Health & Fitness
Random Post of the Week: The Swimmer’s Antithesis
I had heard rumours of such a thing but, in typical fashion, never did the necessary google’ing to figure out if this was truth or fact (you believe everything you read on the web too, right?). From Melbourne, Australia, the home of the 2007 World Swimming Championships comes the story of Ashleigh Morris, who suffers […]
Don’t Pee in the Pool: You Could Kill Someone
I pee in the pool. So do you, you can admit it. That said, I might think twice about doing it next time as new research at Purdue University reveals that chlorine combining with sweat and urine can lead to “volatile disinfection products” which harm the lungs. You mean that’s what I’m coughing up after a three day […]
Does Swimming Cause Asthma?
Go watch most any team in the world practice and I guarantee you that somewhere on deck you’ll see the telltale sign of swimmers with breathing issues. The telltale sign is, naturally, the inhaler sitting on deck amongst pull buoys, paddles, fins, and mesh bags.
Health: Sprint Swimming for Blood Sugar Control
Research from the University of Montana suggests that high intensity training may be the way to boost blood sugar control. And not surprisingly, that type of training could include sprint swimming.
Researchers compared a high-intensity, low-volume program against a low-intensity/high-volume session. Using isokinetic resistance exercise of the lower body, the study found that glucose normalization occurred […]
Competitive Swimmers Have Higher Rates of Back Injuries
A new study by Dr. Koji Kaneoka of the University of Tsukuba and his colleagues at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, shows that “elite” swimmers have higher rates of lower back disk degeneration as it compared competitive swimmers to recreational swimmers. We have seen our share of instances of back injuries in the sport. […]
Are Swimming Lessons Enough to Keep Kids Safe?
According to a new survey from an organization called Safe Kids Canada – the answer is no. The survey shows “86 percent of Canadian parents believe swimming lessons are the best way to protect a child from drowning.” But lessons are not the only form of protection parents should use for keeping their […]
Health: UK Releases Shocking Study on Dementia, Swimming Can Help
I was surprised to read an article from The Guardian today that stated it is projected nearly 1.7 million people in the United Kingdom will suffer from Dementia by 2051. From a financial perspective, the article claims that will add up to a cost of £539 a second. More importantly, I think, is the emotional […]
How to Teach a Child to Swim - Thoughts From an Olympian
I am often asked, “how do you teach your child to swim“? Is it because I won two Olympic medals and have a daughter? Does this combination make me a perfect candidate for teaching her swimming? The truth is that if you had asked me this question months, if not, days before […]
Study Shows That Swimmers Can Improve Swimming Endurance Through Respiratory Training
In a pioneering study, subjects who followed a resistance-breathing training protocol (breathing load) improved their respiratory muscle strength. Subsequently, swimmers can improve their swimming endurance and breathing capacity through targeted training of the respiratory muscles, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.
Participants randomized to a protocol requiring high respiratory flow rates (endurance) improved […]
Swimming in Chlorine Added to the “Can Potentially Kill You List”
Fellow swimmers, it has been nice knowing you. A new study showed recently that chlorinated water may increase the risk of bladder cancer. Staff at the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona have found chemicals, most commonly chlorine, used to disinfect water can produce by-products that have been tied to increased cancer […]
Scott Goldblatt’s Timed Finals New Years Resolution
Sitting here on this New Years Eve means three things:
I have just eaten a lot and spent time with the entire family
I am not going to be staying up until midnight… in our house, it is over-rated
It is resolution time
Obviously it is a fact that I have retired from the sport, but on this New […]
Swim Ireland Hires Kate Hills as National Children’s Officer
Swim Ireland has announced the appointment of Kate Hills as National Children’s Officer. Swim Ireland is the second sport organization in Great Britain to employ a dedicated, full-time National Children’s Officer and does so as part of its ongoing strategy to promote child welfare and protection guidelines and training within Swim Ireland.
Her role with […]
Roland Schoeman and Swimming South Africa Launch Every Child a Swimmer
Olympic gold medallist Roland Schoeman and Swimming South Africa (SSA) have launched the Every Child a Swimmer campaign.
The initiative, which runs until the end of next week, offers free swimming lessons to schoolchildren and adults at about 55 venues around the country, six of which are in Soweto.
Schoeman, recently named SA Sports Star of the […]
Brendan Hansen In Men’s Health Magazine
Swimmers are getting more and more mainstream coverage, even if it is only in small chunks. One of those swimmers is Brendan Hansen who is featured in this month’s Men’s Health Magazine. The blurb is about one paragraph long and focuses on an exercise that we all did at Texas to strengthen and […]
Josh Davis Supports the Pisces Project in Oklahoma
I came across an incredible project that is supported by five-time Olympic medalist Josh Davis. It is called The Pisces Project. The Pisces Project seeks to build a state-of-the-art swim complex for Norman Public Schools to support a premier aquatic education and competitive swimming program for Norman’s youth. A comprehensive aquatic education program will help […]
Gold Medal Mel Mel Stewart
The Swimmers' Ear Mike Gustafson
Top 5 Tuesday David Cromwell
In My Mind Nathan Jendrick