Table Of ContentHandbook of Sports Medicine and Science
Swimming
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IOC Medical Commission
Sub-Commission on Publications
in the Sport Sciences
Howard G. Knuttgen PhD (Co-ordinator)
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Harm Kuipers MD, PhD
Maastricht, The Netherlands
Per A.F.H. Renstrom MD, PhD
Stockholm, Sweden
Handbook of Sports Medicine
and Science
Swimming
EDITED BY
Joel M. Stager PhD
and
David A. Tanner PhD
Department of Kinesiology
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
USA
Second Edition
Blac kwe lI
Science
0 1991 Blackwell Scientific Publications Ltd
@ 2005 by Blackwell Science Ltd
a Blackwell Publishing Company
Blackwell Science, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5020, USA
Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ UK
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The right of the Authors to be identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted in accordance with
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permission of the publisher.
First published 1991
Second edition 2005
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swimming / edited by Joel M. Stager and David A. Tanner.-2nd ed.
p. cm.-(Handbook of sports medicine and science)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-632-05914-1
1. Swimming-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Stager,J oel McCormick. 11. Tanner, David A. 111. Series.
RC1220S8S937 2004
613.7’16-dc22 2004008705
ISBN 0-632-05914-1
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
Set in 8.75/12pt Stone Serif by TechBooks, New Delhi, India
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd
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Contents
List of contributors, vi 4 The mechanics of swimming, 51
Barry S. Bixler
Foreword by the IOC, vii
5 Resistance and propulsion, 59
Foreword by FINA, viii
Barry S. Bixler
Preface, ix
6 Psychology, 102
John S. Raglin and Brendon S. Hale
1 Energy systems, 1
Joel M. Stager and Michael A. Coyle 7 Medical issues related to swimming, 115
David F. Gerrard
2 Central adaptations: heart, blood,
and lung, 20 8 Training and testing of competitive
Joel M. Stager swimmers, 128
David B. Pyne and WayneM . Goldsmith
3 Peripheral adaptations: the skeletal
muscles, 35
Index, 145
Joel M. Stager
V
List of Contributors
Barry S. Bixler David B. Pyne PhD
Principal Engineer, Honeywell Engines and Systems, Physiologist, Department of Physiology, Australian
3145 W. Tyson Place, Chandler, AZ 85226, USA Institute of Sport, PO Box 176, Belconnen, ACT 2616,
Australia
Michael A. Coyle PhD
Vice President, Clinical Development, Pharmaceutical John S. Raglin PhD
Division, VivoMetrics, 100 Overlook Center, Princeton, Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, 1025 E.
NJ 08540, USA 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7109, USA
David F. Gerrard MD Joel M. Stager PhD
Associate Professor, Academic Convenor-Sports Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, 1025 E.
Medicine, and Associate Dean-Student Affairs, 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7109, USA
University of Otago, Dunedin School of Medicine,
PO Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand David A. Tanner PhD
Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, 1025 E.
Wayne M. Goldsmith
7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7109, USA
Moregold Sports Pty. Ltd, PO Box 112, Charnwood,
ACT 2615, Australia
Brendon S. Hale MS
Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, 1025 E.
7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7109, USA
vi
Foreword by the IOC
The athlete’s health has always been a priority for the of a great deal of sports-medicine research. This re-
International Olympic Committee. I therefore wel- search, both biomechanical and biophysiological, has
come the initiative by the IOC Medical Commission, brought about an improvement in athletes’ condi-
with Blackwell Publishing, to republish, after 12years, tions and training equipment and, consequently, their
the Swimmingh andbook. performances.
An Olympic sport since the first Games of the I am convinced that this book will be a useful refer-
modern era in 1896, swimming has always aroused ence tool for sports doctors as well as the medical and
great interest among both the public and the medical- paramedical entourage of any athlete. Let us thank the
scientific community. authors for this!
