Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Despre 'fortare' la nivelul incepatorilor


Don't treat children like adults

Tuesday, August 21, 2012 11:08 AM
From:
Add sender to Contacts
To:
"mircea olaru"
If you do not wish to receive any further messages from this Group please click here to unsubscribe.
If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here.
Sports Performance Bulletin
From the desk of Jonathan Pye, Sports Injury Bulletin Editor

A free gift for all injury therapists

The mistakes some practitioners make when treating young athletes (and how you can avoid them)

Read on now to find out more about this important new research report...

Dear Professional,
Young athletes are not miniature adults.
We can’t treat their aches and pains like we would a fully grown athlete.
Why? Because a child’s bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons are still growing and taking shape...
And what causes an injury in a young athlete is not necessarily the same as what causes one in an adult.
I want to help remedy this, by offering you some of the best and latest research on injuries in young athletes available today.
Knowledge that could transform your practice, and help make you one of the most trusted therapists in your community...
Chances are you see young, enthusiastic athletes in your clinic from time to time, and naturally you care about delivering a high-quality service to them.
You don’t want a promising athlete to end up with long-term problems, and fail to realise their true potential in their chosen sport.
That means having the knowledge to give the correct diagnosis and provide the right solutions.
Anxious parents and concerned coaches will continue to come to you, wanting to know why their child is hurt, and how you can help them.
So it’s vital that you know what the differences are...
Which aches and pains you can dismiss as knocks or ‘growing pains’, and which ones need your professional intervention.
This is precisely why I want to give you a free copy of my new research report – How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes.
It contains the very latest insights and practical advice you need to provide the most effective injury solutions, regardless of your chosen discipline.
In this new report, you’ll find expert contributors including professional coaches, chartered physiotherapists and a consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, based at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
Once you’ve read this report, you’ll be better prepared to:
  Recognise the warning signs of childhood injuries
  Advise coaches on when a young athlete can/can’t train
  Deliver effective injury prevention and treatment strategies
By keeping on top of the latest research on youth sports injuries, you’ll deliver an even better quality service and ensure your clients recommend you to others.
This could just be the most important thing you read all year...

One report... four expert advisors... trusted injury solutions

With How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes, you'll have instant access to information that is usually the reserve of specialist clinics and expert medical panels.
To find this level of advice and knowledge on your own would not only be costly, but incredibly time-consuming (not ideal when you have rehab sessions to plan and clients to see!).
My new report makes it easy. All the hard work has been done for you, so that the most important information is right at your fingertips.
Best of all, I’m offering it to you free.
My contributors are all practising specialists, and are renowned in the sports injury field. Let me introduce you to them now:
Sean Fyfe is the strength and conditioning coach and assistant tennis coach for the Tennis Australia National High Performance Academy based in Brisbane. He also operates his own sports physiotherapy clinic.
Deborah Eastwood MB FRCS is a consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, based at the Hospital for Sick Children, Gt Ormond St, London and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. Her special interest is in working with disabled children in sports and non-sporting contexts.
Rosemary Keer MSc MCSP MACP is a chartered physiotherapist with a clinical and research interest in the management of the hypermobile patient. She is editor (with Rodney Grahame) of Hypermobility Syndrome – Recognition and Management for Physiotherapists, pub: Butterworth-Heinemann 2003.
Mark Palmer is a New Zealand-trained physiotherapist who has been working in English football for the past five years. He has spent the past three seasons as head physiotherapist at Sheffield Wednesday FC.
Their collective expertise will broaden your knowledge base and advise you on key areas of treating young athletes such as:
 Supporting children with loose joints
  Childhood diagnoses in young athletes
  Young backs and pars fractures
  Long-term athlete development
  And much more...
It’s a report that no caring professional can afford to miss.
Especially if you’re treating a young athlete right now, or in the near future...
Your free report could help you spot a problem that might have otherwise been overlooked.

