Top

Published in:

01-03-2012 | Original Article

Tracking the performance, energetics and biomechanics of international versus national level swimmers during a competitive season

Authors: Mário J. Costa, José A. Bragada, Jean E. Mejias, Hugo Louro, Daniel A. Marinho, António J. Silva, Tiago M. Barbosa

Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology | Issue 3/2012

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to track and compare the changes of performance, energetic and biomechanical profiles of international (Int) and national (Nat) level swimmers during a season. Ten Portuguese male swimmers (four Int and six Nat level subjects) were evaluated on three different time periods (TP₁, TP₂, TP₃) of the 2009–2010 season. Swimming performance was assessed based on official time’s lists of the 200-m freestyle event. An incremental set of 7 × 200 m swims was applied to assess the energetic and biomechanical data. Measurements were made of: (1) velocity at the 4 mmol of lactate levels (V4), stroke index at V4 (SI@V4) and propelling efficiency at V4 (η _p@V4), as energetic estimators; (2) stroke length at V4 (SL@V4) and stroke frequency at V4 (SF@V4), as biomechanical variables. The results demonstrated no significant variations in all variables throughout the season. The inter-group comparison pointed out higher values for Int swimmers, with statistical differences for the 200 m performance in all time periods. Near values of the statistical significance were demonstrated for the SI@V4 in TP₁ and TP₃. The tracking based on K values was high only for the SI@V4. It is concluded that a high stability can be observed for elite swimmers performance, energetic and biomechanical profiles throughout a single season. Int swimmers are able to maintain a higher energetic and biomechanical capacity than Nat ones at all times. The SI@V4 may be used as an indicator of performance variation.

Anderson M, Hopkins W, Roberts A, Pyne D (2008) Ability of test measures to predict competitive performance in elite swimmers. J Sports Sci 26:123–130PubMedCrossRef

Barbosa TM, Fernandes RJ, Keskinen KL, Vilas-Boas JP (2008) The influence of stroke mechanics into energy cost of elite swimmers. Eur J Appl Physiol 103:139–149PubMedCrossRef

Chollet D, Pelayo P, Delaplace C, Tourny C, Sidney M (1997) Stroking characteristic variations in the 100-m freestyle for male swimmers of differing skill. Percept Mot Skills 85:167–177PubMed

Costa AM, Silva AJ, Garrido ND, Louro H, Marinho DA, Marques MC, Breitenfeld L (2009) Angiotensin converting enzyme genotype affects skeletal muscle strength in elite athletes. J Sport Sci Med 8:410–418

Costa MJ, Marinho DA, Reis VM, Silva AJ, Marques MC, Bragada JA, Barbosa TM (2010a) Tracking the performance of world-ranked swimmers. J Sports Sci Med 9:411–417

Costa MJ, Marinho DA, Reis VM, Silva AJ, Marques MC, Bragada JA, Barbosa TM (2010b) Stability and prediction of 100-m breaststroke performance during the elite swimmers careers. In: Kjendlie PL, Stallman RK and Cabri J (eds) XIth International Symposium on Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming, Oslo, pp 272–273

Costill D, Kovaleski J, Porter D, Fielding R, King D (1985) Energy expenditure during front crawl swimming: predicting success in middle-distance events. Int J Sports Med 6:266–270PubMedCrossRef

Costill DL, Thomas R, Robergs RA, Pascoe D, Lambert C, Barr S, Fink WJ (1991) Adaptations to swimming training: influence of training volume. Med Sci Sports Exerc 23:371–377PubMed

Craig A, Pendergast D (1979) Relationships of stroke rate, distance per stroke and velocity in competitive swimming. Med Sci Sports Exerc 11:278–283

Craig A, Skehan P, Pawelczyk J, Boomer W (1985) Velocity, stroke rate and distance per stroke during elite swimming competition. Med Sci Sports Exerc 17:625–634PubMedCrossRef

