The Effects of Low-Volume, High-Intensity Training on Performance Parameters in Competitive Youth Swimmers

Abstract

A 7 week HIT intervention was neither beneficial nor detrimental to performance parameters however the HIT group completed 6 hours (17.0-km) swimming per week compared to 12 hours (33.4-km) per week for the HVT group.

High-Intensity Interval Training versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training on Health Outcomes for Children and Adolescents: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Full-text evaluations were done for the remaining 61 studies, and 45 studies were excluded because of the following reasons: no appropriate control (n = 33), no desirable outcomes (n = 6), and no RCT design (n = 6). After this, a total of 16 RCTs were considered eligible and included in the final meta-analysis [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. No new eligible trial was identified by manual searching of the reference lists of retrieved studies (Figure 1).…”

<p>Ultra-Short Race-Pace Training (USRPT) In Swimming: Current Perspectives</p>

“…The emergence of USRPT as a new and alternative training methodology has resulted in a large amount of controversy in the swimming community. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The notion that low-volume training at high intensities (USRPT or HIT) may be a more beneficial training methodology than HVT, often coinedthe "Quality versus Quantity" debate, is a long-standing topic of discussion among swimming coaches. 18,23,114 While there are potential benefits to USRPT, the findings of the systematic review indicate that there is currently no peer-reviewed published literature of USRPT interventions on competitive swimmers.…”

“…There is evidence to suggest that USRPT is a derivative of HIT, 69,82 and there is peer-reviewed published literature to support the benefits of HIT in competitive swimmers. 22,27,73,[90][91][92][93][94] However, national and international level swimmers competing in sprint to distance events have been found to perform around 6-16% of their training as HIT 30,71 which is similar to the training patterns of other cyclical sports. 25,69,70 The remainder of their training comprises a variety of stimuli: LIT, MIT, RT and cross-training activities, of which there is a large amount of published literature to support.…”

“…This is in line with the recommendations of Rushall. 12 A recently published randomized controlled study by Nugent et al 22 intensities less than race-pace velocity (LIT and MIT) should remain a priority where possible, particularly for youth swimmers. 3,21,25,30,[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78] USRPT And Skill Acquisition Swimming skills are both highly complex (i.e.…”

“…[15][16][17] However, USRPT has resulted in a large amount of controversy in the swimming community. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The training methodologies of elite swimming coaches typically involve prescribing a high-volume, low-intensity training (HVT) program which is defined as a training program that focuses on performing low-intensity training (<2 mM blood lactate) of longer duration, 25 also referred to as a "traditional or yardage program". 26 Training volumes of around 40 km or 16 hrs per week are common in competitive swimmers, even among youth cohorts.…”