Research regarding the impact of resistance training on swimming performance

Abstract

The paper aims to bring to the fore some training methods and equipment that can improve sports performance in swimmers aged 12-14 years. The research, conducted at two swimming centres in Bucharest and Bacău, involved 32 athletes who were divided into two groups as follows: 16 in the experimental group and 16 in the control group. They were elite athletes practising swimming from the age of 5-6 years, 6 to 8 times a week. All of them performed the same in-water training for 14 weeks, but those in the experimental group also used a device to train their respiratory muscles before and after each workout, 3 x 30 inhalations. The research methods used were: literature review, pedagogical observation, experiment, mathematical statistics, and graphical method. The efficiency of the inspiratory muscles was measured using the PowerBreathe K-Series device, which recorded the values of lung capacity, inspiratory muscle strength and power, inspiratory pressure and breathing energy. The obtained results confirm the research hypotheses according to which there is a significant difference (of 36.7%) between the improved times of the two groups in favour of the experimental group, meaning 0.67 hundredths of a second for every 50 m swum in their preferred event after 14 weeks of using the device to train their respiratory muscles.