Last updated 4 months ago
Swimming is an excellent aerobic activity for children to be involved in, because it promotes healthy competition and good team skills. For more information on the benefits of swimming and the different styles, take a look at the resources below.
Saratoga Star Aquatics offers swim lessons and competitive programs for students of many ages and skill levels in an exceptional indoor facility. We invite you to visit our website or call (408) 899-5306 to learn about our year-round swim instruction.
- Take a look at this website for some pointers for improving your freestyle form.
- Learn the proper posture of the backstroke on this informative webpage.
- Check out LiveStrong.com for tips on breathing in an Olympic-sized pool.
- Visit this webpage to learn the proper etiquette for swimming laps at a public pool.
- This page from HowStuffWorks.com offers advice to improve your swimming speed.
Last updated 5 months ago
People have participated in competitive swimming for thousands of years. Some of the earliest evidence of potential competition in the water dates to 4000 BC. However, the real competitive edge began in the 1800s in England.
Friendly Competition
In 1844, London hosted a swimming competition between British and Native American swimmers, with the Americans utilizing a stroke similar to the front crawl. While it proved to be faster than the British-favored breaststroke, the British did not adopt the style.
In the late 1800s, an English man by the name of John Arthur Trudgen brought the famed front crawl back to English soil after a trip to the Americas, where it evolved into a modified crawl-breaststroke combination that is known as the fastest method of swimming to this day.
Olympic Induction
In 1896, the Olympic Games featured four swimming contests. That year, two gold medals were presented to Hungarian swimmer Alfred Hajos. Swimming has been featured in the Olympic Games since then, with swimming strokes evolving further to reduce resistance, improve speed, and increase distance.
Swimming Improvements
The rise of swimming as both a competitive and recreational activity gave life to swimming classes. These lessons were provided by individual instructors, like Nancy Edberg of 1847 Stockholm. In 1913, the German lifesaving organization Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft was created. It was dedicated to providing assistance in the event of a swimming emergency.
Through the mid-1900s, swimming became the focus of research, leading to varied and refined strokes, readily available swimming lessons for the public, and swimming classes that teach anything from basic instruction to competitive technique.
At Saratoga Star Aquatics, our instructors include Olympic champions. We offer swimming lessons that range across the spectrum. Whether your swimmer is just beginning or ready to compete, our school can help him improve his skills and confidence. Call us at (408) 899-5306 for more information today.
Last updated 5 months ago
Competitive swimming is an exciting sport, because you never know when you are going to witness a historical record breaking moment.
This video captures one such moment when Michael Phelps broke the world record for the 200-meter butterfly in 2007. This win earned him the 3rd gold medal of the World Swimming Championships, an extraordinary athletic achievement.
If you have a child with big athletic aspirations, then check out Saratoga Star Aquatics. We have a friendly and motivated coaching team to help your child succeed. Learn more about us on our website or by calling (408) 899-5306.
Last updated 5 months ago
Swimming is an extremely beneficial form of exercise and physical therapy, providing resistance, strength training, and cardiovascular stimulation while still being low-impact. Swimming is an excellent way to get fit, rehabilitate, or simply improve physical function for just about any age, ability level, or physical condition. Here are a few of the health benefits of swimming:
Get in Physical Shape
The low-impact nature of swimming makes it an excellent alternative for individuals who aren’t able to run or jog or otherwise engage in high-impact activities. This includes people with joint problems and those engaged in physical rehabilitation. When immersed in water, the human body bears only a fraction of its weight, making it easier to move and work out.
Plus, resistance exercise from swimming will work, tone, and stretch your muscles all at once. Finishing your swimming routine with some gentle stretching will ensure you get the most out of your workout.
Develop a Healthy Heart
Swimming benefits your heart in a few ways. While swimming strengthens the heart muscle itself, it also improves the heart’s function for efficient blood flow and oxygen transportation throughout the body.
Encourage Mental Health
Mental health improves the moment you enter the pool. Because swimming is a form of cardiovascular exercise, your body will release endorphins just like running. The support of the water will help both body and mind enter a relaxed state, even as you stay active.
Saratoga Star Aquatics can help you get in the water and get healthier with our swimming classes. Contact us at (408) 899-5306 to learn more about our swimming lesson schedules, or visit us online to explore our range of swimming instruction services.
Last updated 5 months ago
Swimming in competition can be an exhilarating experience that allows individuals to proudly showcase their own skills while working for the benefit of an entire team. There is a diverse range of swim styles that are performed in competitive swimming, but three stand out as the standard: the butterfly stroke, the freestyle, and the backstroke. Each of these swim strokes is described in detail below:
1. Freestyle: A freestyle stroke is called such because there are no strict rules that dictate the form of the swimmer’s movement, although most utilize some variation of the front crawl because it is the fastest way to move through the water. While kicking with straight legs and pointed toes, the swimmer moves his or her arms in a windmill motion to propel through the water. The swimmer breathes by turning the head to the side as the arm comes out of the water.
2. Backstroke: Swimmers perform the backstroke by swimming with the front of the body facing upwards. The legs should be straight but not locked and kicking just enough to create disturbance in the water without heavy splashing. The arms are rotated by the shoulders as they are extended from the waist. As the swimmer moves, the head should be floating in the water to allow for normal breathing.
3. Butterfly Stroke: This is a more advanced swim stroke that takes time and practice to master. As the swimmer moves, he or she bobs in and out of the water using a whip-like kick and a broad sweeping motion of the arms. The goal of this stroke is to allow the swimmer to glide through the water while propelling oneself with a repeated diving motion.
4. Breaststroke: The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn either the breaststroke or the front crawl first. But in competitive swimming, the breaststroke is regarded as one of the most difficult strokes, requiring comparable endurance and leg strength to other strokes.
If you are interested in helping your child master these swim strokes, then contact the exceptional instructors of Saratoga Star Aquatics. Our large indoor facilities are staffed by a friendly and skilled coaching team to set your child up for success. Learn more about us on our website or by calling (408) 899-5306.
