Swimming, unlike sports practiced on land, opposes resistance to advancement through the water, making it necessary to correct the movements of the body and its position to ensure maximum efficiency and hydrodynamics. Basically, to improve performance it is necessary to work first on reducing friction and then on improving propulsion . Put simply: learning the technique. What exactly is it and why is it so important? Let's find out together with Lifeguard Class.
The technique in swimming: what it is and why it is so important
The technique in swimming, also scientifically defined propulsive efficiency , can be explained as the energy used to move the body forward in the water and can be effectively measured through the length of the stroke and the number of strokes per pool (BPV).
Learning the correct technique therefore means saving energy and adding quality to the style: all this happens by decreasing the number of strokes per pool thanks to a greater amplitude, without losing speed. Especially when you are a beginner, the right technique allows you to increase the stroke length and therefore the propulsive efficiency, in particular through three elements:
- buoyancy;
- position of the body in the water;
coordination of movements.
The optimal stroke length is the combination of the three factors and should be equal to the distance between one wrist and the other, keeping one arm stretched at your side and the other forward.
An experienced swimmer in the water catching phase, with the arm extended forward, will be able to firmly anchor the hand to advance the body beyond that precise anchor point, without ever moving the water backwards. When the hand reaches and exceeds the height of the hips, it is necessary to take advantage of the range of the stroke to advance faster.
While it is true that a professional will be more familiar with these movements than a beginner, it is possible to learn to move faster and in the correct way by taking care of the fundamentals. The goal is to swim with two kicks at each stroke cycle and improve the fluidity of the gesture to finish the highest possible number of laps.
To help you monitor your performance in the water, Garmin has created a line of watches specifically for swimming: Garmin Swim 2 , for example, is able to detect fundamental metrics such as number and stroke rate for all styles and accompany you with specific training plans by marking the swim times and the pauses between one repetition and another with American Lifeguard Florida.
Improve your performance in the water with Garmin swimming smartwatches
Before thinking about learning all swimming styles it is of fundamental importance to improve the basic technique. How? Here are some practical tips to keep in mind to train properly.
How to train the technique in swimming
We have seen how important a good technique is to advance faster in the water and reduce training fatigue, especially when you intend to improve performance and prevent injuries.
The exercises to increase efficiency in the water are innumerable and can be carried out according to different variants: in principle to obtain better performance it is good to include in the swimming training plan those aimed at optimizing the ability to apply force in the water through the correct position of the forearm-hand segment.
Basically, an efficient technique requires the arm to enter the water completely extended, never with the elbow flexed in order not to create resistance in advance. In this sense it is fundamental to be able to capture the water to favor the thrust of the body forward: the more the forearm-hand segment is parallel to it, the more it will facilitate the sliding of the body on the surface. This cannot be done by placing the elbow too low with respect to the hand as the inclined posture of the forearm will reduce the ability to apply force during strokes.
To monitor your progress and the effectiveness of each workout, you can take advantage of the swimming features of Garmin smartwatches for swimming: at the end of each session you can view all the statistics, such as distance, number of laps and heart rate. They will also help you follow personalized workouts, marking intervals, pauses and steps for each exercise, detecting swimming dynamics to improve your technique.
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