Swimming

Swimming describes a large variety of aquatic activities: competitive swimming, recreational swimming, aquatic exercise, water sports (such as water polo, synchronized swimming, underwater hockey), or keeping afloat in order to survive.

It is hard to say if swimming is an instinct; human beings develop for nine months while living in amniotic fluid and while we are babies, the "swimming movement" happens by reflex when we are in a non-static freeform environment (such as being held up in the air, or when being bathed). This motion usually starts two weeks and lasts around five months post-birth.

The athletic merits of swimming are great; the mass of water provides an element of resistance with every stroke, providing a cardiovascular workout.

Types of strokes

There are different types of repetitive motions, known as strokes, that can be used to swim: the backstroke; the breaststroke; the side-stroke, and "freestyle".

Backstroke

© Photo: Allison Fang
A sequence collection of a man performing the backstroke.

The backstroke is performed while floating in the water on one's back. The legs alternate in kicking motions providing propulsion while the arms rotate about the shoulder. The arm stroke is performed in such a way that the greatest amount of momentum provided in the water occurs when the arm breaks the surface when raised straight up, over the top of the head with the palm facing outward (9 o'clock) to a position where the arm "pulls" the swimmer along under the surface of the water at a perpendicular (6 o'clock) with the palm facing up, acting as a paddle. The stroke is continued as the arm is brought up to the surface, palm upward (3 o'clock) and completed as the arm is raised to another perpendicular (12 o'clock) ready for the next iterative stroke. Each arm performs this movement; the other arm beginning the stroke when the first arm breaks the surface of the water over the top of the head, providing a continuous movement.

Throughout the entire stroke, the head and body remain in a line approximately parallel with the surface of the water.

Competitive swimming

There are a few different categories for competitive swimming. The most common form are distance swims, which are judged in various meter-length categories; the amount of times actually traversed from one end of the pool to the other depends on its length and the distance of that "heat". Swimming races are held in the summer Olympics.

Additionally, there are so called "iron-man" competitions where the distances are much greater. There are records for individuals that have swam such bodies of water as the English Channel.

Recreational swimming

It is not uncommon for either owners of houses equipped with pools or local community pools to host "pool parties", in which participants are encouraged to show up with appropriate swimming attire and various pool toys, such as dive rings, air cushions, foam noodles and inner tubes.

An unusual form of recreation comes from swimmers that choose to swim during the winter. These are known as "Polar Bear Clubs". One such organization, the The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the United States. During their gatherings, the temperature in the Atlantic Ocean can drop into the low 60 degrees farenheit, with not-unusual lows of 30 degrees given local climate change and wind chill.