed fatigue in sports, 11 investigated rehabilitation, 15 considered exercises or trainings, 5 used TB as a co-activator or antagonist, and 5 contemplated elbow extension movements. In addition, 4 of the articles investigated both elbow flexors and extensors and 1 studied training effects in rehabilitation. Conclusion Although, many studies in this particular field have considered the TB, further investigations are required to explain some specific facts about fatigue in the TB. The compensation strategy that muscles use to overcome fatigue, the stabilization, overcoming of errors during fatigue along with effect of mental load on brachii muscles and the effect of sports drinks and other eatables on fatigue are a few potential zones that require further in-depth research. This study will guide and direct new researchers to areas that remain hidden.
... Even if the strongest power-performance relationship was observed when mechanical power output was measured during tethered swimming in the pool, in relation to the laboratory-based ergometry, this is the first time that the relationship between mechanical power output from wholebody simulated swimming and swimming velocity has been explored; indeed, previously reported data referred to arm power only (Bradshaw & Hoyle, 1993;Hawley et al., 1992;Johnson et al., 1993;Sharp et al., 1982) and only few studies investigated the contribution of the legs to total mechanical power output (e.g., Gatta, Cortesi, & Di Michele, 2012;Hollander, De Groot, Van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988). Sharp et al. (1982) conducted one of the earliest studies showing that arm power, from a swim bench test, correlated strongly with front crawl swimming performance. ...
Article
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The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between mechanical power, thrust power, propelling efficiency and sprint performance in elite swimmers. Mechanical power was measured in 12 elite sprint male swimmers: (1) in the laboratory, by using a whole-body swimming ergometer (W'TOT) and (2) in the pool, by measuring full tethered swimming force (FT) and maximal swimming velocity (Vmax): W'T = FT · Vmax. Propelling efficiency (ηP) was estimated based on the "paddle wheel model" at Vmax. Vmax was 2.17 ± 0.06 m · s(-1), ηP was 0.39 ± 0.02, W'T was 374 ± 62 W and W'TOT was 941 ± 92 W. Vmax was better related to W'T (useful power output: R = 0.943, P < 0.001) than to W'TOT (total power output: R = 0.744, P < 0.01) and this confirms the use of the full tethered test as a valid test to assess power propulsion in sprinters and to estimate swimming performance. The ratio W'T/W'TOT (0.40 ± 0.04) represents the fraction of total mechanical power that can be utilised in water (e.g., ηP) and was indeed the same as that estimated based on the "paddle wheel model"; this supports the use of this model to estimate ηP in swimming.
... In swimming, whereas the arm stroke provides the major source of the propelling power, the feet also significantly contribute to the movement speed (McCullough et al., 2009). Researchers have shown that the contribution of flutter kicking to total stroke speed in swimming is approximately 10% (Hollander et al., 1988), and the methods that have been recommended to improve flutter kicking performance include practice with kickboards (Montgomery and Chambers, 2008) and increasing the flexibility of the ankle (McCullough et al., 2009). The kickboard is one of the simplest and oldest training tools, and kickboard drills have been shown to help improve positioning in the water. ...
... The basic contents related to teaching arm stroke were covered in the first stage of the programme. Since arms actions account for 90% of propulsion with consequence to v [15], less skilled swimmers seemed to rely more on a shorter than a larger stroke to reach a higher velocity. This leads to a higher number per strokes to perform the 25 m distance. ...
