Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Scott Riewald, Ph.D. and Scott Rodeo M.D. have been involved in many of USA Swimming’s international successes over the last few decades.
From working on pool decks in early morning hours to participating at the Olympics, both Scotts have both seen, studied and been involved with the athletes and coaches at the highest level of competitive swimming.
The men know the world-class swimmers and their coaches on a first-name basis and frequently travel with Olympic medalists and world champions. They profoundly understand the underpinnings of elite competition and basic foundations that lead to victories, records and medals.
In a sport where the difference between winning and losing is often tenths of a second, whether in the pool or open water, the edge over one’s competition can be the length of a hand or even a fingernail.
The authors know that losing can be the result of a poor turn, whether in the pool or around a turn buoy, or an imperfect taper. They wanted to bring their collective know-how and background information to the swimming public. The Science of Swimming Faster is the result of their efforts.
Riewald, a former biomechanics director for USA Swimming, and Rodeo, a doctor who specializes in swimmers’ health and served as the team physician for the 2004, 2008, and 2012 U.S. Olympic swim teams, served as the editors of the Science of Swimming Faster with contributions from many respected swimming scientists, renowned coaches and top athletes. The result is a fascinating in-depth, comprehensive book on the latest science on training, technique, and technology for improving swim performance.
Science of Swimming Faster presents information on swimming mechanics and technique and the physiological and psychological aspects of training and competition. The book describes how to apply the latest discoveries in swimming science to training and competition. These topics include increasing propulsion and reducing drag, strategies for competition day, and merging of the mind and body in aquatics. 36 contributors of the book also provide stroke-by-stroke analyses of world-record swims and training recommendations specific to various swimming groups, including developing athletes, female athletes, masters swimmers, and open water swimmers.
In 2008, swimming moved into the forefront of amateur sports and topped both track and field and gymnastics as the most popular sport in the Summer Olympics. Since 2008, swimming in both the pool and open water, among both age-group and fitness swimmers, has steadily grown, especially as the number of masters swimmers and triathletes has continued to explode around the world. As participants and events continue to exponentially increase, the absolute number of athletes and coaches are seeking the latest information on how to achieve their best times.
These are the types of individuals who can benefit from the plethora of information contained in Riewald and Rodeo’s Science of Swimming Faster.
Published by Human Kinetics and as authoritative as it is applicable, Science of Swimming Faster delves into the physiology, biomechanics, medicine, psychology, and training for swim performance with countless bits of prescriptive advice between the front and back covers of the 616-page book.
Science of Swimming Faster Table of Contents:
Part I Swimming Mechanics and Technique
*Chapter 1 Fluid Dynamics, Propulsion, and Drag by Timothy Wei, Russell Mark, and Sean Hutchison
*Chapter 2 Freestyle Technique by Ross H. Sanders and Carla B. McCabe
*Chapter 3 Backstroke Technique by Russell Mark
*Chapter 4 Breaststroke Technique by Russell Mark
*Chapter 5 Butterfly Technique by Ross H. Sanders and Carla B. McCabe
*Chapter 6 Techniques for Starts and Turns by Andrew Lyttle and Brian Blanksby
*Chapter 7 Analyzing Strokes Using Computational Fluid Dynamics by Matt Keys, Andrew Lyttle, Brian Blanksby, Liang Cheng, and Koji Honda
Part II Physiological Aspects of Training and Competition
*Chapter 8 Energy Systems and Physiology by J.M. Stager, Jonathon Stickford, and Kirk Grand
*Chapter 9 Periodization and Planning by Scott Riewald
*Chapter 10 The Impact of Tapering on Performance by Iñigo Mujika and Andrew M. Stewart
*Chapter 11 Competition Day Strategies by Scott Riewald
*Chapter 12 Analyzing Elite Swimming Performances by Jodi Cossor
*Chapter 13 Overtraining and Recovery by Randall L. Wilber
Part III Applied Sport Sciences
*Chapter 14 Nutrition: Fueling for Performance by Charlene Boudreau
*Chapter 15 Performance Enhancers and Doping Control by Jennifer L. Reed and Andrew L. Pipe
*Chapter 16 Swimming Psychology: Merging Mind and Body by James Bauman
*Chapter 17 Growth and Development by Rebecca Battista
*Chapter 18 Sports Medicine: Swimming Injuries and Their Prevention by Courtney Dawson and Scott Rodeo
*Chapter 19 Sports Medicine: Illnesses and General Health by Dr. Margo Mountjoy
*Chapter 20 Strength and Conditioning for Performance Enhancement by Scott Riewald
Part IV Considerations for Special Groups
*Chapter 21 Adolescent Swimmers by Morgan Anderson and Jordan D. Metzl
*Chapter 22 Masters Swimmers by James W. Miller
*Chapter 23 Female Swimmers by Jaci L. VanHeest
*Chapter 24 Open Water Swimmers by Steven Munatones
*Chapter 25 Adaptive Swimmers by Brendan Burkett
For more information, visit here. The book can be pre-ordered now and will be available in July.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association