The biophysical determinants related to swimming performance are one of the most attractive topics within swimming science. The aim of this paper was to do an update of the "state of art" about the interplay between performance, energetic and biomechanics in competitive swimming. Throughout the manuscript some recent highlights are described: (i) the relationship between swimmer's segmental kinematics (segmental velocities, stroke length, stroke frequency, stroke index and coordination index) and his center of mass kinematics (swimming velocity and speed fluctuation); (ii) the relationships between energetic (energy expenditure and energy cost) and swimmer's kinematics; and (iii) the prediction of swimming performance derived from above mentioned parameters.

Background: Exercise leads to a robust inflammatory response mainly characterized by the mobilization of leukocytes and an increase in circulating inflammatory mediators produced by immune cells and directly from the active muscle tissue. Both positive and negative effects on immune function and susceptibility to minor illness have been observed following different training protocols. While engaging in moderate activity may enhance immune function above sedentary levels, excessive amounts of prolonged, high-intensity exercise may impair immune function. Thus, the aim of the present review was to clarify the inflammatory effects in response to different exercise intensities. Methods: Search was performed on PubMed and was completed on July 31st, 2017. The studies were eligible if they met the predefined inclusion criteria: a) observational or interventional studies, b) conducted in healthy adults (18-65 years), c) written in Portuguese, English or Spanish, d) including moderate and/or intense exercise. Eighteen articles were included. The specific components that were examined included circulating blood levels of cytokines, leukocytes, creatine kinase (CK) and C-reactive protein (CRP). The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed. Results: Most of the intervention studies showed changes in the assessed biomarkers, although these changes were not consistent. White blood cells (WBC) had an increase immediately after intensive exercise (> 64% VO 2max), without alteration after moderate exercise (46-64% VO 2max). The results suggested an elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely IL-6, followed by an elevation of IL-10 that were more evident after intense exercise bouts. CRP increased both after intense and moderate exercise, with peak increases up to 28 h. CK increased only after intensive and long exercising. Conclusion: In summary, intense long exercise can lead, in general, to higher levels of inflammatory mediators, and thus might increase the risk of injury and chronic inflammation. In contrast, moderate exercise or vigorous exercise with appropriate resting periods can achieve maximum benefit.

Applying properly structured strategies in the warm-up and avoiding a long rest in the post-warm-up improves explosive performance. Studies tend to recommend a short active warm-up strategy (10-15 min), gradually increasing intensity (~ 50-90% of maximum heart rate), and the use of heated garments soon after the warm-up to maintain muscle temperature. However, 2 min of active re-warm-up with short-term sprints and jumps should be needed for transitions longer than 15 min (~ 90% of maximum heart rate). Last, at the half-time re-warm-up, combining heated garments to maintain muscle temperature and performing an active strategy, with explosive tasks or small-sided games for 5 min before re-entering the game, resulted in better explosive performance than 15 min of resting.

The aim of this study was to examine the performance characteristics of male and female finalists in the 100-m distance at the 2016 European Championships in swimming (long-course-metre). The performances of all 64 (32-males and 32-females) were analysed (8 swimmers per event; Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly). A set of start and turn parameters were analysed. In the start main outcome, male swimmers were faster in Butterfly (5.71 ± 0.14s) and females in Freestyle (6.68 ± 0.28s). In the turn main outcome, male and female swimmers were faster in Freestyle (males: 9.55 ± 0.13s; females: 10.78 ± 0.28s). A significant and strong stroke effect was noted in the start and turn main outcome, in both sexes. In the start plus the turn combined, males and females were faster in Freestyle (males: 15.40 ± 0.20s; females: 17.45 ± 0.54s). The start and the turn combined accounted almost one-third of the total race time in all events, and non-significant differences (p > 0.05) were noted across the four swim strokes. Once this research made evident the high relevance of start and turns, it is suggested that coaches and swimmers should dedicate an expressive portion of the training perfecting these actions.

Warm-up before physical activity is commonly accepted to be fundamental, and any priming practices are usually thought to optimize performance. However, specifically in swimming, studies on the effects of warm-up are scarce, which may be due to the swimming pool environment, which has a high temperature and humidity, and to the complexity of warm-up procedures. The purpose of this study is to review and summarize the different studies on how warming up affects swimming performance, and to develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of warm-up before competition. Most of the main proposed effects of warm-up, such as elevated core and muscular temperatures, increased blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscle cells and higher efficiency of muscle contractions, support the hypothesis that warm-up enhances performance. However, while many researchers have reported improvements in performance after warm-up, others have found no benefits to warm-up. This lack of consensus emphasizes the need to evaluate the real effects of warm-up and optimize its design. Little is known about the effectiveness of warm-up in competitive swimming, and the variety of warm-up methods and swimming events studied makes it difficult to compare the published conclusions about the role of warm-up in swimming. Recent findings have shown that warm-up has a positive effect on the swimmer's performance, especially for distances greater than 200 m. We recommend that swimmers warm-up for a relatively moderate distance (between 1,000 and 1,500 m) with a proper intensity (a brief approach to race pace velocity) and recovery time sufficient to prevent the early onset of fatigue and to allow the restoration of energy reserves (8-20 min).