Article
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Purpose: The biomechanical adaptations in front crawl and backstroke swimming, as influenced by the implementation of a concurrent teaching programme were analysed. Methods: Sixteen participants (19.75 ± 1.13 years) underwent a 30 weeks intervention characterized by an increasing complexity to accomplish motor skills in the following order: (i) lower limbs propulsion; (ii) lower limbs propulsion synchronized with breathing cycle; (iii) lower limbs propulsion synchronized with one upper limb action; (iv) lower limbs propulsion synchronized with both breathing cycle and one upper limb action; (v) full swimming stroke; (vi) motor trajectory of the arms stroke. Performance and biomechanics were measured at front crawl and backstroke during three time points throughout the programme. Results: There were improvements in performance over time at front crawl (21.49 s to 19.99 s, p<0.01) and backstroke (27.15 s to 24.60 s, p = 0.01). Significant improvements were found for velocity at front crawl (1.13 m/s to 1.22 m/s, p<0.01) and backstroke (0.92 m/s to 1.00 m/s, p<0.01). Stroke frequency increased at backstroke (0.64 to 0.73 Hz, p = 0.01), while the intra-cyclic variation of the velocity decreased at front crawl (0.13 to 0.12%, p = 0.02). There was also a moderate-high inter-subject variability in response to the programme. Conclusions: These findings prove that a programme of 30 weeks teaching concurrently front crawl and backstroke is effective to promote similar biomechanical adaptations in low-tier swimmers. However, each subject shows an individual response to better adapt the biomechanical actions and to reach a higher level of expertise.
... These results demonstrated that increasing angle flexibility will increase the stroke efficiency for the subject that was modelled. Even if most of propulsion (85 to 90%) is generated by the arm's actions in front crawl (Hollander et al. 1988;Deschodt 1999) leg's propulsion should not be disregarded. In this sense, CFD massive studies about kicking action should also be implemented. ...
... However, Havriluk (2007) stated that the equipment and methodologies used in the MAD system created the following errors: (a) it only measures hand force and does not include any propulsive force generated by the legs. It has been shown that the contribution of the legs to propulsion when using the MAD system has been reported to increase mean power by up to 11.7% compared to using the hand only (Hollander, De Groot, van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988). (b) It only measures force when the hand is in contact with the fixed pad, not the entire time the hand is submerged. ...
Article
Active drag force in swimming can be calculated from a function of five different variables: swim velocity, tow velocity, belt force, power output and exponent of velocity. The accuracy of the drag force value is dependent on the accuracy of each variable, and on the contribution of each variable to drag estimation. To calculate uncertainty in drag value, first the derivatives of the active drag equation with respect to each variable were obtained. Second, these were multiplied by the uncertainty of that variable. Twelve national age and open level swimmers were recruited to complete four free swimming and five active drag trials. The uncertainties for the free and the tow swim velocities, and for the belt force, contributed approximately 5–6% and 2–3% error, respectively, in calculation of drag. The result of the uncertainty of the velocity exponent (1.8–2.6) indicated a contribution of about 6% error in active drag. The contribution of unequal power output showed that if a power changed 7.5% between conditions, it would lead to about 30% error in calculated drag. Consequently, if a swimmer did not maintain constant power output between conditions, there would be substantial errors in the calculation of active drag.
... Within the literature, it is generally accepted that the upper-limbs contribute approximately 90% to front-crawl swimming velocity. [1][2][3] However others have found that, when using the lower-limbs only, swimmers can achieve approximately 60-65% of the velocity attained during whole body swimming. 1 Thus, when the reported contribution of the upper-limbs (~90%) is summed with the contribution of the lower-limbs (~60%), the total far exceeds the velocity achieved during whole body swimming (100%). ...
Article
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Purpose: The contributions of the limbs to velocity and metabolic parameters in front-crawl swimming at different intensities have not been identified with the consideration of both stroke and kick rate. Consequently, velocity, oxygen uptake (V̇O2) and metabolic cost of swimming with the whole body (swim), the upper-limbs only (pull) and lower-limbs only (kick) were compared with stroke and kick rate controlled. Methods: Twenty elite swimmers completed six 200m trials; two swim, two pull and two kick. Swim trials were guided by underwater lights at paces equivalent to 65±3% and 78±3% of participants' 200m freestyle personal best pace; paces were described as 'low' and 'moderate', respectively. In the pull and kick trials, swimmers aimed to match the stroke and kick rates recorded during the swim trials, respectively. V̇O2 was measured continuously, with velocity and metabolic cost calculated for each 200m effort. Results: The velocity contribution of the upper-limbs (mean±SD: low 63.9±6.2%; moderate 59.6±4.2%) was greater than that of the lower-limbs to a large extent at both intensities (low ES=4.40; moderate ES=4.60). The V̇O2 utilized by the upper-limbs differed between the intensities (low 55.5±6.9%; moderate 51.4±4.0%; ES=0.74). The lower-limbs were responsible for a greater percentage of the metabolic cost compared to the upper-limbs at both intensities (low 56.1±9.5%, ES=1.30; moderate 55.1±6.6%, ES=1.55). Conclusions: Implementation of this testing protocol before and after a pull or kick training block will enable sports scientists to identify how the velocity contributions and/or metabolic cost of the upper- and lower-limb actions have responded to the training program.
