Abstract
This study investigates differences in propulsive force between the water surface and underwater conditions in the flutter kick swimming technique. The subjects were well-trained university male swimmers. A towing device was set up in a 25 m swimming pool to measure the towing force and velocity of the swimmer under two conditions: the swimmer was near the water surface and at a depth of 0.60 m. The swimmers performed the gliding trials and the kicking trials with maximum effort with five towing velocities from 1.2 to 2.4 m/s. The passive drag and the resultant force of the propulsive and drag forces in kick swimming were formulated, respectively. The propulsive force was calculated from the difference between the two formulas. A difference of the propulsive force under conditions in high swimming velocity was observed. This suggests that the water surface condition has advantages of raising the foot above water.
Highlights
Swimmers use their upper and lower limbs to exert a propulsive force
The purpose of the present study is to investigate differences of propulsive force between the water surface and underwater conditions in flutter kick swimming
The towing force of the glide trial was larger than the kick trial in the lower swimming velocities, such as 1.2 and 1.5 m/s, under the conditions of both the water surface and the 0.60 m depth
Summary
Swimmers use their upper and lower limbs to exert a propulsive force. The upper limbs play an important role in propulsion in front crawl swimming, the role of the lower limbs and their importance in swimming performance are under discussion. The contribution of the lower limbs in increasing swimming velocity is regarded as a consequence of effect on upper limb movements and maintaining the horizontal alignment of the whole body rather than the exertion of propulsive force directly as discussed in [2,3,4]. Swimmers exert high propulsive forces to overcome the resistance of water and achieve high swimming velocities. It is expected to find a swimming mechanism and technique that takes account of the possibility of exerting the propulsive force in the upper limbs and in the lower limbs. The purpose of the present study is to investigate differences of propulsive force between the water surface and underwater conditions in flutter kick swimming
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