Penguins,
This week’s topic is on head and body position. Before I begin I want everyone to imagine a speed boat in a lake. If that speed boat is parked on a dock the boat sits low, once that boat starts moving to the middle of the lake the boat becomes a little bit higher. After the boat has passed the buoys and the boat is moving quickly the front of the boat rises and there is only a small amount of the boat riding in the water. The same concept somewhat occurs while swimming. The reason why this is important is because at sea level air is 784 times less dense than water. For all of the six year olds think of it this way, which one can you move through faster, water or air? Air of course that’s why we can run faster than we can swim.
Back to the boat now, in order for the boat to move faster it rises out of the water so that more of its hull is pushing against air. Swimming is the same way, the higher in the water you are, the faster you will go. So you may be thinking to yourself what does this have to do with head and body position? If your head is too high your feet will sink, if your head is too low your shoulders will start to bury. Getting your head in the right body position is one of the easiest most overlooked piece of swimming. The most important thing to keep in mind is that while changing something in the water it is going to feel weird. Since swimming is a repetitive sport your muscles develop a memory, so if you change something your muscles aren’t going to like it until they develop a new memory. So in the end embrace the weird!
Until next week…
Coach Ryan