... In swimming, fluid forces acting on the arms and the legs propel the swimmer's body forward. In front crawl, the propulsive force is generated primarily by the arm stroke motion (Deschodt, Arsac, & Rouard, 1999;Hollander, de Groot, van Ingen Schenau, Kahman, & Toussaint, 1988). On the other hand, the main role of the leg kick is to counteract the legsinking torque caused by the arm stroke, thereby maintaining a low resistant horizontal alignment of the body (Yanai, 2001). ...
Article
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Many coaches often instruct swimmers to keep the elbow in a high position (high elbow position) during early phase of the underwater stroke motion (pull phase) in front crawl, however, the high elbow position has never been quantitatively evaluated. The aims of this study were (1) to quantitatively evaluate the "high elbow" position, (2) to clarify the relationship between the high elbow position and required upper limb configuration and (3) to examine the efficacy of high elbow position on the resultant swimming velocity. Sixteen highly skilled and 6 novice male swimmers performed 25 m front crawl with maximal effort and their 3-dimensional arm stroke motion was captured at 60 Hz. An attempt was made to develop a new index to evaluate the high elbow position (Ihe: high elbow index) using 3-dimensional coordinates of the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Ihe of skilled swimmers moderately correlated with the average shoulder internal rotation angle (r = -0.652, P < 0.01) and swimming velocity (r = -0.683, P < 0.01) during the pull phase. These results indicate that Ihe is a useful index for evaluating high elbow arm stroke technique during the pull phase in front crawl.
... During maximal front-crawl swimming, it is generally accepted that the arm stroke is responsible for approximately 90% of the total swimming velocity in elite swimmers (Bucher 1975;Deschodt et al. 1999;Hollander et al. 1986;Zamparo et al. 2005); this has also been observed in intermediate and novice swimmers (Bucher 1975). In studies where the aerobic power (V O2) of arms only and whole body front-crawl swimming have been estimated, arms only swimming V O2 has been reported to be 74-96% of that observed in whole body swimming (Holmér 1974a;Ogita et al. 1996;Ogita et al. 2003; Ogita and Tabata 1992;Ribeiro et al. 2015;Rodriguez et al. 2015). ...
Article
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Purpose: Stroke rate (SR) has not been considered in previous research examining the relative roles of the limbs in front-crawl performance. This study compared velocity, aerobic power ([Formula: see text]) and metabolic cost (C) between whole body (WB) and arms only (AO) front-crawl swimming across various intensities while controlling SR. Methods: Twenty Australian national swimmers performed six 200 m front-crawl efforts under two conditions: (1) WB swimming and, (2) AO swimming. Participants completed the 200 m trials under three SR conditions: "low" (22-26 stroke-cycles min(-1)), "moderate" (30-34 stroke-cycles min(-1) and "high" (38-42 stroke-cycles min(-1)). [Formula: see text] was continuously measured, with C, velocity, SR, and kick rate calculated for each effort. Results: Regardless of the SR condition and sex, AO velocity was consistently lower than WB velocity by ~11.0 % (p < 0.01). AO [Formula: see text] was lower than WB [Formula: see text] at all SR conditions for females (p < 0.01) and at the "high" SR for males (p < 0.01). C did not differ between WB and AO at any SR for both sexes (p > 0.01). When C was expressed as a function of velocity, WB and AO regression equations differed for males (p = 0.01) but not for females (p = 0.087). Kick rate increased as SR increased (p < 0.01), though the kick-to-stroke rate ratio remained constant. Conclusion: Elite swimmers gain ~11 % in velocity from their kick and, when used in conjunction with the arm stroke at the swimmers' preferred frequency, the metabolic cost of WB and AO swimming is the same. Coaches should consider these results when prescribing AO sets if their intention is to reduce the metabolic load.
