Abstract
Background: Triathletes typically wear a wetsuit during the swim portion of an event, but it is not clear if muscle activity is influenced by wearing a wetsuit. Purpose: To investigate if shoulder muscle activity was influenced by wearing a full-sleeve wetsuit vs. no wetsuit during dryland swimming. Methods: Participants (n=10 males; 179.1±13.2 cm; 91.2±7.25 kg; 45.6±10.5 years) completed two dry land swimming conditions on a swim ergometer: No Wetsuit (NW) and with Wetsuit (W). Electromyography (EMG) of four upper extremity muscles was recorded (Noraxon telemetry EMG, 500 Hz) during each condition: Trapezius (TRAP), Triceps (TRI), Anterior Deltoid (AD) and Posterior Deltoid (PD). Each condition lasted 90 seconds with data collected during the last 60 seconds. Resistance setting was self-selected and remained constant for both conditions. Stroke rate was controlled at 60 strokes per minute by having participants match a metronome. Average (AVG) and Root Mean Square (RMS) EMG were calculated over 45 seconds and each were compared between conditions using a paired t-test (α=0.05) for each muscle. Results: PD and AD AVG and RMS EMG were each greater (on average 40.0% and 66.8% greater, respectively) during W vs. NW (p<0.05) while neither TRAP nor TRI AVG or RMS EMG were different between conditions (p>0.05). Conclusion: The greater PD and AD muscle activity while wearing a wetsuit might affect swimming performance and /or stroke technique on long distance event.
Highlights
Wetsuits have been used among many water sports including SCUBA diving, surfing, open water swimming, and triathlon competitions
Posterior Deltoid (PD) and Anterior Deltoid (AD) AVG and Root Mean Square (RMS) EMG were each greater during W vs. No Wetsuit (NW) (p0.05)
Neither TRAP (AVG: t(9)= -0.079, p = 0.939; RMS: t(9)=-0.239, p = 0.817) nor TRI (AVG: t(9)=-0.885, p = 0.399; RMS: t(9)=-0.587, p= 0.572) EMG were different between conditions (Figure 2, Table 1)
Summary
Wetsuits have been used among many water sports including SCUBA diving, surfing, open water swimming, and triathlon competitions. Chatard et al (1995) reported that triathlete subjects were on average 19 s faster during a 400 m swim using a wetsuit vs no wetsuit. Chatard et al (1995) reported that 400-m swim performance was not influenced by wearing a wetsuit for swimmers. Cordain & Kopriva (1991) reported that body composition was related to the influence of wetsuit on swim performance. These observations indicate that a single wetsuit design does not benefit swim performance of all people and has led to the development of a wide variety of wetsuit models that incorporate different design features. Conclusion: The greater PD and AD muscle activity while wearing a wetsuit might affect swimming performance and/or stroke technique during a long distance event
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