Davison R, Someren K, Jones A (2009) Physiological monitoring of the Olympic athlete. J Sport Sci 27:1433–1442CrossRef

Fernandes R, Billat V, Cruz A, Colaço P, Cardoso C, Vilas-Boas JP (2006) Does net energy of swimming affect time to exhaustion at the individual’s maximal oxygen consumption velocity? J Sports Med Phys Fit 46:373–380

Figueiredo P, Zamparo P, Sousa A, Vilas-Boas JP, Fernandes RJ (2011) An energy balance of the 200 m front crawl race. Eur J Appl Physiol. doi:10.1007/s00421-010-1696-z

Hay J, Guimarães A (1983) A quantitative look at swimming biomechanics. Swim Tech 20:11–17

Hellard P, Guimaraes F, Avalos M, Houel N, Hausswirth C, Toussaint JF (2010) Modeling the Association between Heart Rate Variability and Illness in Elite Swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc (in press)

Houston ME, Wilson DM, Green HJ, Thomson JA, Ranney DA (1981) Physiological and muscle enzyme adaptations to two different intensities of swim training. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 46:283–291PubMedCrossRef

Huot-Marchand F, Nesi X, Sidney M, Alberty M, Pelayo P (2005) Variatons of stroking parameters associated with 200-m competitive performance improvement in top-standard front crawl swimmers. Sports Biomech 4:89–99PubMedCrossRef

Laffite LP, Vilas-Boas JP, Demarle A, Silva J, Fernandes R, Billat V (2004) Changes in physiological and stroke parameters during a maximal 400-m free swimming test in elite swimmers. Can J Appl Physiol 29(Suppl.):S17–S31PubMed

Landis J, Koch G (1977) The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics 33:159–174PubMedCrossRef

Latt E, Jurimae J, Haljaste K, Cicchella A, Purge P, Jurimae T (2009a) Physical development and swimming performance during biological maturation in young female swimmers. Coll Antropol 33:117–122PubMed

Latt E, Jurimae J, Haljaste K (2009b) Longitudinal development of physical and performance parameters during biological maturation of young male swimmers. Percept Mot Skills 108:297–307PubMedCrossRef

Madsen O (1983) Aerobic training: not so fast there. Swimming Tech 20:13–17

Magel JR, Foglia GF, McArdle WD, Gutin B, Pechar GS, Katch FI (1975) Specificity of swim training on maximum oxygen uptake. J Appl Physiol 38:151–155PubMed

Malina RM (2001) Adherence to physical activity from childhood to adulthood: a perspective forma tracking studies. Quest 53:346–355

Mingheli F, Castro F (2006) Kinematics parameters of crawl stroke sprinting through a training season. In: Vilas-Boas JP, Alves F, Marques A (eds) Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming X, Port J Sport Sci, Porto, pp 102–103

Mujika I, Chatard JC, Busso T, Geyssant A, Barale F, Lacoste L (1995) Effects of training on performance in competitive swimming. Can J Appl Physiol 20:395–406PubMedCrossRef

Mujika I, Padilla S, Pyne D (2002) Swimming performance changes during the final 3 weeks of training leading to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Int J Sports Med 23:582–587PubMedCrossRef

Pelayo P, Mujika I, Sidney M, Chatard JC (1996) Blood lactate recovery measurements, training, and performance during a 23-week period of competitive swimming. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 74:107–113PubMedCrossRef

Pendergast DR, Capelli C, Craig AB, di Pramperi PE, Minetti AE, Mollendorf J, Termin II, Zamparo P (2006) Biophysics in swimming. In: Vilas-Boas JP, Alves F, Marques A (eds) Biomechanics and medicine in swimming X, Porto, pp 185–189

Pyne DB, Lee H, Swanwick KM (2001) Monitoring the lactate threshold in world ranked swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33:291–297PubMedCrossRef