... Other direct measurements such as accelerometers or point Laser or Sonic flow velocity measurements are now widespread and may be used in Biomechanics in either Eulerian or Lagrangian set ups [5,6]. As is common in swimming the arms and legs move in very complex fashion [7][8][9][10]. When non-steady motions occur produced by a swimmer, both Lift and Drag are just the components of the local motion. ...
Article
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The detailed study of the turbulence and the fluid flow in sport is an open and exciting field of research, in particular in swimming and aquatic sports there is a wealth of new techniques that may aid performance. In swimming, thanks to measurement techniques like Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Particle Tracking (PT) or pattern analysis, now it is possible to measure the flow environment and not just the human movement. Numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is also a useful tool. We present several techniques stressing the importance of 3D effects and the dynamics of enhanced propulsion by hands and feet while the reduction in resistance need to be considered in an integrated way. Examples of Sculling, Hand wakes, Underwater Undulatory Swimming (UUS) and Vortex Filament Analysis (VFA) are all interesting to improve swimming techniques.
... 1 Queensland Academy of Sport, AUSTRALIA 2 The University of Queensland, AUSTRALIA 3 Swimming Australia Limited, AUSTRALIA ...
... Swimming is unique in that (i) upper-and lower-extremities and trunk muscles are intensely activated, with arm and shoulder muscles being the main contributors to propulsion (~85-90 %) [10,13], (ii) exercise is performed in the horizontal position and subjected to a hydrodynamic pressure on the partially immersed body, (iii) arms and legs are often trained separately to obtain specific adaptations along with whole-body swimming, and (iv) a very large proportion of training is performed in intervals, with a growing emphasis on high intensity and strength training [8]. ...
Article
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The VO2 response to extreme-intensity exercise and its relationship with sports performance are largely unexplored. This study investigated the pulmonary VO2 kinetics during all-out 100-m front crawl whole stroke swimming (S), arm stroke (A) and leg kick (L). 26 male and 10 female competitive swimmers performed an all-out S trial followed by A and L of equal duration in random order. Breath-by-breath VO2 was measured using a snorkel attached to a portable gas analyzer. Mean (±SD) primary component parameters and peak blood lactate (Lapeak) during S, A, and L were, respectively: time delay (s), 14.2 ± 4.7, 14.3 ± 4.5, 15.6 ± 5.1; amplitude (ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)), 46.8 ± 6.1, 37.3 ± 6.9, 41.0 ± 4.7; time constant (τ, s): 9.2 ± 3.2, 12.4 ± 4.7, 10.1 ± 3.2; Lapeak (mmol·l(-1)), 6.8 ± 3.1, 6.3 ± 2.5, 7.9 ± 2.8. During A and L respectively, 80% and 87% of amplitude in S was reached, whereas A+L were 68% greater than in S. 100-m performance was associated to shorter cardiodynamic phase and greater VO2 amplitude and Lapeak (accounting up to 61% of performance variance), but not to τ. We conclude that (i) VO2 gain was proportional to exercise intensity and muscle mass involved, (ii) kicking is metabolically less efficient, and (iii) the main limiting factor of peak VO2 appears to be O2 delivery and not muscle extraction. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
... The contribution of the arms to total propulsion during freestyle has been reported to exceed 85% of the total thrust in studies by Bucher [2] and Hollander et al. [3]. The legs were shown using swimming trials with and without leg kicking to contribute only about 10% to maximal freestyle speed in a study by Deschodt et al. [4]. ...
