master swimmers performance

BACKGROUND: The majority of propulsive forces in swimming are produced from the upper body, with strong correlations between upper body strength and sprint performance. There are significant gaps in the literature relating to the impact of resistance training on swimming performance, specifically the transfer to swimming performance. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this systematic literature review are to (1) explore the transfer of resistance-training modalities to swimming performance, and (2) examine the effects of resistance training on technical aspects of swimming...

BACKGROUND: Performance trends during the last decades in elite individual medley swimmers are known, but not for age groups swimmers. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine participation and performance trends in age groups swimmers competing in FINA World Masters Championships (1986-2014) in individual 200-m and 400-m medley. METHODS: We included all swimmers (6424 women, 7588 men) for each distance and age groups (25-29 to 95-99 years) in the analysis to avoid a selection bias by limiting to a fixed sample (e...

The ACTN3 gene is one of the genes that have a potential influence on physical performance. Studies have shown that the 577R genotype of ACTN3 is more prevalent in sprint athletes, while the 577X genotype is more prevalent in endurance athletes. In swimming, both power and endurance related phenotypes are equally needed for swimmers to excel at the elite level. Therefore, the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism may become a genetic marker for swimmers. The study aimed to examine the association of the ACTN3 R577X genotype with the performance of elite middle-long distance (MLD) swimmers...

Background  Back pain is a frequent problem for swimmers, especially for Masters swimmers. The cause seems to be insufficient core stability. Objective  The goal of this study is to investigate whether specific core musculature training has a positive influence on low back pain and swimmers' perceived performance. Method  Two groups (Masters swimmers and a control group) performed a guided 8-week training program. Changes in the core musculature were documented via tests carried out before and after the training program...

We investigated trends in participation, performance and sex difference in performance in 3000 m freestyle in age groups swimmers (25-29 to 85-89 years) competing in the Fédération Internationale de Natation World Masters Championships between 1992 and 2014. During this period, participation increased in women and men. Women and men improved race times across years in all age groups. Women were slower in age groups 25-29 to 70-74 years. In age groups 75-79 and 85-89 years, however, race times were similar for both women and men...

PURPOSE: To analyze the effects of swimming pace on the relative contribution of leg kick to swimming speed and to compare arm-stroke efficiency (ηF) assessed when swimming with the arms only (SAO) and while swimming front crawl (FCS) using individual and fixed adjustments to arm-stroke and leg-kick contribution to forward speed. METHODS: Twenty-nine master swimmers (21 men, 8 women) performed SAO and FCS at 6 self-selected speeds from very slow to maximal. The average swimming speed (v), stroke frequency (SF), and stroke length (SL) were assessed in the central 10 m of the swimming pool...

Performance trends in breaststroke swimmers competing at world class level in pool competitions are well investigated for elite swimmers, but not for age group swimmers. This study investigated trends in participation, performance and sex difference in performance in a total of 35,143 (16,160 women and 18,983 men) age group breaststroke swimmers aged 25-29 to 95-99 years competing in the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014. Trends in participation were analysed using linear regression analyses and trends in performance were investigated using mixed-effects regression analyses with sex, distance and calendar year as fixed variables...

The purpose of the study was to analyze the relationships between sprint swimming performance, dry-land power, and kinematics in master swimmers. Twenty-two male master swimmers were separated in two groups based on their chronological age: (i) 30-39 years and; (ii) 40-49 years. Maximum dry-land power was determined through counter movement jump and 3 kg medicine ball throwing (Hmax and Tmax, respectively). Kinematic determinants of performance were measured during a maximal bout of 15, 25 and 50 m front crawl (T15, T25, T50)...

Ferreira, MI, Barbosa, TM, Costa, MJ, Neiva, HP, and Marinho, DA. Energetics, biomechanics, and performance in masters' swimmers: a systematic review. J Strength Cond Res 30(7): 2069-2081, 2016-This study aimed to summarize evidence on masters' swimmers energetics, biomechanics, and performance gathered in selected studies. An expanded search was conducted on 6 databases, conference proceedings, and department files. Fifteen studies were selected for further analysis. A qualitative evaluation of the studies based on the Quality Index (QI) was performed by 2 independent reviewers...

Participation and performance trends in age group athletes have been investigated for different sport disciplines, but not for master swimmers. The knowledge on this topic is still missing for a particular stroke such as backstroke. Changes in participation and performance of male and female age group backstroke swimmers (≥25 years) competing in 50, 100 and 200 m pool swimming at the FINA World Masters Championships held between 1986 and 2014 were investigated using mixed-effects regression analyses. The overall participation was n = 26,217 including n = 13,708 women and n = 12,509 men...

