Science of Swimming is a thread where we'll discuss the Science of Swimming. Please share links to scientific articles, papers, presentations, videos ... about swimming from a scientific point of view and lets talk about them. Please share your faves and new ones we find.
Here's a recent article some might find interesting.
Balancing High Volume: Building Blocks of Performance
May 21, 2012
Guest editorial by Jim Miller, MD FAAFP / Sports Medicine
When it comes to swimming science, I am always surprised by how little actual research is done on swim technique and the superiority of one method over another. It seems obvious you would take two groups, have one group work on some new aspect, then retest in 6 weeks and see if the groups differ in how much their performances change.
But I haven't seen one study of that sort, and I've looked a bit. There are a few biomechanics papers that do that but they all seem to be very short term, like 30 minutes trying to make a change; or they are cross sectional.
Here is one of the few papers I have found that actually show a real difference in technique in faster swimmers.
w4.ub.uni-konstanz.de/.../1819
Whenever I do presentations or even on deck, I remind people that instructors who say that one style of swimming is superior to another are just pulling it out of their asses and telling you what they THINK is better.
That includes me, I am prefectly willing to say that I am teaching them what I think is the best way to swim but there is not a lick of published data that backs up my claims.
On the other hand, the physiology end of things seems to be more researched.
It seems obvious you would take two groups, have one group work on some new aspect, then retest in 6 weeks and see if the groups differ in how much their performances change.
How long does it take to learn a new technique in swimming?
I have been working on my EVF for more than six weeks, and it seems to be getting better, but it isn't quite there yet. Specifically in the last six weeks when I have been focusing on making changes to my body position to allow an earlier catch, I have actually gotten slower. Am I on the wrong track?
How long does it take to learn a new technique in swimming?
It can take up to a 100,000 yards to start picking up on a new technique. This may be swimming folklore, but I heard it through a very well known coach.
In the case of a masters swimmer this may make even more sense in that it could take a month (or longer) to reach that kind of yardage versus a a college or high schooler who may cover that distance in ten to fourteen days.
I posted this in a previous thread, but I will include it here also. This is a good power point presentation on lactate clearance by Genadijus Sokolovas.
www.powershow.com/.../Understanding_Lactate_Clearance_flash_ppt_presentation
If you do a google search you can find a copy of the presentation that you can download - I couldn't figure out how to include that link here.
There is very little scientific research on swimming. Studies tend to be poorly designed with small samples. Most concepts are borrowed from studies on cycling and running.