Provide the right treatment at the right time - and help young athletes recover faster

By now, I'm sure you want to know more about the insights and knowledge revealed in my new report, and how it's going to help advance your treatment of young athletes.
So here's a little preview of what you'll learn...
How to tell when a ‘dull pain’ is a sign of something more serious
Some injuries are unique to the growing years, so it's vital that you know what they are – and how to spot them. Mark Palmer reveals the ones you should not miss, their links to childhood diseases, and provides you with practical case studies on how you can treat injuries from football-related groin pain to the adolescent knee.
Give the right support to children with loose joints
Seen a child complaining of pain for no reason? You may need to consider Hypermobile Syndrome.Deborah Eastwood and Rosemary Keer explain how to test for hypermobility in young athletes, and offer you simple strategies to manage this problem effectively.
Revealed: the right approach to dealing with young and fragile backs
Junior athletes, and football players in particular, are vulnerable to pars fractures. Don't write off their symptoms as growing pains! Mark Palmer provides you with management advice for treating this injury, backed by clinical reasoning and evidence.
How to ensure young athletes train safely and effectively
What is the Long-term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework? And how does it affect your work as a therapist? Sean Fyfe explains the crucial reasons why you need to be aware of this training approach for young athletes, and have strategies in place that limit the risks and effects of injury.

Get your free copy of my new report now

Once you've read How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes, you'll be better prepared for working with young athletes in your clinic, with an increased understanding of how to recognise and manage their aches and pains.
As we look forward to the Olympics next year, and more and more junior athletes take up sport, there's a huge advantage to getting familiar with this information now.
Respond today and it’s yours.
All I ask is that you take a risk-free trial of Sports Injury Bulletin for 60 days.
There’s absolutely no obligation. If it’s not for you, just cancel and receive a refund at any time in the next 2 months.
Your report is a taste of the ongoing advice you will receive as a member of the world’s only regular newsletter and members' service dedicated to helping professionals like you involved in sports injury management and prevention.
Not only will it keep you up to date with the latest research – on treating young athletes, and every other aspect of sports injury management – it’ll also provide you with best practice approaches, techniques and exercises you can take away and use with your clients.
For just $9.97 today, you can read the latest 4 issues of the newsletter, and download an extensive range of expert rehab and prehab resources from our Members' Area.
If, after two months, you decide for any reason that Sports Injury Bulletin is not for you, you can cancel, receive a refund and How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes will be yours to keep. (Along with anything else you have downloaded from our website.)
You're being invited to take up this special offer because you are a registered user of one of our websites, and receive one of our Sports Performance mini-newsletters.
As soon as your $9.97 payment is accepted, you will be able to access How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes in the Sports Injury Bulletin Members' Area, in an easily downloadable PDF format.
To get your copy, simply go to our secure payment site and enter your details.

Why read Sports Injury Bulletin?

Sports Injury Bulletin is leading the pack when it comes to doing something other publications fail to - translating the very latest sports injury advances into practical advice on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. And at an affordable price.
Now, our worldwide team of expert contributors assess the practical value of developments made in treatment and rehabilitation techniques. Those worth your attention as a reader are then published inSports Injury Bulletin and on our website.
No other advice centre carries the wide range of research and illustrated ‘best practice’ methods, all available through our exclusive members-only website.
For injury practitioners everywhere, it’s essential reading for staying on top of current thinking and best practices, ensuring your clients or patients stay fit and on winning form.
Readers are informed of each advance and why it works. You’ll learn how to treat injuries effectively and make sure they don't happen to that client again.
The information you receive includes new and alternative treatments from top exercise physiologists covering every aspect of rehabilitation; on anything physical or mental that prevents an athlete performing at his or her best.
There’s no advertising. No editorial bias. Just solid, evidence-based guidance passed on directly to you.
Our sources are worldwide and include centres of injury research and conferences. Top exercise physiologists provide all of our treatments, and our research is always backed up by thorough testing in scientific trials.
Here's a small sample of the huge range of topics that have been covered by Sports Injury Bulletin:
  • Prehab: does it really work?
  • Case studies: The rugby player’s angry hip and the football player’s achy groin
  • How to refurbish the gym junkie’s shoulder
  • Tennis trouble: a complicated pain in the neck
  • The complete injury-risk screening toolkit for footballers
  • Shocking treatment: tendons and electrotherapy
  • The banned list: no-go drugs for serious athletes
  • Core workout: exercises every therapist should know
  • Top tips for better client assessment
  • GPS in sport: tracking their rehab from space
  • Soccer kids... and their growing pains
  • The troublesome TFL – deep and mysterious
  • Ankle turns: all the latest research
  • Dodgy shoulders: in the gym with a rubber tube
  • How to cure painful calves
  • Pumping iron: is it really so bad for the kids?
  • Life minus ACL – how to survive and thrive
  • Hamstrings: how to keep them safe and happy
  • Proprioception: we can all say it, but can we train it?
  • Not all hips are equal – and some really hate sport
  • Ruptured ACLs – why do so many still happen?
  • And so much more…

