You don’t have to have a huge engine; It needs to have a permanent engine. You have to be extremely skilled, swimming is a very inefficient sport. You will be working hard continuously, due to which your heart rate will not increase.
When you’re standing, gravity is pulling the blood toward your legs, and your heart is probably just as full as it is when you’re lying down. When one is submerged in water, the pressure is reversed and a large amount of blood is directed towards the heart. This is good because the heart is full and can pump a lot of blood, but some cardiac fatigue can also occur: the heart itself can get tired. You have to establish a rhythm.
Water is a good conductor of heat, so while swimming for long periods of time, the water absorbs heat from you. Unless you generate enough heat, you can become hypothermic quickly; That would be another big problem, maintaining body temperature. Wearing a suit (as Nyad did) helps maintain body temperature. One of the reasons it didn’t stop was because it would get cold.
What stresses is the body under?
The biggest limitations are musculoskeletal overuse, fuel and concentration. If you start running fast, you’ll burn carbs and get very tired. So you’ll need to have adequate caloric stores and eat enough calories. You also need to avoid over exertion and muscle tension. Due to the repeated contractions, your muscles get tired.
Other limits may be mental. Repetitive movement and the urge to concentrate are difficult to maintain without sleep.
Which muscles do the most work?
muscles of the arms. This is why you have to be a very efficient swimmer: the smaller muscles in the arms tire much faster than the larger muscles in the back.
Does this seem extraordinary to you for a 64-year-old?
This type of ultra-endurance test is something an older person can do that doesn’t involve a lot of wear and tear (on the joints). (nyad) has been physically fit, active, and fit for most of her life, so she may be as healthy as a healthy cardiovascular system at age 40.
What Diana has shown us over the years is that she is an extraordinary endurance swimmer. He has mental toughness and discipline, maybe mental toughness and discipline that a young man doesn’t have.
Diana has said that this shows that people should do what they set out to do.
This is not always the case. Setting a goal and working towards it is often just as important as achieving that end result. Even if Diana hadn’t made it to Florida, we’d still consider her one of the most extraordinary ultra-endurance athletes ever. Sometimes we put too much emphasis on that bottom line, and sometimes people just can’t.
Is there anything else you want our readers to know?
Fitness and regular physical activity are part of personal hygiene. I hope your readers will see this and not say, ‘I can’t do that; I will sit all day watching (television). I hope they get out, challenge themselves and get in shape, and it can be done without swimming from Cuba to Florida.
