Good swim techniques insure rewards
By Marilyn Osgood-Knight
Of the Emerald
Students who are hesitant about lap
swimming because their aerobic condi
tioning is sub-par at present, or have
perhaps learned to swim by watching
others and emulating their mistakes, or
are afraid of “looking like an amateur”
in a pool of better-trained athletes may
wish to take some pointers from Jim
O’Connor, University swim condition
ing instructor.
“Start by investing in a good pair of
swim goggles,” O’Conner says, “and
make sure they fit your facial structure,
which means trying them on first before
you buy a pair. And if they leak, leave
them in a glass of water overnight to con
dition the rubber.”
O’Connor adds, “Pool etiquette is
needed, niceties like always staying on
the right in lap swimming, tapping a
swimmer on the heel if you need to pass
(pass on the left).” Showering before and
after swimming and walking, not runn
ing, on wet deck surfaces are basics, he
says.
With regard to body fat, O’Connor says
a little extra fat is a plus in swimming,
helping with buoyancy and as a hedge
against hypothermia.
Sometimes a recreational swimmer,
trying to keep up in lap swimming,
abandons one stroke too soon to get to
the next, and ends up in a mad scramble
in the water. According to O’Connor,
this is called “spinning your wheels,”
which means the swimmer’s technique
is giving him or her a lot of “turnover,”
but the swimmer isn’t “grabbing”
anything, and is just exhausting him or
herself in the process.
University lifeguard Lisa Patterson
says that timing of strokes is important,
and that improper timing can lead to
breathing incorrectly, which is common
with beginners.
“Relaxation is crucial,” O’Connor
says. “Sometimes new swimmers flail
up and down the pool for a few laps,
then give up swimming because they get
‘too tired.’ They may be crossing their
arms past the midline of their bodies, or
not extending fully.” Doing ‘too much,
too soon’ is one way to wreck the relaxa
tion factor, he adds.
“Sometimes students try to do too
much without a proper stretching pro
gram,” says Patterson. “They may
remember to warm up, but then they
forggt the cool-down, which is impor
tant, too.”
University lifeguard Dave Krupicka
adds that swimmers can tone their whole
system cardiovascularly through proper,
safe swim conditioning. “Use regular
workouts, at least three 12 to 20 minute
sessions a week,” Krupicka says. "Try
jogging in the pool occasionally, and
learn proper stroke mechanics.”
“Use long, slow distance for strength,
and interval training (sprints) to improve
time and conditioning," says Krupicka.
“Respect the dangers of diving into
water. Never dive into murky water. In
stead, crawl in or lower yourself in —
don’t risk permament injury.”
According to O’Connor, the proper
crawl (freestyle) stroke is beautiful to
watch, but it takes proper training. It’s
the fastest stroke known to humans.
The best swimmers will say that their
freestyle stroke feels “as simple and
natural as walking,” O’Connor explains.
It is a fine-tuned, highly synchronized
motion. The direction of the swimmer’s
arm pull should be down the center of
the body, and then back out again as the
arm extends back to the thigh. O’Connor
suggests thinking of each hand tracing
one side of an hourglass.
“We probably all have a natural
favorite in strokes, partly from body type
and partly from what we want from
Students can gain added fitness and reduce the stress of academia with a lap or
two in one of the University's two swimming pools.
swimming emotionally,” said Krupicka.
One swimmer may best perform the
front crawl, another may do best with the
, butterfly stroke, with its dolphin kick. A
swimmer may love the breaststroke if he
or she has the proper ankle flexibility for
its combination wedge-web kick, of en
joy the backstroke, emulating the style of
Olympic gold medalist Rick Carey.
The University lifeguards say swim
mers can make use of water aids like pull
buoys and hand paddles, swim fins and
kickboards: “But you will need to pro
- perly warm up to prevent injury when
- using hand paddles,” cautions
Krupicka, explaining that such aids ac
centuate strokes. For swimmers recover
ing from running injuries, pull buoys
can help rest the legs, helping them
cross-train for another sport so they
don’t lose cardiovascular fitness levels,-;
Krupicka adds.
Recreational swimmers may choose
one of two campus pools. Leighton Pool
is 25 yards long, and Gerlinger Pool is 20 *
yards long (two lengths equals one lap).
Fall term full-time students have
already paid for a term’s recreational
swim pool use. Information on pool •
hours is available at the intramural office
in Gerlinger Hall.
You can reduce your resting heart rate
and the stress of the academic load by
swimming, says O’Connor, and have fun
in the process.
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