Meet the practitioners who love Sports Injury Bulletin

It's easy to see why Sports Injury Bulletin has become the trusted source of answers, practical advice and guidance on injury management, treatment and rehabilitation for professionals all over the world.
And I'm certain that you'll come to rely on it too.
Here's what our global community of members have been saying about us in recent months:
"Sports Injury Bulletin is great value for money. It's so informative and full of up to date research. This makes it so far ahead of the competition and has helped me alot with rehab of my osteopathic patients and pushing new boundaries with my PT clients."
Dan Levick, Osteopath and Personal Trainer
"I appreciate the quality of the contributing authors. Specifically, obtaining insight from their experience on effective methods they have found in helping various clinical presentations. My practice is not purely sport med, however I utilize sport med principles and practice in management of my general public patients, drawing on tips/tricks I have gained through reading SIB. I like the format of providing the didactic/theory and mechanism of injury information, followed by practical, step by step treatment/rehab advice, and then following up with case reports." 
Gord McMorland, Chiropractor
"Our subscription to Sport Injury Bulletin is allowing us to keep an eye on significant developments in the sports medicine and sports performance industries. It provides an excellent guidance tool to the research articles themselves, which contain the specific details of the experiments conducted and its findings."
Darren Stanborough, Physio, Fulham Football Club
"I like the scientific and biomechanical bases presented in the Sports Injury Bulletin newsletter. It has become a vital resource, providing me with practical tests and exercises to help the athletes who come to see me for advice."
Yvonne Bontekoning, Sport Podiatrist and Running Trainer
"Sports Injury Bulletin has helped me in both my professions. As effective treatment to my patients and as preventive recourse to my Martial Arts Practitioners. Your recourse to the latest techniques for rehabilitation and injury prevention has put me in the top five of Physical Practitioners in my city. My sincere thanks to you and your team."
Pervez B Mistry, Physical Therapist & Martial Arts Trainer

Take a closer look at Sports Injury Bulletin today

For just $9.97, you can take out a risk-free trial membership of Sports Injury Bulletin, which gives you access to the latest 4 issues of the newsletter, plus a library of downloadable special reports, injury prevention programmes and rehab workouts.
If you decide to continue after your two-month trial is up, you can do so at the SPECIAL RATE of $97.50 every 6 months.
As I've said, you are under no obligation to continue. If you are not happy with the newsletter, your free report or anything else, let us know and we'll send you a full and prompt refund of every penny paid.
You can keep your report, newsletter issues and other resources, absolutely free.

Click here to start your risk-free trial and get your free report.

Since 2000, thousands of injury professionals have relied on the cutting-edge scientific research and practical advice in Sports Injury Bulletin to help them treat injured athletes of all ages, boost their sporting performance, and raise their profile in the sports therapy community.
Isn't it time you joined them, and enjoyed the same benefits?
Arm yourself with the knowledge inside How to Spot Sports Injuries in Young Athletes, and you won't be one of those practitioners who misses or mistreats an injury in a promising young athlete.
You'll be the first person that concerned parents and coaches come to for advice, because you deliver a consistently high-quality, efficient service.
To get your free report and begin your risk-free trial of Sports Injury Bulletin, simply click on any of the links in this message.
You'll be glad you did.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Pye
Editor, Sports Injury Bulletin
PS. Don't forget - everything you download during your 60-day review period is yours to keep, and we'll even refund your $9.97 payment if you decide not to continue.

