The energy cost of swimming and its determinants

The energy expended to transport the body over a given distance (C, the energy cost) increases with speed both on land and in water. At any given speed, C is lower on land (e.g., running or cycling) than in water (e.g., swimming or kayaking) and this difference can be easily understood when one considers that energy should be expended (among the others) to overcome resistive forces since these, at any given speed, are far larger in water (hydrodynamic resistance, drag) than on land (aerodynamic resistance). Another reason for the differences in C between water and land locomotion is the lower capability to exert useful forces in water than on land (e.g., a lower propelling efficiency in the former case). These two parameters (drag and efficiency) not only can explain the differences in C between land and water locomotion but can also explain the differences in C within a given form of locomotion (swimming at the surface, which is the topic of this review): e.g., differences between strokes or between swimmers of different age, sex, and technical level. In this review, the determinants of C (drag and efficiency, as well as energy expenditure in its aerobic and anaerobic components) will, thus, be described and discussed. In aquatic locomotion it is difficult to obtain quantitative measures of drag and efficiency and only a comprehensive (biophysical) approach could allow to understand which estimates are “reasonable” and which are not. Examples of these calculations are also reported and discussed.