Reis J, Alves F (2006) Training induced changes in critical velocity and V4 in age group swimmers. In: Vilas-Boas JP, Alves F, Marques A (eds) Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming X. Port J Sport Sci, Porto, pp 55–56

Robertson EY, Aughey RJ, Anson JM, Hopkins WG, Pyne DB (2010) Effects of simulated and real altitude exposure in elite swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 24:487–493PubMedCrossRef

Sánchez J, Arellano R (2002) Stroke index values according to level, gender, swimming style and event race distance. In: Gianikellis K (ed) XXth International Symposium on Biomechanics in Sports, Cáceres pp 56–59

Seifert L, Chollet D, Chatard JC (2007) Kinematic change during a 100-m front crawl: effects of performance level and gender. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39:1784–1793PubMedCrossRef

Sharp R, Vitelli C, Costill D, Thomas R (1984) Comparison between blood lactate and heart rate profiles during a season of competitive swim training. J Swim Res 1:17–20

Termin B, Pendergast D (2000) Training using the stroke-frequency velocity relationship to combine biomechanical and metabolic paradigms. J Swim Res 14:9–17

Toussaint H (1990) Differences in propelling efficiency between competitive and triathlon swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 22:409–415PubMed

Toussaint H, Beck C (1992) Biomechanics of competitive front crawl swimming. Sports Med 13:8–24PubMedCrossRef

Trinity J, Pahnke M, Sterkel J, Coyle E (2008) Maximal power and performance during a swim taper. Int J Sports Med 29:500–506PubMedCrossRef

Troup J (1991) Aerobic characteristics of the four competitive strokes. In: Troup J (ed) International Center for Aquatic Research Annual, Studies by the International Center for Aquatic Research. US Swimming Press, Colorado Spring, pp 3–7

Wakayoshi K, Yoshida T, Ikuta Y, Mutoh Y, Miyashita M (1993) Adaptations to six months of aerobic swim training: changes in velocity, stroke rate, stroke length and blood lactate. Int J Sports Med 14:368–372PubMedCrossRef

Wolf BR, Ebinger AE, Lawler MP, Britton CL (2009) Injury patterns in Division I collegiate swimming. Am J Sports Med 37:2037–2042PubMedCrossRef

Zamparo P (2006) Effects of age and gender on the propelling efficiency of the arm stroke. Eur J Appl Physiol 97:52–58PubMedCrossRef

Zamparo P, Antonutto G, Capelli C, Francescato M, Girardis M, Sangoi R, Soule R, Pendergast D (1996) Effects of body size, body density, gender and growth on underwater torque. Scand J Med Sci Sports 6:273–280PubMedCrossRef

Zamparo P, Pendergast D, Mollendorf J, Termin A, Minetti A (2005) An energy balance of front crawl. Eur J Appl Physiol 94:134–144PubMedCrossRef

Title: Tracking the performance, energetics and biomechanics of international versus national level swimmers during a competitive season
Authors: Mário J. Costa
José A. Bragada
Jean E. Mejias
Hugo Louro
Daniel A. Marinho
António J. Silva
Tiago M. Barbosa
Publication date: 01-03-2012
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology / Issue 3/2012
Print ISSN: 1439-6319
Electronic ISSN: 1439-6327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2037-6

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Tracking the performance, energetics and biomechanics of international versus national level swimmers during a competitive season

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2012

Heart rate variability is related to training load variables in interval running exercises

Possibilities and limitations of the polar RS800 in measuring heart rate variability at rest

Effects of exercise intensity and duration on nocturnal heart rate variability and sleep quality

Fatigue after short (100-m), medium (200-m) and long (400-m) treadmill sprints

The 894G>T endothelial nitric oxide synthase genetic polymorphism affects hemodynamic responses to mental stress performed before and after exercise

Beverage carbohydrate concentration influences the intermittent endurance capacity of adolescent team games players during prolonged intermittent running