Abstract
This study proposes a new method to evaluate arm-leg coordination in flat breaststroke.
Five arm and leg stroke phases were defined with a velocity-video system. Five time
gaps quantified the time between arm and leg actions during three paces of a race
(200 m, 100 m and 50 m) in 16 top level swimmers. Based on these time gaps, effective
glide, effective propulsion, effective leg insweep and effective recovery were used
to identify the different stroke phases of the body.
A faster pace corresponded to increased stroke rate, decreased stroke length, increased
propulsive phases, shorter glide phases, and a shorter T1 time gap, which measured
the effective body glide. The top level swimmers showed short time gaps (T2, T3, T4,
measuring the timing of arm-leg recoveries), which reflected the continuity in arm
and leg actions. The measurement of these time gaps thus provides a pertinent evaluation
of swimmers' skill in adapting their arm-leg coordination to biomechanical constraints.
Key words
Biomechanics - swimming - motor control - exercise - performance
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M. Didier Chollet
L Seifert
University of Rouen, Faculty of Sports Sciences, CETAPS Laboratory
Bld Siegfried
76821 Mont Saint Aignan Cedex
France
Telefon: + 33232107793
Fax: + 33 2 32 10 77 93
eMail: didier.chollet@univ-rouen.fr
eMail: l.seifert@libertysurf.fr