Increased oxidative stress (OS) can promote diseases in the long term, but it can also trigger cellular adaptations in the short term. The present study aims to analyze whether a 3-month high-intensity (interval) training (HI(I)T) affects OS in 24 Masters swimmers (22-67 years) before (= basal) and after an all-out performance (swimming step-test). Data were analyzed for the entire group and differentiated according to sex and age (under 50 years (U50) and over 50 years (O50)). Prior to the HI(I)T intervention, a significant increase in OS from the basal to the all-out value was observed among the entire group and in the O50-subjects (subgroup analysis)...

Performance trends in elite freestyle swimmers are well known, but not for master freestyle swimmers. We investigated trends in participation, performance, and sex difference in performance of 65,584 freestyle master swimmers from 25-29 to 85-89 years competing in FINA World Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014. The men-to-women ratio was calculated for each age group, and the trend across age groups was analyzed using single linear regression analysis. Trends in performance changes were investigated using a mixed-effects regression model with sex, distance, and calendar year as fixed variables...

CONTEXT: Youth- through masters-level competitive swimmers incur significant shoulder pain. Risk factors associated with shoulder pain include high swimming yardage, a lack of cross-training, decreased shoulder strength and reduced core endurance, and limited posterior shoulder and pectoral length. Since training, swimming exposure, and physical-performance measures have all been associated with shoulder pain, the methods used to train swimmers may influence the development of shoulder pain, yet studies delineating training methods are lacking...

PURPOSE: the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the transfer strength training method on swimming power. METHODS: twenty male swimmers "master" were randomly allocated to strength (n= 10, ST) and swimming training (n=10, SW) groups. Both groups performed six-weeks training based on swimming training for SW and strength training which consisted in a weight training session immediately followed by the maximum swimming velocity. The performance in both groups was assessed by Maximal-Mechanical-External-Power (MMEP) before and after the six-weeks period, using a custom ergometer that provided force, velocity, and power measurement in water...

PURPOSE: Recently, some studies have suggested that overall training intensity may be more important than training volume for improving swimming performance. However, those studies focused on very young subjects, and/or the difference between high-volume and high-intensity training was blurred. The aim of this study was to investigate in masters swimmers the effects of manipulation of training volume and intensity on performance and physiological variables. METHODS: A group of 10 male masters swimmers (age 32...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of gender and energetics on biomechanics and performance of masters swimmers over 1 season. Twenty-five masters swimmers (14 male and 11 female) were assessed 3 times (TP1, TP2, and TP3) during a season (male personal record in 200-m freestyle event: 173.00 ± 31.41 seconds: female personal record in 200-m freestyle event: 200.73 ± 25.02 seconds). An incremental 5 × 200-m step test was selected to evaluate velocity at 4 mmol·l⁻¹ of blood lactate concentration (v4), maximal blood lactate concentration after exercise (La(peak)), maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), stroke frequency, stroke length (SL), stroke index (SI), and propelling efficiency of the arm stroke (η(p))...

AIM: The aim of this study was to track and compare the changes of performance and energetic profile of male and female masters swimmers during a season. METHODS: Eleven female (age: 34.7±7.3-y) and fourteen male (age: 35.6±7.4-y) with 4.2±3.7-y and 3.9±1.6-y of experience in masters, respectively, performed an all-out 200 m freestyle to evaluate total energy expenditure (Etot), aerobic (Aer), anaerobic lactic (AnL) and alactic (AnAl) contributions. The oxygen uptake (VO2) was measured immediately after the 200 m trial and the VO2 reached during the trial was estimated through the backward extrapolation of the O2 recovery curve...

Exercise and treating hyperlipidaemia with statins are two integral components of the American Heart Association guidelines to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults. Since statins can cause myalgias and myopathies, they could affect the duration or intensity of an exercise regimen. To determine the impact of statin use in adult masters swimmers, a survey was distributed to examine the association between swimming performance and statin usage in adult swimmers (≥35 years). After excluding those with chronic diseases or taking drugs that reduce physical capacity, 749 swimmers (118 taking statins, 73 not taking statins to control elevated cholesterol and 558 controls) were included in a regression model to determine the factors significantly affecting the duration and intensity of swimming workouts...

It is unknown whether or not the daily swim training distances of master swimmers (MS) affect the observed changes in skeletal muscle mass (SM) and physical function commonly associated with the aging process. Twenty-two male MS aged 52-82 years were divided into two groups based upon training distance: High MS (>3000 meters swim/session and 4.1 times/week; n=11) and moderate MS (1500-2800 meters swim/session and 3.4 times/week; n=11). Eleven age- and body mass index-matched older (aged 56-80 years) men served as controls (AMC)...

PURPOSE: To explore the interplay between arms-only propelling efficiency (η(p)), mechanical power output (W(tot)) and swimming speed (V); these three parameters are indeed related through the following equation V(3) = 1/kη(p)W(tot) (where k is the speed-specific drag; k = F/V(2)); thus, the larger are η(p) and W(tot) the larger is V. We furthermore wanted to test the hypothesis that a multiple linear regression between W(tot), η(p) and V would have a stronger correlation coefficient than a linear regression between W(tot) and V alone...