The crawl is the fastest swimming style. Learning to crawl is not the easiest thing, but once we master the breathing technique and develop the muscles, this style will bring us satisfactory he alth effects. Thanks to the intense work of muscles, joints and oxygen exertion, swimming in a crawl will allow us to burn a lot of calories. Check out how to crawl and what the effects of practicing this popular swimming style are.

Contents:

  1. Kraul - technique
  2. Crawl - breathing
  3. Crawl - muscles
  4. Crawl - effects
  5. The crawl and slimming. How much kcal does it burn?

Kraulbelongs to the four basic styles of swimming. To this day, it is not known where the crawl comes from, but the preserved sources mention two places: South America and the Solomon Islands. For the first time in Europe, this style was presented by players from South America, where in 1844 they defeated the British who were swimming in a frog.

The crawl techniqueis not very complicated, but requires precision and a lot of physical effort. This means that crawling can bring satisfactory results, especially slimming. When swimming in this style, you burn a lot of calories because it requires the use of the muscles of the whole body.

Kraul - technique

Simply put, thecrawl techniqueinvolves making vertical scissors with your legs and alternating your arms at the same time. Nevertheless, it is worth describing the crawl technique in more detail, because this style of swimming is not the easiest one.

The crawl is done lying on the stomach. Our silhouette must be as straight as a string, the toes should be tucked in and the fingers of the hands should be joined and straight. In such a position, our feet and hands, like fins and oars, will perfectly scoop up water and effectively repel it.

To start swimming, you have to move your legs and arms alternately. Leg movements should resemble vertical scissors. The smaller they are, the more effective our swimming will become. The hands must take turns straightening and bending. We make hand movements alternately. We stretch one hand over the water, push it under the water and come back. The other hand follows the same sequence.

Remember that when crawling, the speed is primarily determined by the work of the arms, and the legsare responsible for the balance of the body and for ensuring that you do not sink to the bottom. The head in the crawl should remain in the water, and when breathing in, point it sideways along the line of the arm that is not actually submerged in the water.

See the video how to correctly swim the crawl

Crawl - breathing

Proper breathing is one of the most difficult parts of learning a crawl. During activity, our head should be half submerged in the water, so that the spine is aligned. Breathing is done by placing your head sideways along your extended arm. Most often you catch your breath with every second or third swing of your hands.

Crawl breathing looks different when we assume the rescue crawl style, the so-called "Cossack". Then our head is raised above the water, which allows us to breathe much more freely. This technique is used to rescue a drowning person.

To crawl effectively, we need to coordinate our body movements with our breathing. Then we will reduce the effort and increase the speed of swimming. Holding the air is not advisable, because then we lose energy and our chest loses its streamlined shape and causes excessive stress on the body.

Crawl breathing is called the breathing sequence. It consists in taking a quick breath in and slowly exhaling the air. You should breathe out twice as long as you breathe in. In the crawl we should breathe both through the nose and through the mouth. This will oxygenate the body better, and will also push water away from the face, preventing choking. To summarize: When crawling, breath is taken in the armpit and released as the head rotates.

How often do you take a breath in a crawl? One breath should be given for one arm cycle. Which side to breathe on? It's best to do this on both sides of the body. This breathing technique will provide excellent oxygenation and will maintain the symmetry of the body.

See also: Advantages and effects of aqua aerobics

Learn the technique of other swimming styles:

Butterfly (dolphin) style

Żabka

Backstroke

Crawl - muscles

Almost the whole body works during a crawl ride. In order to swim through an episode with this style, we have to activate overforty muscles ! Among others, the back, arms, abdomen, buttocks and legs are involved.

It is difficult to say which muscles work the most during the crawl ride. However, you can list:

  • rectus abdominis muscle,
  • oblique abdominals,
  • great gluteal muscles,
  • lumbar muscle,
  • superficial and deep dorsal muscles,
  • hip muscles,
  • major and minor chest muscles,
  • quadriceps and biceps thigh muscles,
  • triceps calf muscles,
  • triceps muscles of the arm,
  • muscles of the shoulder girdle,
  • neck muscles.

Crawl - effects

Swimming with a crawl brings satisfactory he alth and visual effects:

  • increases the muscles and shapes the figure,
  • has a great effect on the he alth of joints and bones,
  • reduces posture defects,
  • boosts metabolism,
  • burns calories during and after exercise,
  • perfectly oxygenates the body,
  • results in better blood supply to the organs,
  • gives the body slenderness and flexibility,
  • imitates the natural human movement patterns, so it greatly influences the functionality of our figure.

The crawl and slimming. How much kcal does it burn?

Crawl swimming is a lot of physical effort for our body. As a result, thecrawl swim for an hour burns 500 to 800 calories ! Swimming requires a variable training pace, so it is classified as both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. This means that when you swim with a crawl, you burn unnecessary fat and boost your metabolism to such an extent that after the training is finished, it works at increased speed for several more hours.

Category:

ABC of exercises