Which kick is least efficient for treading water

Get a free wiki Try our free business product. To edit this page, request access to the workspace. How to Tread Water Page history last edited by Jason 6 years, 4 months ago. Body Position When treading water, your body stays upright, head above the surface. Arms Move your arms horizontally in the water, back and forth. Legs There are lots of different ways to kick your legs when treading water.

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View Edit. Sport Fitness Advisor. Treading water is an important life-saving skill for everyone to learn as it can get you out of a difficult or life-threatening situation. It is important to learn to tread water efficiently as using the wrong technique can consume large amounts of energy, which would be counter-productive in a life-threatening scenario. Treading water is an action performed in the water using the arms and legs to stay afloat. It is something most people learn before learning to swim as it is a basic survival swimming skill.

Treading water is also used frequently in aquatic sports like water polo and artistic and synchronized swimming and can help build stamina and strength throughout your body. Treading water is performed in a vertical position with the head above the water.

The arms and legs move in a way as to not propel the body in any direction, but simply keep it afloat without using excessive amounts of energy. Treading water is a skill that is key for basic water safety, as well as essential for being able to partake in watersports such as water polo, artistic swimming, and synchronized swimming. For all of these activities, treading water allows the person to stay afloat with minimal energy expenditure.

Treading water is a huge part of water safety, and if the need arises, it is important to be able to swim in place without expending too much energy to wait for help. Treading water is a fantastic confidence booster for swimmers of all ages and is especially important for young children to learn to help keep themselves safe. When treading water, the body must remain in a vertical position. While it may seem easier to lay horizontally in the water if you are in trouble, it is dangerous to have your face at the same level as the water as it increases the risk of getting water in your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Keep the body in a vertical position with the head above the level of the water and the spine straight. Spread the arms slightly outwards with a bent elbow and use the hands to gently scull the water.

Sculling is a movement in which the hands move in a figure of eight. Another possible explanation is that participants were able to freely switch attention between the dual tasks without significantly disrupting performance of the coordination pattern used in the primary task see Verhaeghen and Basak, The BA condition of this research might have been too monotonous, which invited individuals to explore see Newell, and try out other ways to tread water and therefore more shifts in the BA condition than in DT resulted.

Furthermore, in real-life drowning situations, typical dual task scenarios would likely be much more demanding i. It was notable that changes in coordination do occur when the current of the water alters. Rather than transitioning from TW to swimming due to spatial restrictions of the flume, we believe that participants change because it becomes a more streamline efficient position to comfortably adopt in the moving water.

Movement patterns of low stability levels are more vulnerable to transitions as has been shown for example in human hand movements e. Individuals performing the eggbeater pattern pattern 4 were able to maintain treading water in faster flowing conditions compared to individuals performing the other TW patterns Figure 3. However, note that these pattern transitions due to water flow were mainly changes between treading water and swimming, not often between the four different TW patterns. Not only did individuals using pattern 4 maintain it at higher speeds in the WF condition, they also made no changes within the BA condition and were more often categorized in the non-changers group.

We interpret these findings as indicative of greater relative stability in pattern 4 compared to the three other patterns. Nevertheless, the movement frequency of the legs was higher compared to the other patterns Table 3 , so pattern 4 might be more physically demanding.

As the asynchronous sculling of legs putatively generates smaller lift forces albeit continuously in contrast to the synchronous pattern 3, a quicker cycling action i. Consequently, if in a survival situation an individual needed to tread water for extended periods of time, the more stable pattern may not necessarily be the most efficient pattern to adopt. It is also likely that the stability of this pattern might be related to specific experience, since pattern 4 is often used by water polo players and synchronized swimmers Sanders, ; Homma and Homma, It will be important for future research to compare the relative benefit to be gained from using the different TW patterns particularly in terms of energy efficiency and past experience.

Additionally, an important future consideration will be the extent to which vertical and horizontal transfer exists between skills such as treading water and associated activities like swimming.

Our results also show for the first time that a hysteresis effect may exist between TW and swimming, which is mediated by TW expertise. In more detail, the transition from TW to swimming tended to occur at a higher current than when switching back to TW in patterns 2 and 3 see Figure 3 , whereas the transition from TW to swimming in pattern 4 occurred at a lower current than when switching back to TW.

One interpretation of this indicative finding is that pattern 4 possesses more inherent stability than the other three patterns and is more resistant to the external perturbation of water flow. Further research is needed to formally model and confirm the indicative hysteresis effect more thoroughly than we have been able to in this exploratory study.

Importantly, participants were not told how to tread water but simply to maintain a stable position in the water. Had we instructed participants to resist transitions between patterns as long as possible, then different behaviors might have resulted, but that was not the main focus of the study. This analysis of emergent behavior is typical of previous dynamic systems research and extends land-based treadmill studies to aquatic locomotion e.

Still the question remains: do we need to change patterns to be able to cope with the different aquatic circumstances regarding dynamic, open water environments? Therefore if in open water, these participants mentioned they would just go with the flow and keep themselves afloat.