Monday, August 20, 2012


Expert stretching advice to avoid injury

Monday, August 20, 2012 11:26 AM
From:
Add sender to Contacts
To:
"mircea olaru"
If you do not wish to receive any further messages from this group please click here to unsubscribe.
If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here

Order Your Copy Of Stretching to Avoid Injury Now For Just $9.97 And Receive A FREE 2 Month Trial ToSports Injury Bulletin

This Brilliant Report Tells Athletes Not Only How to Identify The Stretching Techniques That are Right for Their Sport - But Also The Exercises That can Actually Reduce Your Sprint Speed, Undermine Your Levels of Endurance and Even Increase Your Chances of Getting Injured
Dear Serious Athlete,
There are few sports training topics that arouse more controversy than stretching. And more irritation!
How often have you seen the latest thinking turned on its head, with contradictory, even confusing advice being dispensed by sports 'experts' - only for the very same advice to be overturned months later by yet another 'expert' writing in the latest issue of some sports magazine or another?
Annoying isn't it…
And yet, the topic is far too important to be ignored (which, unfortunately, is some athletes' response to the confusion…).
Because stretching - the proper way, of course - is a vital foundation to every athlete's annual training regime. And not just in training, but in competition too. Regular stretching not only helps you avoid injury, it can increase the level at which you can comfortably perform (by, amongst other benefits, increasing your range of motion).
And it can contribute much to the speed at which you recover from high levels of effort, be they in training or in competition. Allowing you to increase your training volume without risking injury, and boost your ability to compete in back-to-back sporting events.
Because this issue is both so important to every athlete, and so often misunderstood, I've commissioned a special report on the subject aimed specifically to answer serious athletes' questions about this often-frustrating topic.
As a subscriber to our weekly sports performance bulletin, you're specially invited to buy your copy of Stretching to Avoid Injurytoday at an exclusive discount price. (More details on how to get your copy below.)
But first, let me introduce you to our expert international panel of contributors who've uncovered the latest sports science findings:
  • Sean Fyfe is the strength and conditioning coach and assistant tennis coach for the Tennis Australia National High Performance Academy based in Brisbane. He also operates his own sports physiotherapy clinic.
  • James Marshall MSc, CSCS, ACSM/HFI, runs Excelsior, a UK sports training company whose clients includes The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football League,Devon Cricket Board,England HockeyAssociation and the London Broncos Academy.
  • Dr Gary O'Donovan is a research fellow at Brunel University, England, and an exercise physiologist accredited with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
  • Alan Stein CCS, CSCS, of Elite Athlete Training Systems Inc, is a leading US expert on strength training and conditioning for elite level basketball players.
All four of them are highly experienced, sports conditioning professionals working with elite athletes across a range of different sports. So you can be sure their advice is informed, up-to-date - and highly pertinent to all athletes, no matter which sport they may play.
When I commissioned Sean, James, Gary and Alan to write this special report on stretching, I asked them to do two things for me:
  • review all the very latest sports scientific research into stretching - not just the academic journals that we regularly review for our Peak Performance and Sports Injury Bulletinspecialist newsletters, but all the not-yet-published material as well. Findings that have only recently emerged - and have not yet made it into the specialist media. Findings that might not ever make it into the magazines you find on the high street news-stands. (Because some of this stuff is highly technical, and not easily understood by your average journalist or magazine editor.)
  • that they synthesise their findings into a report that contains no impenetrable scientific jargon - only the facts. How athletes like you and I should go about properly integrating stretching into our daily fitness regime.
Here are just some of the fascinating facts about stretching they uncovered - and which you'll learn about exclusively in Stretching to Avoid Injury:
  • What are the different kinds of stretch techniques - and how do they differ from one another? (Yes, we started with this one because so many athletes don't have a full and accurate understanding of the subject - not surprising really when you consider how confusing is much of the 'advice' they're given…) (pp. 9-10)
  • Why some times of the day are better for some stretching exercises than others (pp. 25-26)
  • How stretching works on the muscles, tendons and ligaments - because only with the correct understanding of this can you make an informed decision about which programme to follow (p. 11)
  • Which stretching exercises should NEVER be done before a competition. We also tell you why… (pp. 38-40)
  • Injured athletes: how to integrate a stretching regime with the rest of your recovery programme to speed up your rehabilitation (p.12)
  • Injured athletes #2: which kinds of injuries can be made WORSE by stretching! We tell you which ones, and why (p. 14)
  • Why even though some athletes may be doing the right exercises, at the right time of day - they're not doing them with the correct frequency or intensity. Perhaps you're one of them? (p. 11)
  • How many weeks it takes before you attain your optimal stretch performance - assuming you're exercising the right way… (p. 17)
  • How to structure a stretching programme to meet your goals - because many athletes confuse short-term goals with those for the longer term (p. 11)
  • How to make sure your stretching regime doesn't undermine your performance - we discovered that some exercises can either cut an athlete's speed or reduce their endurance levels. Bad news if you're a sprinter, jump athlete or distance runner! (pp. 15-16)
  • Which stretching protocols have been shown to INCREASE your likelihood of certain types of sports injury, so should be avoided by some athletes. We tell you how and why. (p. 14)
  • Why some stretching techniques are better suited to warming-up, while others should be kept for after training or competition (pp. 18, 28)
What's more, your copy of Stretching to Avoid Injury comes complete with several different stretching programmes you can adapt to meet your specific circumstances.
In short, everything you need to put an end to any confusion on the subject. So you can be a suppler, faster, more successful athlete.
One who can train harder and longer - without risking injury - and compete at a higher level than ever.