The purpose of this study is to assess, with elite crawl swimmers, the time limit at the minimum velocity corresponding to maximal oxygen consumption (TLim-vVO2max), and to characterize its main determinants. Eight subjects performed an incremental test for vVO2max assessment and, forty-eight hours later, an all-out swim at vVO2max until exhaustion. VO2 was directly measured using a telemetric portable gas analyzer and a visual pacer was used to help the swimmers keeping the predetermined velocities. Blood lactate concentrations, heart rate and stroke parameter values were also measured. TLim-vVO2max and vVO2max, averaged, respectively, 243.2 +/- 30.5 s and 1.45 +/- 0.08 m . s (-1). TLim-vVO2max correlated positively with VO2 slow component (r = 0.76, p < 0.05). Negative correlations were found between TLim-vVO2max and body surface area (r = - 0.80) and delta lactate (r = - 0.69) (p < 0.05), and with vVO2max (r = - 0.63), v corresponding to anaerobic threshold (r = - 0.78) and the energy cost corresponding to vVO2max (r = - 0.62) (p < 0.10). No correlations were observed between TLim-vVO2max and stroking parameters. This study confirmed the tendency to TLim-vVO2max be lower in the swimmers who presented higher vVO2max and vAnT, possibly explained by their higher surface area, energy cost and anaerobic rate. Additionally, O2SC seems to be a determinant of TLim-vVO2max.

The main aim of the present study was to analyze the relationships between dry land strength and power measurements with swimming performance. Ten male national level swimmers (age: 14.9 ± 0.74 years, body mass: 60.0 ± 6.26 kg, height: 171.9 ± 6.26, 100 m long course front crawl performance: 59.9 ± 1.87 s) volunteered as subjects. Height and Work were estimated for CMJ. Mean power in the propulsive phase was assessed for squat, bench press (concentric phase) and lat pull down back. Mean force production was evaluated through 30 s maximal effort tethered swimming in front crawl using whole body, arms only and legs only. Swimming velocity was calculated from a maximal bout of 50 m front crawl. Height of CMJ did not correlate with any of the studied variables. There were positive and moderate-strong associations between the work during CMJ and mean propulsive power in squat with tethered forces during whole body and legs only swimming. Mean propulsive power of bench press and lat pull down presented positive and moderate-strong relationships with mean force production in whole body and arms only. Swimming performance is related with mean power of lat pull down back. So, lat pull down back is the most related dry land test with swimming performance; bench press with force production in water arms only; and work during CMJ with tethered forces legs only.

Amaro, NM, Marinho, DA, Marques, MC, Batalha, N, and Morouço, PG. Effects of dry-land strength and conditioning programs in age group swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2447-2454, 2017-Even though dry-land S&C training is a common practice in the context of swimming, there are countless uncertainties over its effects in performance of age group swimmers. The objective was to investigate the effects of dry-land S&C programs in swimming performance of age group swimmers. A total of 21 male competitive swimmers (12.7 ± 0.7 years) were randomly assigned to the Control group (n = 7) and experimental groups GR1 and GR2 (n = 7 for each group). Control group performed a 10-week training period of swim training alone, GR1 followed a 6-week dry-land S&C program based on sets and repetitions plus a 4-week swim training program alone and GR2 followed a 6-week dry-land S&C program focused on explosiveness, plus a 4-week program of swim training alone. Results for the dry-land tests showed a time effect between week 0 and week 6 for vertical jump (p < 0.01) in both experimental groups, and for the GR2 ball throwing (p < 0.01), with moderate to strong effect sizes. The time × group analyses showed that for performance in 50 m, differences were significant, with the GR2 presenting higher improvements than their counterparts (F = 4.156; p = 0.007; (Equation is included in full-text article.)= 0.316) at week 10. Concluding, the results suggest that 6 weeks of a complementary dry-land S&C training may lead to improvements in dry-land strength. Furthermore, a 4-week adaptation period was mandatory to achieve beneficial transfer for aquatic performance. Additional benefits may occur if coaches plan the dry-land S&C training focusing on explosiveness.