Resisting a current might not be the most effective strategy to survive e. In this study, we tried to recreate typical constraints that might affect the capacity for people to tread water in open water situations. However, closely simulating all features of open water situations in a flume was not possible. In open water, there is no need to stay at the same place in the current most of the time, but due to material conditions of the testing environment the participants had to avoid moving toward the end and sides of the flume.

While the spatial restrictions imposed may have admittedly influenced behavior as they undoubtedly do in treadmill locomotion , the control procedures employed were necessary for logistic and safety reasons.

It is also possible that fatigue may have influenced whether participants made transitions between patterns particularly among less skilled participants.

As fatigue was not a focus of this investigation albeit an important topic worthy of future consideration , the procedure was designed to limit the amount of time exercising in each condition to no more than 5 min and with ample opportunity to rest between conditions. Furthermore, anxiety undoubtedly plays an influential role in most survival situations, but for ethical reasons fear could not be induced within these controlled laboratory-based settings. Lastly, buoyancy forces will vary among the population for example due to different weather conditions and clothing worn Barwood et al.

For comparison between participants, a standard set of clothing was imposed, but that limits generalization to all immersion situations in which clothing is varied.

Despite such limitations due to the testing conditions, it is important to know the potential disruptions typical constraints can have on TW. This knowledge will help in further research about the prevention of drowning. This study suggests that different TW patterns may be expected from the general population and that such movement patterns are fairly robust to different circumstances. Some patterns are more effective at generating lift force and resisting the influence of altered constraints.

The leg kick lateral sculling movements and asynchronous coordination thereof may mean that this pattern requires considerable practice and instruction to perform effectively. When designing a representative training environment, water safety instructors should try to enrich practice with different sets of constraints, i.

As cognitive function does not seem to be hampered by treading pattern, it seems advisable to create scenarios that promote problem solving and decision-making while practicing TW. Finally, it is important to note that a stable movement pattern could be life-preserving in a threatening situation. The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Human Ethics Committee, University of Otago.

The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. LB conducted the data collection and data analysis and lead wrote the first draft of the article. CS provided advice on qualitative analysis and data interpretation, as well as editing the final draft. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The authors wish to thank Brandon Rasman for his assistance in creating Figure 2. Exemplary video of treading water pattern 1 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al.

Exemplary video of treading water pattern 2 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Exemplary video of treading water pattern 3 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Exemplary video of treading water pattern 4 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Front Psychol v. Front Psychol. Published online Dec 5. Harjo J. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Reviewed by: Cynthia Y. This article was submitted to Movement Science and Sport Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Received May 31; Accepted Oct The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author s and the copyright owner s are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.

No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Associated Data Supplementary Materials Supplementary Video 1: Exemplary video of treading water pattern 1 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al.

Supplementary Video 2: Exemplary video of treading water pattern 2 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Supplementary Video 3: Exemplary video of treading water pattern 3 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Supplementary Video 4: Exemplary video of treading water pattern 4 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al.

Abstract The radical embodied cognition approach to behavior requires emphasis upon how humans adapt their motor skills in response to changes in constraint.

Keywords: aquatic skills, coordination, drowning, life-saving, stability. Introduction Drowning is recognized as a significant problem globally WHO, Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Table 1 Descriptions of the experimental conditions. Condition Task description Baseline BA Tread water for s in still water in typical swimwear Clothed CL Tread water for s in still water while wearing casual clothes i.

Participants were asked to prioritize treading water primary task over the performance of the 2-back task secondary task Water flow WF Tread water for 30 s in still water in typical swimwear. Beginning from still no flow , the current was increased every 30 s Data Analyses The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Quantitative Analysis The buoyancy data were filtered Butterworth 4 th order, cut-off frequency 0. Statistical Analysis The TW patterns were initially categorized based on the preferred pattern adopted in the BA condition i.

Identification of Coordination Patterns in the Baseline Condition The distribution N of participants who performed each coordination pattern in the baseline BA condition is depicted in the leftmost column of Table 3. Figure 2. Figure 3. Discussion This exploratory study considered how TW patterns were adapted to altered task and environmental constraints.

Limitations In this study, we tried to recreate typical constraints that might affect the capacity for people to tread water in open water situations. Practical Implications This study suggests that different TW patterns may be expected from the general population and that such movement patterns are fairly robust to different circumstances. Data Availability Statement The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Brandon Rasman for his assistance in creating Figure 2. Click here for additional data file.

Supplementary Video 2 Exemplary video of treading water pattern 2 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Supplementary Video 3 Exemplary video of treading water pattern 3 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al. Supplementary Video 4 Exemplary video of treading water pattern 4 according to the classification scheme of Schnitzler et al.

References Barwood M. Aquatic Res. Integrative physiological and behavioural responses to sudden cold-water immersion are similar in skilled and less-skilled swimmers.

Radical embodied cognitive science. A new index of coordination for the crawl: description and usefulness.