Try this special report for just $9.97.

Then qualify for a special 2-month FREE trial subscription toSports Injury Bulletin

Order your copy today and you'll receive a bonus FREE 2-month trial of the number one sports injury newsletter, Sports Injury Bulletin. You'll have two months to discover just how far you can improve your injury treatment with the advice contained in these awesome workbooks and our monthly newsletter.
If, after your two months you decide for any reason that Sports Injury Bulletin is not for you, we will cancel your subscription and Stretching to Avoid Injury will be yours to keep.
You qualify for a reduced price because you are a registered user of one of our websites, and receive one of our Sports Doctor mini-newsletters.

Money back guarantee

The methods presented in Stretching to Avoid Injury are used by the most sought-after coaches. They are proven to be effective and once applied you'll see a marked and continuous improvement in performance and injury avoidance. If, however, you don't agree that Stretching to Avoid Injury is everything we promise it to be, simply let us know within 30 days and we'll refund your payment in full.
To order your copy, simply go to our secure site and enter your details.

Instantly accessible resource: worldwide research
into prevention and treatment of sports injury

Sports Injury Bulletin
Our latest report on ankle injury is waiting for you to download - and it’s just one example of what you receive in this huge bundle of reports. If you have ever wished for a world centre of excellence for sports injury treatment, here it is.
Sports Injury Bulletin is the market-leading resource packed into one, instantly accessible website. The leading authority in this field, Sports Injury Bulletin provides a point-by-point summary of the latest advances in injury prevention and treatment, with practical systems to apply.
These findings are not available to the general public, but are published and delivered to your inbox 10 times a year.
You also receive regular new downloads at our exclusive ‘Gold Membership’ section of our web site. Information includes new and unorthodox treatments from top exercise physiologists covering the complete spectrum of rehabilitation
Note: you can access these training programmes and tips from anywhere – all you need is internet access to download to your computer or portable reading device.
Here are more examples of the areas we cover:
  • Shoulder
  • Tendonitis
  • Mobility
  • Wrist
  • Knee
  • Lower back
  • Groin
  • Leg
  • Tennis elbow
  • Ankle

Sports Injury Bulletin members say it best…

You don't need to take our word for it, here is what our global army of members have been telling us in recent months:
"I appreciate the quality of the contributing authors. Specifically, obtaining insight from their experience on effective methods they have found in helping various clinical presentations. My practice is not purely sport med, however I utilize sport med principles and practice in management of my general public patients, drawing on tips/tricks I have gained through reading SIB. I like the format of providing the didactic/theory and mechanism of injury information, followed by practical, step by step treatment/rehab advice, and then following up with case reports." 
Gord McMorland, Chiropractor
"I like the scientific and biomechanical bases presented in the Sports Injury Bulletin newsletter. It has become a vital resource, providing me with practical tests and exercises to help the athletes who come to see me for advice."
Yvonne Bontekoning, Sport Podiatrist and Running Trainer
"I like the way Sports Injury Bulletin covers a multiplicity of injuries and ways to avoid them. As a coach, it is invaluable to be able to pass on info of this type to ensure that my squad do not lose out due to unnecessary injuries. A further point is that it helps me to continue being able to compete, next year I will be competing in the over-70 Masters events!"
Richard Turner, Athletics Coach (Throws)


Stretching to Avoid Injury for just $9.97 and your special 2-month FREE trial subscription to Sports Injury Bulletin

