Swimming History Essays - Swimming, Aquatics, Freestyle Swimming

Swimming History Swimming was invented before recorded history. Humans discovered how to swim by accident. A person probably fell into the water and struggled to shore using a dog-paddle stroke. There was an Egyptian hieroglyph for swimming dating from 2500 BC. The ancient Greeks and Romans made swimming an important part of their military training programs. There have been known swimming contests that were organized in Japan as early as the 1st century BC. During the Middle Ages in Europe, swimming declined in popularity. People felt that the water was contaminated and a source of disease. Not everyone feared the water, however, Louis XI reportedly swam daily in the Seine. During the early 19th century, swimming enjoyed a revival, especially in England, Lord Byron swam the Dardanelles river, to prove that the mythological hero Leander could have done it. Organized competitive swimming began in England in the 1840s. In 1844 the British were surprised when two American Indians demonstrated the efficiency of a method of swimming similar to the modern crawl. The British still swam with the head above the water, a holdover from the days when people believed that the water was contaminated. An overhand stroke was introduced into England in 1873 by J. Arthur Trudgen, who had seen South American Indians using this method to swim really fast. When the flutter kick was introduced, the modern "Australian crawl" was born, and this stroke has since become the most common and most important swimming stroke. FITNESS COMPONENTS To swim well u need to know how to coordinate your arms and legs to get you through the water. At first you will probably need to have lessons. Also to swim u need agility and just gravity. Swimming also requires balance and quickness in some cases. Not much is needed to know if you want to swim. Swimming improves heart and lung efficiency, enhances muscle strength and endurance, improves flexibility, and reduces stress. It's easy on the joints, and uses more muscles than most other forms of exercise. Although swimming burns a great deal of calories, recreational swimmers tend to lose less weight than would be expected from other types of aerobic activity. Scientists say that cold water removes heat from the body, stimulating appetite to keep the body warm. Exposure to cold water may encourage the body to maintain fat stores for insulation. To lose weight by swimming, its necessary to cut down on the calories you eat, and to swim fast enough and long enough. Swimming can burn more than 660 calories an hour when performed correctly and causes less injuries to joints and muscles than aerobics or jogging. It takes only three hours a week of strenuous swimming to improve flexibility, increase strength and build cardiovascular endurance. Swimming provides a good aerobic workout if 25% of the total laps are performed at maximum intensity. However, only 5% of those who swim do so at an aerobic pace. Although few doubt the aerobic benefits of swimming, studies comparing swimming with jogging, results found that swimmers lost less body fat than joggers. Apparently swimming causes an adjustment in how energy is burned, resulting in the burning of more carbohydrates than body fat. One reason might be that swimmers retain more body fat to insulate and maintain body heat. However, swimming works both the upper and lower body which jogging does not. WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT TO MASTER IN YOUR SPORT? EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED. More than half of all Americans can't swim. Drownings claimed 5,200 American lives in 1990 and is the fourth leading cause of accidental deaths for children under 5. Many feel figures are actually higher, since deaths occurring after resuscitation or hospitalization usually aren't attributed to the original drowning. Many lives could be saved if people would just learn to swim. Correct swimming doesn't come naturally to the body and can't be learned overnight. Those swimmers who are exhausted after half a lap need more instruction. The most common swimming problem is incorrect breathing which causes individuals to expend more energy than necessary. Coordinating breathing with proper head rotation is the key to proficient swimming. Proper instruction is the only way you can learn this, it is the key component to swim well. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR SPORT? The most unique thing about swimming is the actual racing in the water, you dive off blocks and swim as fast as u can in as many different styles and lengths. BIBLIOGRAPHY "Swimming." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1996 ed "Total immersion swimming" Arcticles by Terry Luaghlin