Article
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The connections between swimming technique and the fluid dynamical interactions they generate are important for assisting performance improvement. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling provides a controlled and unobtrusive way for understanding the fundamentals of swimming. A coupled biomechanical-Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) fluid model is used to analyse the thrust and drag generation of a freestyle swimmer. The swimmer model was generated using a three-dimensional laser body scan of the athlete and digitisation of multi-angle video footage. Two large distinct peaks in net streamwise thrust are found during the stroke which coincide with the underwater arm strokes. The hand motions generate vortical structures that travel along the body towards the kicking legs and the hands are shown to produce thrust using both lift and drag. These findings advance understanding of the freestyle stroke and may be used to improve athlete technique.
... The present article attempts to bring together the currently available, but often scattered and piecemeal, information on the first 3 types of performance-determining factors in front crawl swimming and discuss them in the context of a biomechanical analysis of swimming. Special attention will be given to the role of the arms, since it is generally agreed that the arms provide more than 85% of the total thrust in the crawl stroke (Bucher 1975;Faulkner 1966;Hollander et al. 1988;Watkins & Gordon 1983). ...
... Moreover, the correlation of r=0.90, has been reported between 25-m sprint front crawl swimming performance and leg power in 8-12 year old children (Inbar and Bar-Or, 1977 ). Although in front crawl actual contribution of leg kick in the 10% gain in maximal velocity in front crawl swimming (Deschodt et al., 1999), however, leg action smooth the intracycle fluctuations of swimming velocity (Persyn et al., 1975), and also useful in keeping the body horizontal in the water, especially during sprints (Hollander et al., 1988 ), and therefore can be improved arm stroke effi- ciency. In the musculoskeletal system, muscles generate force and transmit that force via tendons to bone. ...
... The crawl is the fastest stroke among all strokes for humans. The main component of thrust in the crawl is considered to be produced by the upper limbs, especially by the hands and forearms (1) . Therefore, the style of arm stroke is extremely important in the crawl. ...
Article
In this study, the optimal arm strokes in crawl swimming which maximize the swimming speed and propulsive efficiency were solved computationally. For this objective, an optimizing method which consisted of the random search and the PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) algorithm was constructed. In order to consider the muscle strength characteristics of the swimmer as the constraint condition of the optimization, an experiment to measure the maximum joint torques was carried out for various joint angles and angular speeds. Using the measured experimental data as the reference values, a musculoskeletal simulation model was constructed. By the constructed musculoskeletal model, muscle strength characteristics in various conditions were investigated and used to create a database. Using this database, the optimizing calculation was finally conducted and the following results were obtained: In the optimization maximizing the swimming speed, the swimming speed became maximum when the stroke cycle was 0.9 s. A relatively I-shaped stroke was obtained in this case. In the optimization maximizing the propulsive efficiency, the propulsive efficiency became maximum when the stroke cycle was 1.3 s. A relatively S-shaped stroke was obtained in this case. Two strokes which respectively maximized the swimming speed and propulsive efficiency were very similar to each other when the stroke cycles were the same. The swimming speeds and stroke cycles obtained in the optimizing calculation were within reasonable ranges compared to the actual races.
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Objectives: This study aims to determine the propulsive force and effective arm area contributed by the propulsion through the dynamic balance (power balance) between drag and propulsive power in swimming crawl performance. Methods: Ten male swimmers participated in the study. The athletes conducted the crawl trials at a constant velocity using only the upper limbs. Data were collected using a Spectro instrument to measure the drag and 3D video analysis for kinematic of upper limbs movement. Results: The power balance was confirmed through the Bland–Altman estimation (estimated bias 8.5) and was also demonstrated by a one-way analysis of variance that does not show statistical differences. Subsequently, by applying the power balance, the effective propulsive area could be estimated. The result shows an increase of ~8.5% over the value at the hand area used to verify the power balance. This value appears to be attributable to a percentage of the forearm area to propulsive action. Conclusions: This information will allow athletes and coaches to constantly monitor the propulsive force and power, providing useful data on arm movement and swimming technique. Indeed, deeper knowledge about the athlete’s swimming technique can reduce the possibility of suffering micro-traumas in the elbows and shoulders.
