Laboratory-based tests for swimmers: methodology, reliability, considerations and relationship with front-crawl performance

Monitoring training process in swimming is essential for providing valuable information for both coaches and athletes. Among a large variety of laboratory-based tests used for the quantification of swimmers abilities and evaluation of fitness status, the most representative and easy to apply ones are chosen to be presented in this review. Furthermore, these tests reliability, methodology, referred considerations and relationship with front-crawl swimming performance are reported. Based on the previous mentioned criteria, the assessment of aerobic, anaerobic power and muscular strength, are analyzed. From the data examined, it is concluded that despite their reliability and efficacy in determining adaptations after a training period, as well as, detecting differences between athletes’ training status, laboratory-based tests assessing aerobic, anaerobic power and muscular strength for swimmers does not meet the criterion of specificity and disregard the crucial role of technique

Sex differences in swimming disciplines—can women outperform men in swimming?

In recent years, the interest of female dominance in long-distance swimming has grown where several newspaper articles have been published speculating about female performance and dominance—especially in open-water ultra-distance swimming. The aim of this narrative review is to review the scientific literature regarding the difference between the sexes for all swimming strokes (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley), di erent distances (i.e., from sprint to ultra-distances), extreme conditions (i.e., cold water), different ages and swimming integrated in multi-sports disciplines, such as triathlon, in various age groups and over calendar years. The influence of various physiological, psychological, anthropometrical and biomechanical aspects to potentially explain the female dominance was also discussed. The data bases Scopus and PUBMED were searched by April 2020 for the terms ’sex–difference–swimming’. Long-distance open-water swimmers and pool swimmers of different ages and performance levels were mainly investigated. In open-water long-distance swimming events of the ’Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming’ with the ’Catalina Channel Swim’, the ’English Channel Swim’ and the ’Manhattan Island Marathon Swim’, women were about 0.06 km/h faster than men. In master swimmers (i.e., age groups 25–29 to 90–94 years) competing in the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in pool swimming in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and in 3000-m open-water swimming, women master swimmers appeared able to achieve similar performances as men in the oldest age groups (i.e., older than 75–80 years). In boys and girls aged 5–18 years—and listed in the all-time top 100 U.S. freestyle swimming performances from 50 m to 1500 m—the five fastest girls were faster than the five fastest boys until the age of ~10 years. After the age of 10 years, and until the age of 17 years, however, boys were increasingly faster than girls. Therefore, women tended to decrease the existing sex differences in specific age groups (i.e., younger than 10 years and older than 75–80 years) and swimming strokes in pool-swimming or even to overperform men in long-distance open-water swimming (distance of ~30 km), especially under extreme weather conditions (water colder than ~20º C). Two main variables may explain why women can swim faster than men in open-water swimming events: (i) the long distance of around 30 km, (ii) and water colder than ~20 C. Future studies may investigate more detailed (e.g., anthropometry) the very young (75–80 years) age groups in swimming.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance of fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis of emergency system in COVID-19 pandemic. An extensive narrative review

The actual coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the limit of emergency systems worldwide, leading to the collapse of health systems, police, first responders, as well as other areas. Various ways of dealing with this world crisis have been proposed from many aspects, with fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis being a method that can be applied to a wide range of emergency systems and professional groups, aiming to confront several associated issues and challenges. The purpose of this critical review was to discuss the basic principles, present current applications during the first pandemic wave, and propose future implications of this methodology. For this purpose, both primary sources, such as scientific articles, and secondary ones, such as bibliographic indexes, web pages, and databases, were used. The main search engines were PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar. The method was a systematic literature review of the available literature regarding the performance of the fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis of emergency systems in the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study highlight the importance of the fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis method as a beneficial tool for healthcare workers and first responders' emergency professionals to face this pandemic as well as to manage the created uncertainty and its related risks

Swimming coaches’ professional development and training practices: an international survey