For just $9.97 you get Stretching to Avoid Injury worth $44.99. You also get a two-month trial membership to Sports Injury Bulletin, which entitles you access to a library of special reports, injury prehab & rehab programmes and exercise workouts.
If you are not happy with your starter package, or with the newsletter itself, we'll send you a full and prompt refund of every penny paid - and you can keep all issues and bonuses received absolutely free. That way, our research will have cost you nothing.
To activate your trial membership and get your hands on Stretching to Avoid Injury simply click on any of the links in this message.
I hope you enjoy the report, the member's package and the newsletter itself.
Let me know how you find the exercises and about the improvement you see in your performances.
Best wishes,

Jonathan Pye
Publisher, Sports Injury Bulletin

 click here - O

Ce 'speculam' eu ....?


Our Review: The Strokes Of London 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012 8:42 AM
To:
undisclosed-recipients


--- On Fri, 8/17/12, Swim Smooth <blog@swimsmooth.com> wrote:

From: Swim Smooth
Subject: Our Review: The Strokes Of London 2012
To: "adi" <adi230568@yahoo.com>
Date: Friday, August 17, 2012, 2:48 PM

Not displaying properly? Read in your browser here.
Upcoming Swim Smooth Clinics / One to Ones:

Richmond, UKAug & Sep Workshops 
Full information here

Leicestershire, UK
19th August 2012 
Full information: here

Swim Camp Mallorca23rd - 30th Sep 2012 
Full information: here

Swim/Tri Camp, Alicante, Spain29th Sep - 6th Oct 2012 
Full information: here

Swim Clinic, Inverness11th Nov 2012 
Full information: here

Swim Camp Mallorca28th April - 5th May 2013
Full information: here

Swim Camp & OW Festival25th May - 1st June 2013 
Full information: here



More info on SS Certified Coaches see here
London 2012 saw some fabulous swimming performances in the pool and open water. The TV footage has been stunning and we're sure you've noticed quite a range of stroke styles on display, each suited to the particular swimmer and the event in which they were swimming.

Let's take a look at some of the top performances at the games and the stroke styles the swimmers used.



Men's Triathlon

The men's triathlon was an epic race, finally won by Alistair Brownlee with a stunning 29:07 10K run. Paul Newsome was down at the Serpentine studying the swim:

"An electric pace was set throughout the 1500m wetsuit swim by Richard Varga, exciting the water in 16:56 - a very fast split indeed, even at the very highest level of triathlon. Having someone pace things out so quickly at the front really strung out the field with numerous small clusters of swimmers forming rather than the massive packs often seen at world cup races.

Watching the swim two things were immediately apparent. First, in stark contrast to many of the male swimmers in the pool, nearly all the triathletes were using markedly straight arm recoveries over the surface. This helped them clear the wake and disturbed water from other swimmers and also get closer to other swimmers around them, increasing the drafting benefit available to them. Opening out the elbow angle to create a straighter arm also reduces the fatigue on the shoulders that even the most flexible wetsuit can introduce if a classical high elbow technique is used.

Straight arm recovery technique employed
during the triathlon swims
Second, all of the athletes were turning their arms over very quickly, using a fast stroke rate in the 80-90 strokes per minute region. If you have a Wetronome orTempo Trainer Pro, try setting it to 85 SPM* and give it a try: it's very quick!

The benefit of this shorter stroke with lots of rhythm is that it reduces (or entirely removes) the gap between propulsive strokes underwater which means the swimmer can't get stalled by waves or chop in the gap between strokes. For that reason, this punchy refined Swinger style is more efficient than a longer slower stroke in open water."

Quick Stats:
Gold: Alistair Brownlee: 89 SPM
Silver: Javier Gomez - 82 SPM
Bronze: Johnny Brownlee: 92 SPM
* SPM: Strokes Per Minute (counting both arms)


Men's 1500m 

Over in the Aquatic Centre, Swim Smooth's Adam Young watched Sun Yang's incredible 1500m world record: 

Sun Yang has super long arms!
"When you first see Sun Yang in the flesh, the first thing that strikes you is his sheer height, even compared to the other tall male elite swimmers in the field. Somehow he seems even taller than his 1.98m (6ft 6in), an impression perhaps created by the length of his incredibly long arms dangling by his sides.

