Propelling Force Measured during Tethered Swimming in the Four Competitive Swimming Styles

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The average propelling force exerted during 3-min. tethered swims was measured electrically by use of a force transducer in 26 highly trained college swimmers in each of the four competitive swimming styles. The swimmers were attached to a pulley and counterweight system by means of a restraining line atttached to a canvas belt worn around the swimmer's waist. A force transducer was placed in the restraining line just above the weight rack. The tethered swimming test consisted of 3-min. swims with a 3–5 min. rest between each work level. The work load was increased each swim period by 1.14 kg until the swimmer could no longer support the counterweight during the 3-min. swim. Breaststroke swimmers recorded the highest average values for force exerted during 3-min. tethered swims. The average propelling force recorded for back crawl, front crawl, and butterfly tethered swimming did not appear to differ greatly. In breaststroke swimming, the work of the legs makes a much larger contribution to the total propulsive force as compared to front crawl and back crawl swimming, where the armstroke provides the major portion of the propulsive force. In butterfly swimming, the propelling forces delivered by the arms and legs appear to be approximately the same. The measurement of propelling forces swimming at zero velocity provides a good estimate of the propulsive force that can be developed during regular free swimming.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: