The critical velocity in swimming

Abstract

In supra-maximal exercise to exhaustion, the critical velocity (cv) is conventionally calculated from the slope of the distance (d) versus time (t) relationship: d = I + St. I is assumed to be the distance covered at the expense of the anaerobic capacity, S the speed maintained on the basis of the subject's maximal O(2) uptake (VO2max) This approach is based on two assumptions: (1) the energy cost of locomotion per unit distance (C) is constant and (2) VO2max is attained at the onset of exercise. Here we show that cv and the anaerobic distance (d (anaer)) can be calculated also in swimming, where C increases with the velocity, provided that VO2max its on-response, and the C versus v relationship are known. d (anaer) and cv were calculated from published data on maximal swims for the four strokes over 45.7, 91.4 and 182.9 m, on 20 elite male swimmers (18.9 +/- 0.9 years, 75.9 +/- 6.4 kg), whose VO2max and C versus speed relationship were determined, and compared to I and S obtained from the conventional approach. cv was lower than S (4, 16, 7 and 11% in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl) and I (=11.6 m on average in the four strokes) was lower than d (anaer). The latter increased with the distance: average, for all strokes: 38.1, 60.6 and 81.3 m over 45.7, 91.4 and 182.9 m. It is concluded that the d versus t relationship should be utilised with some caution when evaluating performance in swimmers.

The Critical Velocity and 1 500-m Surface Performances in Finswimming

“…However, other previous studies indicated that CV is faster than the maximal swimming velocity that can be maintained over a long period of time without exhaustion [3,4,5,11] . Therefore, the CV is used by coaches in order to evaluate training eff ects on the whole D-T relationship and on aerobic endurance.…”

“…In swimming, Wakayoshi et al [22] have applied the CP concept to competitive swimming. It was expressed as the slope of the linear regression line between swimming diff erent distance (D) and its fastest time (T) [3,4,5,11,22,23] . The regression analysis of D and T showed extremely high linearity and a critical velocity (CV) was defi ned as the swimming speed that can be theoretically maintained for a very long time without exhaustion.…”

Comparação de diferentes métodos para identificação do limiar anaeróbio em nadadores

“…Denadai et al (2005) De qualquer forma, a VC pode ser utilizada como referência para a prescrição e controle dos efeitos do treinamento, independentemente dos resultados observados na literatura em relação à sua validade para estimar a MLSS (DI PRAMPERO et al, 2008, DEKERLE et al, 2010. Além da simples metodologia para a sua determinação, a VC parece representar o limite entre os domínios pesado e severo, visto que os atletas provavelmente apresentam estabilidade no consumo de oxigênio (VO 2 ), embora este último possa apresentar um valor maior que o predito pela relação VO 2 versus carga, pelo surgimento do componente lento (CL) quando são submetidos à realização do tempo de exaustão na intensidade de exercício correspondente à VC (CARITÁ et al, 2009 Paulo, v. 11, no 2, p. 128-133, 1997. …”

The effect of training on aerobic and anaerobic critical velocities in young swimmers

“…6 Increasingly, the critical velocity has been used for swimming coaches as an indicator of aerobic functional capacity of the swimmer, not requiring the use of very expensive and sophisticated equipment or procedures involving lengthy and complex calculations. 6,[8][9][10] Recently, some authors introduced a new trend in critical velocity, associating it with anaerobic performances. [11][12][13] These authors found linear relationships between short swimming distances and their respective times and associations with anaerobic race distances, specifically calling as anaerobic critical velocity.…”