Garland, Stephen

Lothian, Fiona

Thompson, Kevin

English

Thompson, Kevin G

Garland, Stephen W

University of Canberra Research Repository

Assessment of an international breaststroke swimmer using the 7 x 200-m step test.

Northumbria Research Link

Citation:  Thompson,  Kevin,  Garland,  S. and  Lothian,  Fiona  (2006) Assessment  of an  international  breaststroke swimmer  using the 7 x 200-m step test. International  Journal  of Sports Physiology and Performance, 1 (2). pp. 172-175. ISSN 1555-0265Published by: Human KineticsURL: This  version  was  downloaded  from  Northumbria  Research  Link:  http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/1263/Northumbria  University  has  developed Northumbria  Research  Link  (NRL)  to  enable users to access the University’s research output.  Copyright  © and moral  rights  for  items on NRL  are retained by the individual  author(s) and/or other  copyright  owners.  Single  copies of full  items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third  parties  in  any  format  or  medium  for  personal  research or  study,  educational,  or  not-for-profit  purposes without  prior  permission  or  charge,  provided  the  authors,  tit le  and  full  bibliographic  details  are  given,  as  well  as  a  hyperlink  and/or  URL  to  the  original  metadata  page. The content  must  not  be changed in  any way.  Full  items must  not  be sold commercially  in  any format  or medium  without  formal  permission of the copyright  holder.  The full  policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.htmlThis document  may differ  from the final,  published version of the research and has been made available online in  accordance with  publisher  policies. To read and/or cite from the  published  version  of the  research,  please visit  the  publisher’s  website  (a subscription  may be required.)172International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2006;1:172-175© 2006 Human Kinetics, Inc.CASE STUDIESThe authors are with the English Institute of Sport, Gateshead International Stadium, Neilson Road, Gateshead NE10 0EF UK.Assessment of an International Breaststroke Swimmer Using the 7 × 200-m Step TestKevin Thompson, Stephen Garland, and Fiona LothianThompson and Cooper1 observed that improvements in the swimming speed at 2-mM and 6-mM lactate concentration coincided with improvements in competi-tive breaststroke performances, whereas Pyne et al2 concluded that changes in swimming speed at lactate threshold were not directly associated with competi-tion performances in a mixed-stroke group of 12 elite swimmers. This case study presents data from eleven (7 × 200 m) step tests over a 3-year period for a world-class 200-m male breaststroke swimmer. Personal-best race times were reduced by 9.5 seconds over this period. For this individual, step-test data provided valuable information with regard to the swimmer’s readiness for performance, health and training status, and nutritional habits.MethodA male breaststroke swimmer (world ranked among the top 10) undertook 11 (7 × 200 m) step tests over a 3-year period (see Table 1). Before each test, a standardized 1000-m warm-up was completed. All tests were completed in a 25-m pool, except for step test 10 (in a 50-m pool). Data were fi tted with a third-order polynomial to provide a blood lactate–swimming speed curve.3 The speeds at various fi xed blood lactate concentrations were determined from the appropriate y-intercept on the blood lactate–speed curve. Stroke-rate measurements were made based on timing the fi fth to the seventh stroke (Base 3 function, Timestar, Germany) in each 25-m lap. The swimmer counted the number of strokes per repetition.Results and Practical ApplicationsFigure 1 demonstrates how the speed at various fi xed blood lactate values fl uctuated on each of the step tests over a period of 3 years. A limitation of this case study is that the frequency of testing varied because of time and competitive programming constraints. However, in most instances, step tests were undertaken after a needs analysis that identifi ed when the tests would be of most benefi t to the coach and Assessment of a Breaststroke Swimmer  173Table 1 Protocol for 7 × 200-m Step Test4StepSeconds slower than personal-best timeBlood lactate*† and glucose* samplingTiming of heart rate‡ and RPE§ measurement1 25 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise2 21 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise3 17 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise4 13 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise5 9 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise6 5 <45 s postexercise <5 s postexercise7 1 <45 s postexercise, then at 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 min<5 s postexercise*Earlobe capillary blood (5-μL) samples measured for lactate concentration with a lactate ProLT-1710 lactate analyzer (Arkray, Japan) and for glucose concentration with a β-glucose 201 Photometer (Haemocue Ltd, England).†Blood sampling continued until the lactate concentration fell by 2 mM or more over 2 consecutive samplings, that is, over 4 minutes.‡Heart rate measured with a Polar Sports tester (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland).§Borg G, Ottson D, eds. The Perception of Exertion in Physical Work. London, UK: Macmillan; 1986. Rating scale of 6 to 20.swimmer with regard to the swimmer’s training status, health status, and readiness for performance.Improvements in the speed at fi xed blood lactate concentrations during step tests were generally followed by improvements in 200-m competitive performances. Indeed, a ranking of fastest to slowest speeds at 6 mM and 8 mM was the same rank order as the fastest to slowest 200-m race speeds, when measured within 2 to 3 weeks of competition. The swimmer’s lifetime personal best was achieved a few weeks after step test 6, where a speed at a lactate concentration of 2 mM was observed for the fi rst time and the highest speeds at the various lactate values (except for the speed at a lactate concentration of 8 mM) were measured along with the smallest differential in these speeds of all the step tests. These fi ndings suggest that swimming economy, lactate removal, and aerobic energy metabolism were at their most developed for low- to moderate-speed swimming when the swimmer was competing at his best. No relationship was observed between absolute peak lactate values on step tests and race times (P > .05), although peak lactate values of 13 to 16.5 mM were generally observed after the fi nal repetition of step tests and were similar to concentrations measured after races.Routine testing can provide an insight into how training and health status affect swimming capability. For example, step tests 5 and 9 confi rmed a loss of fi tness after a recent history of poor training and competitive performances because of an infection and a series of soft-tissue injuries, respectively. Step test 7 was undertaken to evaluate the swimmer after an episode of overreaching. From the results, it was interpreted that the swimmer’s aerobic fi tness was relatively poor, necessitating an increased utilization of anaerobic glycolysis to meet energy demands or a greater 174  Thompson, Garland, and Lothianrecruitment of fast-twitch fi bers, even at low speeds. Elevated stroke rates and counts (compared with previous tests; data not shown) and relatively high heart-rate and lactate values for a given speed are indicative of a decline in swimming effi ciency and economy. Increases in training load were carefully managed until step test 8, at which point improvements in fi xed blood lactate concentrations suggested that the swimmer was again able to train at full capacity.Although the volume of winter training was disrupted by injury, step test 11 demonstrated lower speeds at fi xed blood lactate concentrations than expected. Despite a maximal effort at the end of the test (peak heart rate 191 beats/min, RPE 20), the fi nal repetition speed and peak blood lactate value (7.2 mM, approxi-Figure 1 — The upper panel describes the competition speeds for 16 races over a 3-year period. The lower panel describes the changes in swimming speeds at reference blood lactate values from 11 (7 × 200 m) step tests completed over the same period of time. The label S12mM indicates swimming speed eliciting a blood lactate concentration of 12 mM; S10mM, swimming speed eliciting a blood lactate concentration of 10 mM; and so on. The label ST1 indicates step test 1; ST2, step test 2; and so on. Step test 10 was undertaken as part of a national program of testing in a 50-m pool and has been included purely to demonstrate how different the response is compared to a 25-m pool. For example, despite identical peak lactates (13.2 mM) on both step test 9 and step test 10 (4 weeks later), the fi nal repetition speeds were 1.39 m/s and 1.34 m/s, respectively.Assessment of a Breaststroke Swimmer  175mately 50% of normal) were uncharacteristically low. In addition, blood glucose concentration before the test (3.7 mM, normally 3.9 to 4.7 mM) and after it (5.3 mM, normally 6.2 to 8.3 mM) were lower than expected for this swimmer. From these results, the recent training history, and a food diary it was concluded that glycogen depletion was probably a contributing factor, and this led to a nutritional intervention (modifi cation of timing and type of foods consumed).References 1. Thompson KG, Cooper SM. Breaststroke performance, selected physiological variables and stroke rate. J Hum Mov Stud. 2002;44:1-17. 2. Pyne DB, Lee H, KM Swanwick. Monitoring the lactate threshold in world-ranked swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;33(2):291-297. 3. Bird S, Davison R. BASES Physiological Testing Guidelines. 3rd ed. Leeds, UK: BASES; 1997. 4. Lakomy HKA, Peyrebrune MC. Aerobic Fitness Assessment: 7 x 200-m Step Test. Loughborough, UK: British Swimming; 2003.

Aerobic Fitness Assessment: 7 x 200-m Step Test.

Breaststroke performance, selected physiological variables and stroke rate.

Monitoring the lactate threshold in world-ranked swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc.

Assessment of an international breaststroke swimmer using the 7 x 200-m step test

http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/1263/1/5835.pdf

Assessment of an international breaststroke swimmer using the 7 x 200-m step test

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