Article
This study aimed to investigate the essential role of the kicking action in front crawl. To achieve this objective, we examined the relationships of the hand propulsive force and trunk inclination with swimming velocity over a wide range of velocities from 0.75 m·s−1 to maximum effort, including the experimental conditions of arm stroke without a pull buoy. Seven male swimmers performed a 25 m front crawl at various speeds under three swimming conditions: arm stroke with a pull buoy, arm stroke without a pull buoy (AWOB) and arm stroke with a six-beat kick (SWIM). Swimming velocity, hand propulsive force and trunk inclination were calculated using an underwater motion-capture system and pressure sensors. Most notably, AWOB consistently exhibited greater values than SWIM for hand propulsive force across the range of observed velocities (p < 0.05) and for trunk inclination below the severe velocity (p < 0.05), and these differences increased with decreasing velocity. These results indicate that 1) the kicking action in front crawl has a positive effect on reducing the pressure drag acting on the trunk, thereby allowing swimmers to achieve a given velocity with less hand propulsive force, and 2) this phenomenon is significant in low-velocity ranges.
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This relational model study aimed to assess the anaerobic power and short distance swimming performance in prepubertal male swimmers. A total of 20 male swimmers, age mean = 11.40±1.39 yrs, participated in this study. All participants trained on approximately two hours per session, five times per week. A mat was used to collect data on vertical jump. Swimming performance was evaluated for 50 meters in swimming pool using a stopwatch. The arm Wingate was used to assess the anaerobic arm power of the participants. It was observed that the peak power obtained from the vertical jump explained the swimming performance by 21.7%. On the other hand, when the effect of the anaerobic peak power obtained from the arm Wingate on the swimming performance of the swimming children was examined, it was seen that the peak power of the arm explained the swimming performance by 26.8%. In conclusion, it is seen that the anaerobic power obtained from the arms and legs affects the short-distance swimming performance by approximately 50%. It can be said that the power produced from the arm is more important by 5%. For 50 meters swimming performance, it is recommended that trainers include exercises to increase arm strength.
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BACKGROUND: The capacity to produce force should be promoted especially for the fastest swimming events. AIM: This study aimed to analyze the effects of different test periods in mean, maximal and coefficient of force variation and to correlate the coefficient of force variation and 50m front crawl time. METHOD: Twelve well trained swimmers (age: 22.33±8.08 years, 1.69±0.48 m height, body mass 56.08±7.86 kg) randomly performed three maximal 30s repetitions of full swimming and lower limbs actions in front crawl swimming technique with ~15min resting period. A load cell system permitted the continuous measurement of exerted tethered forces, and 50m time was registered as the best time obtained at 12 months before the test. RESULTS: Mean swimming force was greater at 10s compared to 20 and 30s period (26.40 [20.66-54.20], 25.33 [21.70-52.35] and 21.39 [17.91-43.98] respectively, p<0.05). Mean, maximal and force coefficient variation at tethered test with full swimming were higher than lower limbs (24.37 vs. 12.71, 77.97 vs. 39.78, 0.77 vs. 0.49 respectively, p<0.05). Strong and inverse correlations were noticed between coefficient of force variation at 10 s during full swimming, at 20s during kicking and performance (28.75s [26.20-30.68s];r=-0.75;p<0.01). Very strong correlation was noticed between coefficient of force variation during swimming at 20s, 30s and performance (r=-0.91 and -0.92;p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Mean swimming force at full swim and lower limbs is affected by the period of the 30s maximal tethered swimming test and is associated with performance.Data reported may be used as reference for setting training strategies at short distance events.
