Describe Stroke Cycle for Breaststroke Identifying Phases of Propulsion and Resistance. Define and Analyse the Major Muscle Groups Used and the Energy System Demands Made on the Body in Swimming This Stroke over 200 Metres in 2 Minutes 10seconds. Ex

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Unit: Sports Analysis.

Unit Leader: Sally Hope.

Date: 31st January 2006.

Assignment: ÐŽ®Describe stroke cycle for Breaststroke identifying phases of propulsion and resistance. Define and analyse the major muscle groups used and the energy system demands made on the body in swimming this stroke over 200 metres in 2 minutes 10seconds. Explain how you would develop both muscles and energy systems using appropriate land and water trainingЎЇ.

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ÐŽ®Describe stroke cycle for Breaststroke identifying phases of propulsion and resistance. Define and analyse the major muscle groups used and the energy system demands made on the body in swimming this stroke over 200 metres in 2 minutes 10seconds. Explain how you would develop both muscles and energy systems using appropriate land and water trainingЎЇ.

Introduction.

Breaststroke is the slowest of all of the four primary strokes. This is caused by the unique movements that are part of the stroke cycle, that create a large amount of resistance. The breaststroke cycle has changed somewhat over the last two decades, due to the increasing involvement of technology to analyse how to effectively increase propulsion through the water. Through training about body positioning, the resistance can be minimalised so that speed increases, however resistance is a major factor in the breaststroke cycle. Breaststroke consists of a series of phases for both the arms and the legs. Leg movement consists of an outsweep, whereby the leg kicks outwards starting from the buttocks; and an insweep where your legs are extended and brought together in a propeller like fashion. The arm movement also has outsweep and insweep phases. The outsweep is where the arms are virtually at full extension away from the body, pulling back through the water until the hands are almost level with the shoulders; the insweep begins here, by cupping the water down and forwards in front of the body to create trust.

(www.gatorswimteam.org)

Water resistance is created by the surface area that a swimmer takes up. Breaststroke causes the most amount of resistance; therefore the swimmer has to work even harder to overcome resistive forces so that they can go quicker. The amount of resistance can be found through the following equation:

ÐŽ®W = F x DЎЇ (www.school-for-champions.com)

Resistance is here called work. The amount of resistance is found by multiplying the force by the distance taken. Resistance amount is recorded as NewtonЎЇs (N).

The affect of resistance on a swimmer is to slow the forward motion down. The bigger the surface area, the more water is come into contact with, therefore the more the resistance. It is important that the swimmer tries to be as flat in the water as possible, as the legs can follow through the water that the arms have already come through; i.e. there is no resistance. However if the legs are dropped even slightly, they are moving in fresh water and there is an increase in resistance again. There are various ways that resistance can be minimalised. Breaststroke has even changed in its style considerably so that resistance is reduced by the stroke being more dynamic, and streamlined. A lot of resistance is created when entering the water via a dive and when turning in the water. The ways to minimise the affects of a dive is to ensure that the body enters the water at the correct 45degree, with the toes pointed upon entry; quick and powerful from take off making the body streamlined and causing the minimum amount of water disturbance. Breathing is a common factor in the creation of resistance in swimming due to the body rolling as the head moves in bilateral breathing, although rolling only occurs in swimmers who actual have not grasped the bilateral breathing form completely. However in breaststroke this is not the case, as breathing occurs as the body rises out of the water in the middle section of the stroke cycle.

Propulsion in water comes from the ÐŽ®force of the water against the propelling objectЎЇ (www.coachsinfo.com). The movement of the hands and legs pushing the water backwards creates a thrusting motion which propels the body forwards through the water. As with resistance, propulsion depends upon the speed of the stroke cycle, the quicker the movement, the increase in propulsion. Again as with the force of resistance, the force of propulsion requires the body to move in a very streamlined manner and with the body flat in the water. It is vital that the swimmer executes the stroke as correctly as possible, as unrequired movements create excess forces that propel the body to move in differing directions. For example If a breaststroke swimmer, was swimming with one leg kicking out before the other leg, this would cause an imbalance in the water movement, therefore propulsion would be erratic and in differing directions as the water is not being moved in the same direction at the same time. NewtonЎЇs Third law about states that ÐŽ®For every action there will be an equal and opposite reactionЎЇ (www.coachesinfo.com) Emphasising that it was the use of this theory that made swimmers think that they should pull their arms back straight motion, this would mean that a huge amount of water would be being pulled backwards, therefore a lot of the propulsion would be lost due to the extent of resistance that this type of arm movement would cause. For this resistance to be overcome the breaststroke swimmer would have to excessively move their arms as part of the stroke cycle to over compensate the loss of force. According to Carla McCabe,

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