By Ming Lee
Your hands should be pushed forward from your chest over the surface of the water,” our coach said loudly, as he stood by the side of the swimming pool. Can you swim? I could swim since I was 13, but I always knew I didn’t swim very well. So I took a swimming course last summer, where I learnt lots of swimming techniques, particularly breaststroke. Now I feel like a champion swimmer. This swimming course consisted of two months of training. Every weekend, I went to the swimming stadium on Hong Kong Island. The first thing we would do was watch a video introducing basic knowledge about swimming. Then our swimming coach would patiently show us all the techniques for improving breaststroke. There are four things to remember for a good breaststroke: 1. Head Position and Breathing The head should rest between the arms and the body should be flat in the water. Less resistance is encountered with the body underwater than at the surface, so each kick should start with the body and head slightly submerged. Breathing should be taken at the end of the insweep of each stroke, and with the head looking downward or slightly forward. 2. Pulling We begin the pull by shrugging our shoulders up, with the elbows turned out and the palms of the hands facing outward. As the shoulders are shrugged, the hands are accelerated down and then inward until the palms come together under the chin. The insweep ends with the hands moving up and forward together. 3. Kicking The kick finishes with the toes pointing to the bottom of the pool and the soles of the feet coming together. And the feet are also kicked downward from the water surface, but not straight back. Gradually we accelerate the feet until the soles and ankles come together. 4. Timing Timing is very important to an effective breaststroke. There are two patterns currently in use: glide and overlap timing. Beginners should prefer the glide pattern, which is characterized by a brief pause after the kick when our arms are extended. Overlap timing involves beginning the outsweep while the legs are coming together at the finish of the kick. Lots of fast breaststrokers will use overlap timing to reduce the period of deceleration following the kick and the insweep of the arms. After learning these techiques for two months, I found that my swimming skills really improved a lot! Swimming is very healthy exercise. Many researchers point out that swimming can prevent heart disease because it can help blood vessels become more elastic. Besides, swimming lets our muscles and joints move freely and comfortably without undue strain, so it can help increase flexibility in our joints. In addition, regular swimming can cause the body to release endorphins, natural opiate-like hormones that produce a sense of well-being. If you want to know more information about swimming and its benefits to our health, please contact http://www.swiminfo.com/ or http://www.archwaterworks.com/ #Volume 6 Issue 4 a
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May 2024
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