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Swimming performance requires a whole body coordinated movement to elicit high propulsive forces with the majority of forces produced from the upper body musculature. The current academic literature highlights a range of dry-land resistance exercises that show moderate to strong correlations to swimming performance; however, association does not imply causation. Specificity states that adaptations are specific to the nature of the training stress applied and therefore it is important to highlight the dry-land resistance exercises improving swimming performance. The aim of this research study is to examine the specificity of dry-land resistance exercises to swimming performance. A systematic review of the impact of resistance training on front crawl swimming performance highlighted that low volume, high force, traditional resistance training programmes, showed positive improvement in swimming performance. Neuromuscular adaptations contribute to resistance training exercises improving swimming performance according to several research studies. A review of the specificity between front crawl swimming and dry-land resistance exercises using electromyography (EMG) data highlighted a series of similar prime movers (i.e. latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major, triceps brachii and deltoids) between a range of dry-land resistance exercises. A qualitative study of elite swimming strength and conditioning coaches identified the dry-land resistance exercises most commonly used and deemed most relevant by practitioners and coaches. The bench press and pull up were the two upper body dry-land resistance exercises that coaches ranked highest in terms of improving swimming performance. This prompted an investigation of the specificity of these dry-land resistance exercises to front crawl swimming using EMG data analysis. Following a series of pilot tests, 14 male national and international swimmers were recorded using 2D kinematic analysis to identify event cycles and EMG to investigate muscle activations. The specificity of front crawl swimming to bench press and pull up exercises were examined using temporal coordination , temporal muscle activation overlaps, Functional Data Analysis (FDA) Pearson pointwise correlations, Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) t-tests and Root Mean Square Difference (RMSD). The findings of this research show that while the key prime movers between the bench press and pull up exercises and front crawl swimming are similar, there is limited specificity. The results would also suggest that these exercises are applicable for the general preparation period but not for the specific competition period. The large variability within the data set makes findings difficult to interpret. Future research needs to focus on individual analysis of specificity, as the large variability does not make group analysis techniques representative of the high level of individual variability found within the data set. Greater specificity is required through the development of a coherent biomechanical model of specificity that describes joint angles, angular velocity, torque and muscle activations.
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Swimming is a sport that takes place in a medium which is about 780 times denser than air, causing greater friction and greater resistance to movement of the body. During the development of the swimming sport, interdisciplinary research biomechanical laws and research in fluid dynamics, and their mutual relations are necessary. The term "freestyle", defined by FINA, imply any style that would enable the swimmer to achieve the maximum speed. Typically, swimmers in "freestyle" swim crawl. Knowing more styles and variations of the freestyle techniques, as well as freestyle elements, will enable to a swimmer a better propulsion, reducing possible injuries of the shoulder joint. Knowledge of creating propulsion throughout history has developed various modifications of the swimming freestyle technique. Preference for certain variety of the crawl for an swimmer, can enable to a coach to point out the most effective selection of distances in freestyle swimming technique (50, 100, 200, 400 or 800/1500 meters) for this swimmer. Since the arm stroke represents up to 85% of the final propulsion when swimming freestyle technique, and that the freestyle technique is most commonly used technique during the training process, knowledge of all phases of hands' work is necessary. The injury of the shoulder joint is the most common injuries in swimmers. In learning, correcting and training elements of strokes and styles of swimming, the essential assumptions and simulation tools used for the purpose of biomechanical optimization of hands' work are listed. The Index of coordination facilitates coaches to understand the individual stages of stroke, and it will certainly be of importance in the his/her direct work with the swimmer.
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This study re-evaluated the magnitude of hand propulsion (HP) in the pull and push phases of the front crawl stroke and investigated the association between the angular velocity of shoulder roll (ωSR) and hand propulsive lift (HPL). ωSR was computed in the plane normal to a forward direction for 16 skilled swimmers performing the front crawl stroke at a maximal sprinting pace. HP, hand propulsive drag (HPD) and HPL were determined by a dynamic pressure approach. HP and HPD in the pull phase were greater than in the push phase (P < 0.05) while HPL in the pull phase was similar to that in the push phase. Eleven swimmers out of the 16 swimmers had a significant within-swimmers correlation between ωSR and HPL in the push phase (P < 0.05). That is, HPL increased in the push phase as the ωSR of rolling back to the neutral position became faster. A swimmer should use more drag for hand propulsion in the pull phase and propulsion from drag and lift equally in the push phase. Based on the relationship between ωSR and HPL in the push phase, a possible stroke technique to enhance HPL using ωSR is discussed.
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