A bit of history
Swimming was important for the survival of ancient humans from the stone age. The oldest swimming style is breaststroke. Rock art images in the caves support this theory. People had to cross rivers or water obstacles, so swimming was infallible part of their skill repertoire. During the stone age, water was an important part of survival – food, bath, drinking water, hunting… Men simply had to use it to survive in cruel circumstances. Between 9000 BC and 4000 BC Egyptians developed front crawl technique. An Egyptian tomb from 2000 BC shows the front crawl technique.
During old age, swimming was primarily used for military training. The primary purpose of it was to reduce danger from drowning. In Ancient Greece, swimming was included into the program of healthy body development.
During modern age, swimming became competitive sport during the 1830s in Great Britain. Sidestroke was used as a swimming technique before the 1900s, where the swimmer lies on one side. This was a transition period between breaststroke and other techniques.
Swimming was included in the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Since then swimming was a part of every summer Olympic Games. There were many innovations during last century like swimming costumes, modification of allowed diving distance, disciplines, doping control, underwater cameras, swimsuit prohibition and a lot more. Today swimming is one of the most important sports in the program of Olympic Games.
Swimming World championship takes place every second year, as well as European championship.
Swimming styles and disciplines
There are eight main disciplines in swimming, but only first five styles are accepted for competition in Olympic Games.
- Freestyle swimming – allows swimmer freedom to choose style between crawl, backstroke, breaststroke, trudgen-swimming, butterfly and others;
- Backstroke – while laying on his back, arms execute alternating movements – while one arm sweeps underwater from an overhead position backward to the hips, the other arm recovers above the water from the hips to the overhead position, and vice versa, legs do a flutter kick;
- Butterfly stroke – legs do dolphin kick – a simultaneous whipping motion with feet pointed down, while arms go above the water and do one motion on every two kicks;
- Breaststroke – legs do frog kick, while your arms goes outward, then backward, after inward and in the end of the motion hands move towards each other and cycle repeats;
- Medley – this is a combination of four styles (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly into one race). This race can be swum by one swimmer, as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay (national team versus national team or club versus club).
- Swimming in clothing – a part of commando training in many countries, but there are races in some parts of the world;
- Swimming with obstacles – swimmers have to dive under boat and wade through logs (was included in the program of few first Olympic games);
- Winter (ice) swimming – especially popular in Russia, people break ice and swim during winter, there are even few races. Swimmers swim with special wetsuits or other types of thermal protection.
- Swimming is also a part of triathlon. Other styles are doggy-style, trudgen-swimming, sidestroke…
Modern Olympic games swimming program
Olympic swimming disciplines are:
- freestyle (distances – 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m (women only) and 1,500m (men only)),
- backstroke (100m and 200m),
- breaststroke (100m and 200m),
- butterfly stroke (100m and 200m),
- medley (200m and 400m)
- freestyle relay (4x100m and 4x200m)
- combined styles (4x100m),
- 10 km in open water.
Basic swimming sport techniques and muscle development
There are many reasons why swimming, alongside athletics and gymnastics, is called the queen of sports. It has the influence to all muscle groups. If we combine all styles, there is no way a single muscle will not work. After cross-country skiing, swimming is in the second place by muscle group activation. When you swim exercise is always complex, at least 90% of your body works, no matter which style you use.
Front crawl develops neck muscles, especially musculus sternocleidomastoideus when you breathe. During stroke process, all muscle groups are activated – back, arms, abdominals, lower back muscles. If your stroke is longer, your triceps brachii muscle will be activated more. If you go for shorter stroke, like water polo players, you target musculus biceps brachii. While flutter kick is done, impulse goes from your glutes to your feet. However, hamstring and dorsal flexors of the foot are more activated than plantar flexors and quadriceps muscles. Muscles that are least activated are core muscles of the pelvis and lower abdominals.
Backstroke also develops nearly all muscle groups. However, neck muscles are the least represented during this technique. Your neck is used here only for balance maintenance, while it is positioned steadily on the water. Neck flexors do a minimal work if you need to adjust your position. However, during stroke cycle, all parts of the upper body are working constantly. Due to circumduction in the shoulder joint, the rear side of the upper body and chest muscles work. Musculus biceps brachii and musculus brachioradialis are the least activated, only when the arm goes under water until the time it left the water. Musculus quadriceps femoris and musculus gastrocnemius do more work here than during crawl. Flutter kick is different and activates lower abdominals a lot.
The butterfly is very specific style. Dolphin kick activates complete musculature of the lower body, including even leg adductors. This style is the best if you want to develop lower body strength. Musculus gluteus maximus suffers the most of the impulse during dolphin kick, just as your hamstring muscles. Even deep back muscles are targeted via butterfly. If it is talked about upper body, circumduction in shoulder joint includes all the muscles. More stress goes on pectoral muscles, especially musculus pectoralis major, especially when arms go under water. All neck muscles are included, but neck extensors the most.
Breaststroke is also excellent for lower body activation. However, more stress goes on leg adductors and abductors, since frog kick is circumducting move. Glutes and hamstrings are also influenced heavily. Since your feet are in eversion, this technique aims foot evertors – musculus peroneus longus and musculus peroneus brevis, which are very little targeted by other swimming styles. But breaststroke is the technique that develops upper body the least. Deep back muscles are very little activated and there is no circumduction in the shoulder joint. It dominantly targets musculus teres major due to arm adduction, musculus deltoideus and back muscles when the arm goes outward. Neck muscles are activated while breathing, but dominantly neck extensors.
Health benefits of swimming
There are many reasons why swimming is one of the most healthiest sports, even for fat, sedentary and lazy people:
- You get both strength and cardio training in one, since every muscle works;
- Impact is very low, so unless you broke arm or leg, it will not stop you from swimming;
- Increased respiratory capacity;
- Improved circulation;
- Very suitable for fat people since more mass enables better propulsion;
- Reduces the stress and improves endorphins excretion;
- Reduces blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular performance, central nervous system function and cognitive health;
- It excretes more adrenaline and provides better attention in any aspect of life;
- It improves self-confidence and enables better self-state;
- Enables better sleeping;
- Reduces nervousness and feels your body with positive energy.
Ice swimming might have some dangerous side-effects like the state of shock, hyperventilation, hypothermia, fibrillation or cardiac arrest. This is the reason why non-healthy people should avoid it. However, it has many benefits, like mood improvement, more vigor, more energy. It is very healthy for people who suffer from rheumatism, fibromyalgia or asthma since it relieves pain and enables better rehabilitation of injuries
In general, swimming is one of the best activities for injury rehabilitation, stress removal, and self-state. Especially if it is done in a spa or natural surround like forest or canyon full of greens, there is no way you won’t feel yourself at least ten times better when your activity is over.
Shortly – swimming in natural surround relaxes your brain a lot more than any other activity. There is no better activity after a busy day of work.