Swimming
Swimming is the method of using your arms and legs to help you move through water. Unlike some other animals, humans do not naturally know how to swim and therefore need to take lessons, either formally or informally. It is part of the school curriculum and all children in the UK are expected to know how to swim by the time they are eleven years old. If they cannot swim by this time, there is a Top-Up scheme, which provides the children with intensive lessons so that they will meet the National Curriculum Standard of being able to swim 25 metres by the time they leave Primary School.
Most people enjoy swimming as a leisure pursuit. They swim in the pool in the recreational facility in their own town, swim in lakes and ponds and when they go to the beach on holiday, they will definitely want to spend time in the water. For recreational swimming the most common swimming styles are breaststroke, side stroke, front crawl and dog paddle.
In the breaststroke, you start off with your hands a little below the surface of the water with the palms facing outward and then move them apart. As you make an outsweep, you keep your hands out straight and almost parallel to the surface of the water. Then you point your hands downwards and push back against the water, which is called the insweep. You keep your elbows horizontal to your shoulders and you push your hands backwards until they are almost vertical to the shoulders. Then you bring your hands together so that they are at the front of your chest and your elbows are by your sides. You kick your legs in a frog kick, which starts with having them together and out straight from your body. When you push back, your knees stay together. The feet then push outwards and you repeat the movement.
In the side stroke, your body is to one side as you swim. You do not use your arms and legs simultaneously. You start off on one side by stretching your arm of that side out as far as possible and use the hand like a shark’s fin to cut through the water. You hold your other arm against your chest and kick your legs in a scissorslike fashion. Once you move one arm, you then move the other.
The front crawl is the fastest swimming motion. You move your arms from side to side so that when one arm is pushing the water, the other is pulling. You move your legs alternately in what is called the flutter kick One leg kicks upward, while the other kicks down. The dog paddle is the technique that most children use when learning to swim on their own. The hands are cupped like paws and are in constant motion in front of you. You kick the water with your legs to propel your forward.
The breaststroke and front crawl are the techniques used in swimming competitions. As young people start to learn to swim better they often become part of swim clubs and engage in competitive swimming, often achieving high status by winning many medals.
Swimming is also a form of exercise because it gives the body a total workout. It places less stress on the body that other kinds of exercise because the water helps to support the body. Therefore, swimming is often a part of rehabilitation and therapy following an injury or surgery.