In breaststroke, why head pops vertically so much?
Former Member
As obvious from watching breaststrokers in the pool, their heads and upper body seem to have more vertical movements than forward movements?? The scene is: up, down, up, down,... Some swimmers seem to be even looking down at the water under their chin, rather than looking forward. Isn't that a lot of waste of energy? Why not flatten and extend your body more and keep parallel to the water so most of the movement is going forward instead of vertical popping? :confused: There must be a reason behind this since a lot (maybe most) of people do so?
Underwater,drag goes up as the square of speed.On the surface it is much more complicated,but drag going up as the cube of speed is roughly accurate at elite human racing speeds.At these speeds on the surface,wave drag is the main "force" to be overcome.
Underwater,drag goes up as the square of speed.On the surface it is much more complicated,but drag going up as the cube of speed is roughly accurate at elite human racing speeds.At these speeds on the surface,wave drag is the main "force" to be overcome.
