Abstract
The current study aimed to longitudinally evaluate anthropometric, physiological, and biomechanical variables related to middle-distance performance during a 45-week swimming training season. Thirty-four swimmers (age: 12.07 ± 1.14 years) performed a maximum of 400 m front crawl at the beginning (T1) and finish of the first macrocycle (T2, 15 weeks) and the finish of the second (T3, 18 weeks) and third macrocycles (T4, 12 weeks). Time-related variables, stroke rate (SR), stroke length (SL), and stroke index (SI) were recorded during the test, and blood lactate ([La]) and glucose ([Glu]) concentrations were measured post-exercise. The time of the 400 m effort decreased after each macrocycle (T2 vs. T1, 7.8 ± 5.6%; T3 vs. T2, 3.7 ± 3.1%; T4 vs. T3, 3.8 ± 3.4%; p < 0.01). Four hundred meter speed changes between T1 and T2 were positively related to variations in [La], [Glu], SL, and SI (r = 0.36–0.60, p < 0.05). Changes between T2 and T3 were related to SI only (r = 0.5, p < 0.05), and modifications between T3 and T4 were associated with SL and SI variations (r = 0.34 and 0.65, p < 0.05). These results indicate that a well-structured year plan including three macrocycles leads to a significant age-group swimming performance improvement, mostly connected with an increase in technical proficiency.
Highlights
Swimmers are involved in training and competition at very young ages [1,2], and appropriate training planning, as well as regular testing, should be applied within a training season [3,4]
Since no interaction of sex and performance time changes observed between macrocycles (F3.96 = 0.105, p = 0.96), the performance variation was tested with male and female swimmers grouped in the same sample
The analysis of covariance indicated that the maturation stage was a relevant predictor of the 400 m performance time changes (F1.31 = 4.67, p = 0.04) and body mass index changes did not interfere with the 400 m time at each testing moment (F1.31 = 0.34, p = 0.56) or in performance changes between testing moments (p > 0.05)
Summary
Swimmers are involved in training and competition at very young ages [1,2], and appropriate training planning, as well as regular testing, should be applied within a training season [3,4]. Such an approach aims to guide the development of energetic and biomechanical attributes, leading to improved physical conditioning, skill acquisition, and performance enhancement [5,6]. Due to the connection with the school activities calendar, this specific periodization is likely one of the best suited for young swimmers [8]
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