FREE ESSAY ON SWIMMING HISTORY

SWIMMING HISTORY

Swimming was invented before recorded history. Humans discovered how to swim by accident.
A person probably fell into the water and struggled to shore using a dog-paddle stroke.
There was an Egyptian hieroglyph for swimming dating from 2500 BC. The ancient Greeks and
Romans made swimming an important part of their military training programs. There have
been known swimming contests that were organized in Japan as early as the 1st century BC.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, swimming declined in popularity. People felt that the
water was contaminated and a source of disease. Not everyone feared the water, however,
Louis XI reportedly swam daily in the Seine. During the early 19th century, swimming
enjoyed a revival, especially in England, Lord Byron swam the Dardanelles river, to prove
that the mythological hero Leander could have done it. Organized competitive swimming
began in England in the 1840s. In 1844 the British were surprised when two American
Indians demonstrated the efficiency of a method of swimming similar to the modern crawl.
The British still swam with the head above the water, a holdover from the days when
people believed that the water was contaminated. An overhand stroke was introduced into
England in 1873 by J. Arthur Trudgen, who had seen South American Indians using this
method to swim really fast. When the flutter kick was introduced, the modern Australian
crawl" was born, and this stroke has since become the most common and most important
swimming stroke. FITNESS COMPONENTS To swim well u need to know how to coordinate your
arms and legs to get you through the water. At first you will probably need to have
lessons. Also to swim u need agility and just gravity. Swimming also requires balance and
quickness in some cases. Not much is needed to know if you want to swim. Swimming
improves heart and lung efficiency, enhances muscle strength and endurance, improves
flexibility, and reduces stress. It's easy on the joints, and uses more muscles than most
other forms of exercise. Although swimming burns a great deal of calories, recreational
swimmers tend to lose less weight than would be expected from other types of aerobic
activity. Scientists say that cold water removes heat from the body, stimulating appetite
to keep the body warm. Exposure to cold water may encourage the body to maintain fat
stores for insulation. To lose weight by swimming, its necessary to cut down on the
calories you eat, and to swim fast enough and long enough. Swimming can burn more than
660 calories an hour when performed correctly and causes less injuries to joints and
muscles than aerobics or jogging. It takes only three hours a week of strenuous swimming
to improve flexibility, increase strength and build cardiovascular endurance. Swimming
provides a good aerobic workout if 25% of the total laps are performed at maximum
intensity. However, only 5% of those who swim do so at an aerobic pace. Although few
doubt the aerobic benefits of swimming, studies comparing swimming with jogging, results
found that swimmers lost less body fat than joggers. Apparently swimming causes an
adjustment in how energy is burned, resulting in the burning of more carbohydrates than
body fat. One reason might be that swimmers retain more body fat to insulate and maintain
body heat. However, swimming works both the upper and lower body which jogging does not.
WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT TO MASTER IN YOUR SPORT? EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS
ACCOMPLISHED. More than half of all Americans can't swim. Drownings claimed 5,200
American lives in 1990 and is the fourth leading cause of accidental deaths for children
under 5. Many feel figures are actually higher, since deaths occurring after
resuscitation or hospitalization usually aren't attributed to the original drowning. Many
lives could be saved if people would just learn to swim. Correct swimming doesn't come
naturally to the body and can't be learned overnight. Those swimmers who are exhausted
after half a lap need more instruction. The most common swimming problem is incorrect
breathing which causes individuals to expend more energy than necessary. Coordinating
breathing with proper head rotation is the key to proficient swimming. Proper instruction
is the only way you can learn this, it is the key component to swim well. WHAT IS UNIQUE
ABOUT YOUR SPORT? The most unique thing about swimming is the actual racing in the water,
you dive off blocks and swim as fast as u can in as many different styles and lengths.
BIBLIOGRAPHY "Swimming." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1996 ed "Total
immersion swimming" Arcticles by Terry Luaghlin LIST ONE POSITIVE PROFESSIONAL ROLE MODEL
IN YOUR SPORT. Mark Spitz, is a well known swimmer who won a record seven gold medals at
the 1972 Olympic Games. No athlete in any event had ever dominated a single Olympics as
did Spitz. In 1972 he won the 100- and 200-m freestyle and butterfly events, and was a
member of the winning 4 X 100- and 4 X 200-m freestyle relay teams and the 4 X 100-m
medley relay team. Spitz set 32 world and 38 U.S. swimming records during his career. He
was a very big role model for aspiring young swimmers.