Yesterday morning, I was watching the ESPN In The Classroom program about drag. Amanda Beard was the athelete guest host. It didn't mention anything about lift. It talked about the effects that the new suits are having on reducing drag. I am very confused, partially because that is my life, about reducing drag while swimming. It seems to me that if you reduce drag too much, you're going to reduce lift also.
Lift and drag are opposite forces that form an "L". Which of the three forms of drag are reduced by the new suits, and which of the three do you want to remain to promote forward movement? The product of lift and drag is the foward movement from the center of the "L". That force is what moves you forward. Or so I thought.
The program did talk about high and low pressures. I understand that in front of you there is a high pressure and a low pressure behind. that nature prefers low pressure and that there is a struggle to move through the high pressure. The program also mentioned near the end about hydroplanning. If I understand correctly, that's how Johnny-Tarzan swam.
Can anyone explain this to me in terms that I can understand. Please keep in mind that I was an anthropology major at a very liberal Liberal Arts college.
There is a great article in a recent ASCA magazine about lift and drag which basically says our current level of technology does not let us determine how much each contributes to propulsion. As to hydroplaning, it is relatively unimportant in swimming. It's effect is trivial in swimming but not zero if you are exceding your bow speed. The concept of bow speed is why taller swimmers have an advantage. I beleive the formula is S=1.34Xthe square root of L where S is speed in knots and L is length in feet. When the speed is faster than this the vessel(swimmer) is climbing on it's bow wave and is beginning to hydroplane. I notice when sprinting free I feel a slight rise in the water. Arching the back won't increase this effect,but will increase your frontal resistance and probably slow you below your bow speed anyway. If you Google bow speed you can find a conversoin table and then enter your height to find your bow speed.
There is a great article in a recent ASCA magazine about lift and drag which basically says our current level of technology does not let us determine how much each contributes to propulsion. As to hydroplaning, it is relatively unimportant in swimming. It's effect is trivial in swimming but not zero if you are exceding your bow speed. The concept of bow speed is why taller swimmers have an advantage. I beleive the formula is S=1.34Xthe square root of L where S is speed in knots and L is length in feet. When the speed is faster than this the vessel(swimmer) is climbing on it's bow wave and is beginning to hydroplane. I notice when sprinting free I feel a slight rise in the water. Arching the back won't increase this effect,but will increase your frontal resistance and probably slow you below your bow speed anyway. If you Google bow speed you can find a conversoin table and then enter your height to find your bow speed.
