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Published on: January 28, 2020
Stroke frequency and arm coordination in front crawl swimming
1LEMH, Faculté des Sciences du Sport--Université de Lille 2, France.
International Journal of Sports Medicine
|March 17, 2006
Summary
Expert swimmers exhibit distinct arm coordination patterns at higher stroke rates (SR) compared to non-experts. This difference in coordination emerges as stroke rates increase, suggesting a key adaptation for efficient swimming.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Biomechanics
- Swimming Performance
Background:
- Understanding arm coordination is crucial for optimizing swimming technique.
- Stroke rate (SR) influences biomechanical patterns in swimming.
- Expertise level may alter coordination strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in arm coordination between expert and non-expert swimmers.
- To determine how varying stroke rates affect arm coordination patterns.
- To identify if specific coordination modes are associated with expertise.
Main Methods:
- Thirteen non-expert and 14 expert swimmers performed crawl stroke over 25m.
- Swimmers completed trials at five distinct stroke rates (35-55 cycles/min).
- Arm coordination patterns (catch-up vs. superposition) were analyzed across stroke rates.
Main Results:
- Non-expert swimmers shifted to superposition coordination between 45-50 cycles/min.
- Expert swimmers shifted to superposition coordination between 50-55 cycles/min.
- Significant coordination differences between groups occurred at 45 cycles/min.
Conclusions:
- Superposition coordination appears to be an emergent property of high stroke rates.
- Expert swimmers adopt superposition coordination at higher stroke rates than non-experts.
- Coordination strategy differences highlight adaptations to swimming intensity based on expertise.
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