Safety and overtraining

1.0 Do you want to inform yourself about aquatic safety ?

In France, the number of people drowning continues to rise. To mention the latest figures, 40 people died in June 2019 and 60 in July. Especially since the number of swimmers had increased due to the heatwave.

Drowning is the main cause of accidental death in the under-25s ! Although all children are supposed to know how to swim by the time they leave secondary school...

Private swimming pools are still the places where children are most at risk. In three years, the number of drownings has increased by 132%, compared with 96% on beaches.

This type of accident can be reduced, not by increasing safety but by learning to swim. You don't need to know how to swim all the various strokes, but certain skills will be essential to be safe in the water.

Swimee's ambition is to become the software that can transmit this knowledge to you.

1.1 Children's safety

Children's safety has an important place in the aquatic environment. That’s why they always need to be supervised by an adult.

Two types of behaviour can be observed at the opposite extreme in children :

1, they are afraid of the water and refuse to enter it.

1, they are afraid of the water and refuse to enter it.

In both cases, you need to be extremely careful with your child, even when they know how to swim. Even children who know how to float and move in water are not always aware of their own limits. They may set out to cross a pool, only to realise halfway through that they are too tired to continue.

It takes only 20cm of water and less than a minute for drowning to be possible

1.2 Adult safety

Contrary to what we might think, an adult who knows how to move around in water is not always safe. Just like children, adults can misjudge their ability to swim. No one is immune to an uncontrollable cramp that, far from the edge, can lead to difficulties in moving around and staying on the surface.

If you're alone, for example, in an unsupervised area, don't attempt a crossing.

1.3 Safety for people with disabilities

Epileptic seizure

Heart risk

Psychological aspect

COPD

1.4 Apnea

Many people are unaware that apnea in swimming pools is forbidden. And it should be in any aquatic environment unless supervised by professionals.

And for good reason : fainting. If you deprive your brain of oxygen and its supply is no longer sufficient, you risk a sudden loss of consciousness and a loss of muscle tone. Normally, this loss of consciousness is short-lived.

Fainting can occur both underwater (during apnea) and at the surface (after ascending and breathing). If fainting occurs in the water, the first risk is drowning. A protective mechanism prevents you from swallowing water immediately, but if there is no rapid intervention, the water will enter your lungs after a few seconds.

Apnoea should not be mistaken for oxygen deficiency (at altitude, for example, with the reduction in oxygen concentration in the air).

1.5 Your physical condition

1.5.1 Physical condition and overtraining

As with any sport, your physical condition will allow you to practise or not. More or less intensively, for longer or shorter periods. But keep in mind that it's always possible to progress. Just be aware of your physiological and physical limits

During training, our body experiences traumas that it must recover from in order to adapt to. After each training session, the body readapts to the constraints imposed on it and becomes stronger and more resistant. But only if it recovers properly.

In the case of muscle stiffness, you should avoid doing a difficult session on top of it. Muscle stiffness is caused by micro-lesions in the muscle. If you put too much pressure on it again too quickly, you're adding further damage to an already weakened muscle. That's when injuries can occur.

If you train regularly without fully recovering, at some point you will fall into what is known as overtraining. You won't perform as well as you should physically, but overtraining also has a psychological impact: irritability, depression, anger and so on. It's not the quantity of training that determines progress, but the quality.

1.5.2 Muscle training in swimming

One thing you need to know is that the more muscle mass you have, the denser you are. The denser you are, the less you float. So if you want to add physical preparation sessions to your training, it's important to be well prepared.

These sessions will have a direct impact on your performance in the water. Firstly, because they will increase your propulsion speed (more strength, so more ability to accelerate your arm underwater). Secondly, by improving your resistance to tiredness.

But physical preparation also has another aspect, which is prevention. Having strength training sessions will limit osteoarticular and ligament injuries. This should be taken into account from a very young age, adapting the exercises accordingly, as soon as there is a desire to take part in competitions. For children in particular, growth can lead to injury, as the body changes quickly and repeated training sometimes puts too much pressure on the body. The body doesn't always have time to adapt (for example, lever arms that quickly become more important).

The main problem that will appear between weight training and swimming is the question of transfer. How do you use the work done outside in the water ?

Strength training should remain a method of training, for it to be as effective as possible. We need to get as close as possible to the characteristics of the movement performed underwater, in terms of the mode of muscular contraction, the functions performed by the muscles, the type of fibre recruitment (neuromuscular) and the energy pathway used.

1.6 In open water or sea

Natural environments are unpredictable and therefore dangerous. Especially if you're not familiar with them. So it's always a good idea to find out as much as you can about every place you go swimming.

In lakes, there is little risk as there are no currents, tides, and so on. However, find out about the quality of the water and whether swimming is possible. Then, if you want to make a crossing, always think about safety. There should be at least 2 of you, because while distances in a swimming pool may seem manageable in the case of difficulty, they will be much less so in a lake. It's often in these natural environments that accidents occur, especially if there's no supervision. There are also swimming buoys that allow you to be visible when you decide to go swimming in open water. These buoys, which are attached at the waist (with a belt), can also be a help in case of difficulty, as you can lean on them as they float.

So before you head out into any natural environment, make sure you have all the information you need :

1.6.1 The weather

Beware of rain, which can affect visibility, or of strong winds.

1.6.2 Sea currents

Very important at sea and especially in the ocean. You should also be aware of the baïnes areas. The currents in these baïnes are intense, narrow and directed out to sea. They are therefore very dangerous and you need to be aware of them! You can find information on the internet, but don't hesitate to ask the lifeguards or surf shops who know the area well.

1.6.3 Risk taking

void going swimming in a totally isolated, unsupervised area. You should also find out how far you will have to swim if you decide to cross, both on the way out and on the way back. If you decide to turn back, be sure to estimate whether you'll be able to cover the distance required.

1.6.4 Water temperature

Wearing a swimsuit may be really necessary, because if the water is too cold (18°C and below), you run the risk of rapidly becoming tired during the effort, and even of hypothermia.