This study investigated swim coaches' perceptions of professional development issues and current training practices according to their coaching experience, education level, and gender. An online survey (January—April 2022) was completed by 123 swim coaches (96 male/27 female) of competitive swimmers based in 41 countries. The survey consisted of 36 questions divided into six sections: (1) background information, (2) developing swim coaching through learning, (3) self-evaluation, (4) interpersonal-intrapersonal interactions, (5) life skills, and (6) analyzing swimming performance. Pearson chi-square assessed the relationship between the frequency of responses and professional background and gender. The survey results indicated that swim coaches' educational level is potentially one of the most influential parameters affecting the coaches' perceptions about their own professional development. The data presented may be used for the future design of coach education programmes as they advance current knowledge on understanding psycho-social issues related to professional development and training perceptions involved in the competitive swimming environment

Aerobic power, anaerobic power, and vertical jumping ability over an entire competitive period in young elite male handball players

Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine the in-season variations in aerobic power, anaerobic power, and vertical jumping ability in young elite handball players in a laboratory setting. Methods The study involved 13 athletes (age: 19.9 ± 0.7 years, body mass: 90.0 ± 12.1 kg, height: 186.3 ± 6.3 cm, body fat percentage: 13.7 ± 4.8%), all members of the young national handball team. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) performance (peak power [PP], mean power [MP], fatigue index [FI]), and vertical jumping ability(countermovement jump [CMJ]) were assessed on 3 occasions during the competitive period (beginning [T1], middle [T2], end [T3]). Results Only slight and not significant changes were observed throughout the tested period for VO2max (T1 = 52.04 ± 4.30; T2 = 49.31 ± 3.96; T3 = 51.68 ± 5.38 ml ∙ kg–1; T1 to T3: –0.24 ± 5.83%, p > 0.05) and CMJ values (T1 = 46.99 ± 7.98; T2 = 46.57 ± 5.87; T3 = 48.15 ± 6.58 cm; T1 to T3: –3.26 ± 6.88%, p > 0.05). Similarly, all parameters evaluated during the WAnT showed small variations (PP: T1 to T3: 1.11 ± 5.67%; MP: T1 to T3: –0.04 ± 4.34%; FI: T1 to T3: 3.43 ± 9.20%; p > 0.05). Conclusions The indices of aerobic power, anaerobic power, and vertical jumping ability remained relatively constant among the tested group of young elite athletes throughout the handball competitive period.Sin financiaciónNo data JCR 20190.787 SJR (2019) Q2, 45/140 BiophysicsNo data IDR 2019UE

The effect of a short-term training period on physiological parameters and running performance: Intensity distribution versus constant-intensity exercise

This study compared the effect of two training strategies differing on the weekly intensity distribution on physiological parameters and running performance in moderately trained endurance athletes. METHODS: Thirty male athletes were equally divided into three groups, one following an increasing weekly aerobic intensity distribution (EXP1), one with constant weekly aerobic intensitydistribution (EXP2) and a control one, following a freely chosen program (CON). Before the training intervention, athletes performed a maximal exercise treadmill test to quantify the different zones allowing training to be controlled, based on blood lactate concentration values (BLa), over a 4- week period. Changes in exercise heart rate (HR), running velocity and rate of perceived exertion at three exercise intensities corresponding to 2.5, 4 and 8 mmol·l-1 of BLa were analyzed at three testing conditions: before (pre), after two (mid) and four weeks (post). RESULTS: A significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in running velocity at the intensity of 8 mmol·l-1 in EXP1 group was revealed at mid (5.5%) and post condition (11.5%), while EXP2 group showed a significant decrease in exercise HR at 4 mmol·l-1 between pre (6.7%) and post condition (9.0%) (p ≤ 0.05). The rest of the examined variables showed only trivial changes in both experimental groups at all testing conditions (p > 0.05). In addition, no changes were observed in CON group in any of the variables tested. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that depending on the training goal, different intensity variation strategies should be followed to induce the desired adaptations.Sin financiación1.302 JCR (2018) Q4, 66/83 Sport Sciences0.537 SJR (2018) Q2, 124/289 Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 79/209 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation; Q3, 79/125 Sports ScienceNo data IDR 2018UE

Sex differences in swimming disciplines-can women outperform men in swimming?

