AquaRally, yüzme severlere Türkiye'nin en güzel koylarında eşsiz bir deneyim sunuyor. Bu etkinlik, yüzme yeteneklerinizi geliştirebileceğiniz, doğanın ve denizin tadını çıkarabileceğiniz bir macera.
Okay, I will translate the provided text to English.
Fin usage in swimming has seen a surge in recent years, particularly with training fins. Shorter and less flexible than diving fins, these are now commonly seen in training sessions, especially among master swimmers who enjoy using "swimming toys." It's a common sight at pools: a mesh bag full of swimming gear by each lane, and meticulously written training plans taped to the starting blocks, all aimed at motivating swimmers. I call these items "motivation toys." GPS-enabled watches are another example, which I'll delve into in future articles.
Generally, I'm not keen on the prolonged use of "assistive" swimming equipment. The reason is:
The equipment often either prevents or restricts the proper execution of the intended movement. For instance, if you do a "6-kick switch with right-side breathing, 6-kick switch with left-side breathing" drill with fins, the increased speed will lift you higher in the water, making breathing much easier. However, the real goal is to develop the ability to perform the movement without compromising body form in natural, even more challenging, conditions. The objective in technical drills is to discipline the body while maintaining good swimming form. I have an analogy for this: in movies, you see twin-engine planes continue to fly even if one engine fails. This is due to their aerodynamic design. Similarly, a swimmer doing a one-arm drill needs to maintain the same hydrodynamic body form they have when swimming normally, and get used to it. If a technical drill is very difficult to perform, it's highly beneficial for development. For example, a one-arm drill where the right arm scrapes over the water's surface while breathing to the left! This isn't just an arm drill; it encompasses overall coordination and timing: the arm's entry-pull-exit path, the synchronized rotation of the head and torso for breath initiation-duration-completion, and the rhythm, power, and continuity of the kick. Many factors come into play.
I see many people constantly swimming with fins to strengthen their legs. After a while, they have to stop training due to knee and ankle joint complaints. The reason is that fin use increases the load and strains the joints. This might be acceptable for short-term workouts, but continuous use inevitably leads to damage. The same applies to hand paddles. I know many people who suffer elbow and, especially, shoulder injuries, simply because they believe increasing the load will make them swim better. Since leg work has less impact on increasing aerobic capacity compared to overall swimming, leg drills for performance are done at high intensity, above the aerobic threshold. In other words, aerobic leg work is not preferred. Aerobic work is calculated as 60% of maximum heart rate. Roughly calculating maximum heart rate as 220 minus age, a 40-year-old swimmer's maximum heart rate is 220-40=180. 60% of this, the aerobic threshold, is 108. 108 and above is anaerobic work. Performance sets are done close to the maximum heart rate. How well-trained you are relates to how long you can sustain high heart rates and how quickly you can return to a normal heart rate.
Each of us is born with a different DNA model. These differences contribute to our infinite variations. In swimming, we can categorize individuals as being more suited to open water or pool, and to kicking a lot or kicking less. I see people advising pool sprint swimmers, who are more efficient, to kick less in open water. Or, as happened to me in the 70s, being told to kick more and swim with more reach. This isn't a preference but a natural inclination. Unfortunately, there are still coaches who haven't grasped this, and they are hindering athletes.
Our oxygen-consuming muscles generate power according to their capacity. The largest muscle group in our body is in the legs. This means leg muscles consume the most oxygen. However, their efficiency, by the nature of the movement, is considerably lower than that of the arms. The times for someone swimming at maximum power with only their legs versus someone swimming with only their arms are quite different. If we roughly say arms are 80% efficient and legs are 20% efficient, it makes more sense to use our available power in the arms. This, of course, applies to long-distance swimmers. We know that short-distance swimmers utilize all muscles in their body that can benefit their swimming to the maximum extent. In long-distance swimming, economical energy consumption is paramount. Just as 10K runners have lean muscle groups, long-distance swimmers also have low-volume muscles. The expectation is to conserve energy and perform for longer durations. To use energy efficiently, it should be utilized in the arms rather than the less efficient legs. Open water swimmers typically kick twice per arm stroke. Kicks are only performed enough to keep the body parallel to the water's surface, preventing the legs from sinking. While kicking more provides some forward benefit, using the same energy in the arms provides a greater forward advantage.
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