Through the diversity of its disciplines, and espe-
cially because it is practised in an unnatural environ- Jacques Rogge
ment for man, swimming has always been the subject IOC President
vii
Foreword by FlNA
On behalf of the Fkdkration lnternationale de Nata- We are also proud of counting with the FINA Sports
tion (FINA), it is my pleasure to introduce you to Medicine Committee that has the duty of providing
the second edition of Swimming, an IOC Handbook medical and sport science expertise and gives recom-
of Sports Medicine and Science, which is mainly de- mendations regarding health conditions in the prac-
voted to the physical, biomechanical, psychological; tice of our sports. The professors, doctors and other
medical and training problems in competitive swim- specialists of this Committee are continuously search-
ming. As world governing body for the disciplines of ing for new ideas and suggestions on how to improve
swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swim- and develop the medical aspects of our aquatic disci-
mingand open water swimming, FINA is obviously in- plines.
terested in the widest possible transmission of knowl- This Handbook, edited by the IOC, is a precious tool
edge to our athletes, coaches, physicians and officials to help our members in the prosecution of their activ-
involved in our sport. ities, as our main goal is to be useful to the aquatic
As one of FINA's goals is to disseminate and accel- community formed by our 187 Member National Fed-
erate the participation of young competitors in our erations. That is why I especially salute the editors and
disciplines, it is of relevant importance to detect, cor- contributors who devoted their time and effort to the
rect and prevent the health or injury problems that are elaboration of this publication.
inevitably associated with the practice of any physical
activity. The engagement in this area led to the cre- Mustapha Larfaoui
ation of a FINA WorldSportsM edicine Congress, held ev- FINA President
ery two years, and to which are invited scientific and
clinical experts with an interest in the field of medicine
applied to aquatic sports.
viii
Preface
At a recent coaching convention, one of the keynote Our association with Doc Counsilman goes back
speakers concluded that nothing particularly inno- over 35 years and we both admit to have been greatly
vative has happened within competitive swimming influenced by his lifelong passion for swimming. Doc
in the last 25 years. The speaker presented evidence often lectured about the “Three C’s of Learning: Cu-
that illustrated his point and cited swim goggles, lane riosity, Confusion, and Comprehension.” Learning
lines, interval training, touch pads, pace clocks, and begins with curiosity as to why we do something or
age group swimming as important innovations that how thisor that works. Confusion follows when things
acted to transform competitive swimming in the 1950s don’t make sense or the rationale behind a practice is
through the 1970s. It is our hope that while this argu- found faulty. Comprehension results from repeated
ment might be seen by some to be valid, the topics observations and the testing of hypotheses. Over the
presented within this handbook will be cause for this course of time, by asking questions and challenging
conclusion to be challenged. the status quo, advances in knowledge are attained. To
The truth is that the world of competitive sports is paraphrase from Robert Persig, “Scientific truth is not
far from static and is constantly changing. It should be dogma, good for eternity, but a temporal quantitative
obvious that significant change has resulted from re- entity. . . the time spans of scientific truths are an in-
cent advances in science and technology. The history verse function of the intensity of scientific effort. The
of our sport over the course of the past 100 years of or- more you look, the more you see.” Doc Counsilman
ganizedcompetitive swimming is essentially a descrip- was most proud of his ability toquestion, see, and then
tion of the athletes, their coaches, and their collective implement new things that would directly affect how
accomplishments. In the next decade, however, the fast swimmers swim.
history of swimming will be defined by advances in This is an “up-front” acknowledgment that the
technology, spearheaded by scientific innovators. Handbook of Swimming is not intended for the begin-
In the past year, the world lost two men devoted ner swimmer. Rather, it is for the serious student of
to innovation and science in swimming. Allen B. the sport, onewith thecuriosityand themotivation to
Richardson, MD, coauthor of the first edition of this delve into the fine details. Some of this material is very
handbook, passed away in September 2003. Then in complicated, especially the two chapters pertaining to
January 2004 we lost our mentor and friend, James E. the biomechanics of swimming. Ones first impression
(Doc) Counsilman. Both men were committed to im- might be that the average swim coach does not need to
proving performance and prolonging the “competi- know about symmorphosis or the hydrodynamics of
tive lives” of swimmers by adapting knowledge from swimming, but the controversy surrounding advances
far-ranging fields into the daily routines of swim- in medicine and the new technologies require that we
mers. We, therefore, respectfully dedicate this book to learn more about fundamental physics and physiol-
them. ogy in order to play an active role. It is likely that these
ix