In recent years, the interest of female dominance in long-distance swimming has grown where several newspaper articles have been published speculating about female performance and dominance-especially in open-water ultra-distance swimming. The aim of this narrative review is to review the scientific literature regarding the difference between the sexes for all swimming strokes (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley), different distances (i.e., from sprint to ultra-distances), extreme conditions (i.e., cold water), different ages and swimming integrated in multi-sports disciplines, such as triathlon, in various age groups and over calendar years. The influence of various physiological, psychological, anthropometrical and biomechanical aspects to potentially explain the female dominance was also discussed. The data bases Scopus and PUBMED were searched by April 2020 for the terms 'sex-difference-swimming'. Long-distance open-water swimmers and pool swimmers of different ages and performance levels were mainly investigated. In open-water long-distance swimming events of the 'Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming' with the 'Catalina Channel Swim', the 'English Channel Swim' and the 'Manhattan Island Marathon Swim', women were about 0.06 km/h faster than men. In master swimmers (i.e., age groups 25-29 to 90-94 years) competing in the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in pool swimming in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and in 3000-m open-water swimming, women master swimmers appeared able to achieve similar performances as men in the oldest age groups (i.e., older than 75-80 years). In boys and girls aged 5-18 years-and listed in the all-time top 100 U.S. freestyle swimming performances from 50 m to 1500 m-the five fastest girls were faster than the five fastest boys until the age of ~10 years. After the age of 10 years, and until the age of 17 years, however, boys were increasingly faster than girls. Therefore, women tended to decrease the existing sex differences in specific age groups (i.e., younger than 10 years and older than 75-80 years) and swimming strokes in pool-swimming or even to overperform men in long-distance open-water swimming (distance of ~30 km), especially under extreme weather conditions (water colder than ~20 °C). Two main variables may explain why women can swim faster than men in open-water swimming events: (i) the long distance of around 30 km, (ii) and water colder than ~20 °C. Future studies may investigate more detailed (e.g., anthropometry) the very young (75-80 years) age groups in swimming

The effect of two additional dry-land active warm-up protocols on the 50-m front-crawl swimming performance

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of 2 different dry-land active warm-up protocols on 50-m front-crawl swimming performance, biomechanical variables (stroke rate, stroke length, and stroke index), rate of perceived exertion, and exercise heart rate in swimmers of both genders. Methods. The total of 10 male and 9 female national-level swimmers completed a standardized 1000-m in-water warm-up protocol followed by a 30-min transition phase and a 50-m front-crawl time-trial. During this 30-min period, each swimmer executed, on different occasions, a protocol consisting of either a dynamic stretching routine (stretch) or a power exercise circuit (power) of equal duration (~ 5 min) in a randomized sequence. A control condition (control) including a passive recovery strategy after the in-water warm-up protocol was also analyzed. Results. An improvement in 50-m time-trial performance was demonstrated in male swimmers after executing the power protocol (p = 0.034), while in female swimmers a trend towards faster performance times was revealed after the stretch protocol (p = 0.064). Stroke index was improved after the stretch routine only in female swimmers (p = 0.010). Stroke rate, stroke length, rate of perceived exertion, and exercise heart rate showed no differences among all the 3 conditions in either gender (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Male and female swimmers respond differently to a power or a dynamic stretching protocol. In addition, the variation in responses to different warm-up conditions highlights the importance of individualizing the dry-land warm-up procedure to promote maximum performance during 50-m front-crawl swimming events. Key words: warm-up strategies, sprint performance, national-level swimmersSin financiaciónNo data JCR 20180.197 SJR (2018) Q3, 138/191 Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation; Q4, 106/133 Biophysics, 422/530 Public Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthNo data IDR 2018UE