Sun false started the first time the field lined up on the blocks (apparently from a noise in the crowd) and hoping to witness a world record swim, the whole stadium breathed a collective sigh of relief when the starter spared him from disqualification. His competitors might have been slightly more disappointed with his reinstatement though as Sun quickly moved under world record pace and built a dominant lead in the race.

Bent elbow pull-through technique
If you have watched video of Sun swimming, he can give the impression that he glides down the pool as he has a super-long stroke style. However, when you see him swim right in front of you, you can see this is actually not the case. Yes he has a very long stroke but this gifted athlete is all power and timing, making the most of his huge arm span, driving himself forward on every stroke.

In fact our 2011 analysis of his stroke (see here) showed that he has only 0.2 second between finishing one stroke at the rear and starting the next at the front, showing this impression of glide to be an illusion caused by a very long smooth stroke. He is very much the Smooth Swim Type just with a huge wingspan!
Cutting smoothly through the water, Sun stopped the clocks at 14:31.02, a breathtaking new world record and one that will live long in my memory and that of everyone else who saw it."

Quick Stats:
Gold: Sun Yang: 28 SPL* / 65 SPM
Silver: Ryan Cochrane: 36 SPL / 80 SPM
Bronze: Oussama Mellouli : 34 SPL / 76 SPM
*SPL: Strokes Per Length (counting both arms)


Women's Open Water Swim

The women's 10K marathon swim in The Serpentine was another close thrilling race full of tactics and skilful swimming. Paul Newsome gives us his observations:

Swinging arm recoveries and light two-beat kicks
"I really enjoyed watching this race, as a former pool swimmer who has transitioned first to triathlon and now marathon swimming, this race really highlighted how tough marathon swimming is with a real race of attrition.

Just like in the triathlon events, the 10K field all used very punchy stroke styles, also using a straight arm recovery over the water. What was really noticeable in this race was how the girls combined the fast stroke style with beautifully timed 2-beat kicks. This is much slower than a flutter kick (6-beat) and involves the swimmer kicking at the same speed as their arms strokes, i.e. one kick per arm pull.

Keri-Anne Payne's excellent sighting technique with
just the eyes above the surface
Since kick propulsion is very inefficient, this slower kicking style allows the swimmer to conserve energy during a marathon swim but the swimmer must get quickly into their catch at the front of the stroke without any glide for it to be effective. Otherwise they would decelerate between strokes without the benefit of a more continuous kick.

As with the triathletes we see that swimmers focusing on open water are employing the refined Swinger style to great effect."

Quick Stats:
Gold: Eva Risztov: 83 SPM
Silver: Haley Anderson: 87 SPM
Bronze: Martina Grimaldi: 97 SPM
4th: Keri-Anne Payne: 90 SPM



Personality And Stroke Style

At Swim Smooth we've coached thousands of swimmers over the last 10 years and observed the 6 classic Swim Types at play. As well as stroke characteristics, we've also noticed how there are distinct personality traits that tend to go with each stroke style. We've noticed that Smooths tend to be much more laid back than Swingers, perhaps turning up late to swim sessions and taking their time to get in the pool and swimming. In stark contrast, Swingers want to get on with things and are often first on the pool deck, dying to get in the water!

This contrast in personality between Swingers and Smooths was immediately apparent on our Coach Education Course last weekend in Loughborough, where we had two coaches on the course with really nice swim strokes themselves. Vicki used lots of punch and rhythm in her stroke and a classic 2-beat kick, every inch the refined Swinger. Ian, a classic Smooth, used that longer smoother style together with a six beat flutter kick. Prior to filming, Ian was taking lots of time to get himself ready fiddling with his bathers, cap and goggles whilst Vicki stood on the blocks waiting to go. In her own words "I can't stand all this waiting around, I just want to get on with it!".

Perhaps this difference in urgency is what defines their individual stroke styles: the smooth relaxed stroke of the Smooth versus the 'get on with it' punchy style of the Swinger.

Swim Smooth!
Something to add or have a question? Reply to this post here.


SWIM SMOOTH, 12 DAVIES ROAD, CLAREMONT SWIMMING POOL, DAVIES ROAD, CLAREMONT, WA 6010, AUSTRALIA