Taking the time to learn proper swimming technique is essential to your health and will aid you in getting good results during competitions. There are four main reasons to learn proper swimming techniques: Avoid Disqualification: USA Swimming and FINA have rules and regulations about competitions, including rules about swimming strokes. Not having simultaneous motions during [...]
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How Fin Swimming Can Work For You
If you or your swim coach are looking to improve your swims, consider adding fin swimming to your routine. Swim fins are made of rubber or plastic and are worn on the feet. Fins or flippers help swimmers and scuba divers move through the water. For swimmers, fins can be a very effective training tool. [...]
Freestyle
Freestyle is the term for a competition using unregulated swimming techniques. While any swim style can be used in a freestyle competition, the most commonly used method is the “front crawl”, as it is the fastest of the major swim techniques. This uses of the front crawl has lead to the term freestyle becoming synonymous [...]
Butterfly
Of the four swim techniques used in competition (the others being breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle), the butterfly is the most recently invented, dating back to 1933. It is the fastest of the four competitive swim styles but also one of the hardest as it requires near perfect technique and extremely strong shoulder strength for it [...]
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is usually one of the first swim techniques that a beginning swimmer learns. It is a very popular style for recreational swimming because it allows the swimmer to keep his/her head out of the water for much of the time and doesn’t require as much side-to-side motion in the water. Alternately, in competitive [...]
Backstroke
The backstroke is one of the four swim techniques used in competition (the others being breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle). One advantage to the backstroke style is that, since the swimmer is on their back, it allows for easy breathing. However, it has the disadvantage of the swimmer not being able to see where they are [...]
Popular Swimming Strokes
Swimming Strokes Swimming strokes are how a swimmer propels their body through the water. The strokes consist of various arm and leg motions to move the body forward. When done correctly, swimming strokes are smooth, graceful and designed to minimize water resistance. With the proper stroke, a good swimmer should be able to move through [...]