If you ’re tuning into the swim events at the2024 Paris Olympics , you ’ve probably noticed manyswimmers ’ habitof slapping themselves right before a raceway . Which consistence parts they target — legs , chest , arm , etc.—depends on the bather , as does the proficiency ( i.e. , with an opened hand or unsympathetic clenched fist ) .
One wide citedreasonfor the drill is toincrease rake flowto those areas . you could see those effects with the bare middle : The swimmer often get reddish and splotchy from all that slapping . As Matt Barbini , USA Swimming ’s director of performance , toldTODAYin 2021 , “ they consider it part of their warm - up or activation , just verify that there ’s sort of maximal blood menstruum sound to those portion of the body before you swim . ” According toAthlete Approved , “ the pectorals , articulatio humeri , biceps , and triceps are important for their performance , so those muscles will often be the first slap . Those are also the muscles that are most easily slapped . ” Then they ’ll move onto the peg .
But while warming up in general isimportantbefore intense utilization , there ’s hardly a wealth of scientific evidence examine that slapping in particular gives you a physiological bound in the kitty over swimmers who do n’t slap — so it ’s potential that its value is more mental than strong-arm . The moments right before a airstream , when all the swimmer are run along up behind their blocks , can find reasonably tense .
As Barbini explain , “ having a routine and a routine that you go through during that time is really helpful mentally so you ’re not just bear there letting the nerves get to you [ … ] you go up your left weapon system , you go up your right arm , go across your chest [ … ] anything that sort of kills those in - between instant before the subspecies part , I recollect , aid keep jock calm . ”
jock approve also suggests a different psychological reason swimmers might slap themselves — to intimidate their adversary .
