The Mathematics of Swim Training: A Conversation with Christoph Bartneck
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An interview with Christoph Bartneck, Author of SWIM TRAINING PATTERNS
This pioneering book integrates mathematics into swim training to create an intellectual journey into patterns. Exercise your body and mind with over 35 training programs derived from mathematical ideas. Dive into the history of mathematics and computer science to discover structures that will enrich your exercise routine.
You don’t need prior knowledge of mathematics or programming, just a curious mindset and the desire to swim interesting programs. This book will gently introduce you to the tools and knowledge you need to create programmatic training sessions. Learn how to write your training patterns using the Swimming Markup Language (swiML). Then, level up with the Python programming language to express even the most intricate training patterns. Creating swim training programs for every day of the week has never been easier.What inspired you to write “CAR-T Manufacturing: Technologies and Innovations” at this moment?
What inspired you to write this book, and how did you first make the connection between mathematics and swim training?
Swim training can be astonishingly boring. Swimming up and down the lanes in a pool does not offer much distractions. At times, this is exactly what I need. Just focusing on my breathing and glide through the water. My mind starts to wonder and during one of the training sessions it occurred to me that the training program on the white board is a small programming language. It consists of a list of instructions, conditions and loops. Once you start thinking about swim training sessions from this perspective, you can easily use patterns present in mathematics and computer science to enrich swim training programs.
How does your approach differ from traditional swim training methods, and what advantages does it offer swimmers and coaches?
Traditional swim training programs are not machine readable and it is therefore not possible for a computer to analyse or generate them. The whole process is currently largely done manually. My book and the underlying swiML technology enables coaches to not just to create a single training program, but you can generate hundreds even thousands of training programs using the Python programming language. Moreover, creating a communication standard for training programs, allows coaches to share their programs and allow search engines, such as Google, to index them. Sharing and analysing training sets has never been easier.
Can you share an example of how mathematical principles can be applied to structure a more effective swim training session?
The greatest increase in effectiveness is in authoring, exchanging and analysing training programs. Using patterns from mathematics make the programs more interesting. They give your mind some exercise. Let’s take a simple example. Traditional training program include sequences of repetitions such as:
1 x 100 Freestyle
2 x 100 Freestyle
3 x 100 Freestyle
This is a very simple pattern and you can easily guess what will come next. One of the most famous number sequences in mathematics is the Fibonacci sequence. It works like this: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34… Can you spot the pattern? What number will be next? The answer is simple. Add the two previous numbers to get the next number. In this case it will be 21+34=55. We can now use this pattern for a swim training session. We use the sequence as the number of laps to swim and change the stroke depending on whether the number of laps is odd or even:
1 laps FR
1 laps FR
2 laps Not FR
3 laps FR
5 laps FR
8 laps Not FR
This is a far more interesting program and there are many more interesting facts and patterns around the Fibonacci Sequence in the book.
Is this book suitable for swimmers at all levels, or is it primarily geared toward competitive athletes?
The book is suitable for all swimmers with a curious mind. You don’t have to know programming or mathematics beyond what you learned in school. The book will gently introduce all necessary knowledge and take you on a journey through ideas and patterns. The more time you spend at the pool, the more you will benefit from the book. Competitive swimmers will benefit from being able to generate hundreds of training programs in a matter of seconds.
Beyond improving performance, can these mathematical training patterns help with injury prevention and recovery?
Swimming is a very safe sport and the most frequent injuries are due to the overuse of our shoulders. Often the only cure is to rest. During such a rest period, reading into the fascinating history of maths and computer science will offer some distraction. Swimmers can also use the book and its underlying technology to plan a recovery process and future training sessions.
What do you hope readers will take away from this book, and how do you see the future of swim training evolving with mathematical principles?
The first and possibly the most important insight that I would like readers to take away from this book is the formal representation of swim training sessions. By establishing this communication standard we will, for the first time, be able to share programs amongst athletes, coaches and computers. In particular making the programs machine readable opens the door for a more scientific approach to analysing and generating training sessions. The mathematical patterns can easily be expressed using this formal language. The patterns themselves offer athletes an opportunity to engage their minds and I am certain that all those hours spend in the pool will become far more interesting.
SWIM TRAINING PATTERNS
This pioneering book integrates mathematics into swim training to create an intellectual journey into patterns. Exercise your body and mind with over 35 training programs derived from mathematical ideas. Dive into the history of mathematics and computer science to discover structures that will enrich your exercise routine.