Abstract

Male (n = 25) and female (n = 14) competitive swimmers were studied during tethered (breaststroke) and free (front crawl) swimming to determine the validity of calculating exercise oxygen uptake (V02) from expired gas samples taken immediately after the activity. Based on a single 20-s recovery V02, the swimmers V02max was correlated with performance in a 400-yd (365.8-m) front crawl swim. The best predictors of V02max for trained swimnmers were lean body weight and stroke index (r = 0.97). The single best predictor of performance in the 365.8-m front crawl swim was the distance per stroke (r = 0.88), whereas the combination of distance per stroke and V02max (ml/kg LBW/min) correlated 0.97 with performance in the swim. This study demonstrates that it is possible to accurately determine the V02 during maximal and submaximal swimming using a single, 20-s expired gas collection taken immediately after a 4-7 min swim. These findings demonstrate the importance of stroke technique on the energy cost and variations in performance during competitive swimming. Verf.-Referat