Greetings!
Welcome to our quarterly newsletter
designed to keep you apprised of
recent developments in the science
of swimming. Please contact me for
information about how advanced
technology can be integrated into
your national, team, or camp
program.
Sincerely,
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Do Olympians need technique
work?
Isn't good technique enough?
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It's true that faster swimmers have
more effective technique than slower
swimmers, but research also shows
that even the world's fastest
swimmers can improve their technique
to go faster. If an Olympian is
really strong (with a peak hand
force over 60 lbs) and really well
conditioned (with a maximum oxygen
uptake over 90 ml/kg/min), he can
still win using a "good" technique
(with an active drag coefficient of
1.0). However, an improvement in
technique (to an active drag
coefficient of .8) will produce an
even faster swim.
Optimizing your technique (even if
you're an Olympian!) requires an
integrated program of advanced
technology for instruction and
analysis, including clinics and
individual instruction. A thorough
program will increase peak force,
eliminate wasted motion, and lower
the active drag coefficient. Our
client list includes thousands
of swimmers who have benefitted from
our technology, including Olympians
from many countries. |
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Recent Clinic News
Adult triathletes appreciate
logic.
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In addition to our
work with competitive swimmers, many
triathletes have benefitted from our
products and services. While age group
swimmers regularly update us on their
performance improvements, adult
triathletes are effusive in their praise
for our organization and presentation.
Frequent performance-related comments
focus on how a clinic helped them to
break out of a plateau or finish a swim
with less fatigue. Triathletes also
appreciate the logic of our technique
information. It has to be logical,
because it's all based on physics. (Not
surprisingly, some of our best adult
clients are physics professors!) |
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Backstroke Technique Tip
The
entry phase is not over when the arm
submerges.
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Most swimmers complete the entry
phase in backstroke as soon as the
arm breaks the surface of the water
- that is, the speed of the arm
slows down as the arm submerges, and
then the arm begins moving
laterally. This is counterproductive
for three reasons: 1) loss of hand
speed, 2) wasted time, and 3)
misdirected force.
An effective entry phase is not
complete until the arm is submerged
to the point where an effective pull
begins - with the hand below the
elbow and the elbow below the
shoulder (as shown in the middle
image below). To achieve this
position it is necessary to keep the
arm moving fast and downward after
it hits the surface and until it is
submerged far enough to begin an
effective pull.
Because the arm entry is out of the
view of the swimmer, kinesthetic
cues must be used for control. Feel
the arm accelerate straight down to
the surface and continue moving fast
until the hand is submerged below
the elbow and the elbow is below the
shoulder. With adequate torso
rotation, the arm will be in
position to flex the elbow and begin
an effective pull phase.
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Aquanex+Video Analysis
What does an optimal hand force
curve look like?
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The image below shows optimal,
computer generated hand force curves
for
MONA - a biomechanical model of
optimal technique. (The vertical
lines on the force curves are
synchronized with the swimmer
image.) MONA effectively uses her
strength and steadily increases
force throughout the stroke.
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Humans, however, have fluctuations
in their hand force pattern due to
wasted motion and force losses. A
failure to steadily increase force
like MONA is primarily caused by
orienting the arm in a weak
position or not taking advantage of
a strong arm position. Technique
instruction and repeated testing
with
Aquanex+Video is essential to
improve your force curves and
produce faster swims! |
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Ask Dr. Havriluk
How does hand force vary within a
stroke cycle?
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The arm can move into stronger and
stronger positions at faster and
faster speeds throughout the stroke
cycle. Hand force peaks about
halfway into the push phase (after
the arm passes the shoulders) for
freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.
For a swimmer with effective
technique, the force value on the
push phase is typically twice as
much as on the pull phase. (See the
MONA example above.) A swimmer who
does not double his/her force from
the pull to the push has a major
technique limitation.
Other questions and misconceptions
are addressed at the
FAQs page on the STR website. |
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In This Issue |
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Improving Olympian Technique
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Clinic News
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Aquanex Optimal Force Curves
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Ask Dr. Havriluk
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SpeedWeeks 2010
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Upcoming Events
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Swimming Conference |
The Biomechanics and Medicine in
Swimming Conference will be held in
Oslo, Norway on June 16-19,
2010. The conference has been held
every four years since 1970 and
brings together coaches and
scientists interested in the science
of swimming. Click the logo for more
information.
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SpeedWeeks 2010 |
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STR's advanced technology
and unique learning strategies
guarantee success. Our summer
SpeedWeeks in Florida attract local
swimmers, as well as swimmers from
all over the USA, Europe, South
America, the Caribbean, and the
middle east. In addition to
technique instruction and analysis
by STR president and Aquanex
inventor, Dr. Rod Havriluk,
SpeedWeeks feature guest experts on
nutrition, sport psychology,
physical therapy, and strength
training. Limited spaces are
available to ensure maximum
individual attention and
incomparable progress! The dates are
June 7-11 and August 2-6. You can
register now to reserve your space.
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Upcoming Events |
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Nov 29 - Tallahassee, FL
Dec 28-31 - Puerto Rico
Clinics for Coaches and Swimmers
Jan 6-20 - Tallahassee, FL
Aquanex+Video, Instructional Clinics
Jan 9 - Davie, FL
Aquanex+Video Analysis Clinic
Jan 30-31 - Grand Cayman
Clinics for Swimmers and Triathletes
Feb TBA - Brazil
Clinics for Coaches and Swimmers
Mar 7 - Tallahassee, FL
Clinic for Adults
Mar 20-Apr 7 - Saudi Arabia
SpeedWeeks, Coach Clinics
May 15-16 - Annapolis, MD
Aquanex+Video Analysis Clinics
May 22-23 - Jacksonville, FL
Aquanex+Video Analysis Clinics
June 7-11 - Tallahassee, FL
June 21-22 - Oslo, Norway
Aquanex+Video Analysis Clinics
Aug 2-6 - Tallahassee, FL
We also planning clinics at other
locations in the USA, as well as in
Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Check our
2010 schedule and reserve your
dates! |
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Aquanex Research |
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Dr. Ted Becker (Head Trainer of the
US Olympic Swim Team in 1984) plans
to submit a study using Aquanex for
presentation at the Biomechanics and
Medicine in Swimming conference in
Norway. The focus of the study is on
minimizing the risk of shoulder
injury and maximizing force
generation in butterfly. Also in
preparation are papers on the
relative contributions of strength
and technique to performance.
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