Relationship Between Swimming Velocity and Lactic Concentration During Continuous and Intermittent Training Exercises

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between lactic acid concentration in capillary blood and swimming velocity during 11 typical endurance exercises (continuous swimming for 30 and 60 min, interval swimming with distances between 50 and 400 m, and with rest periods of 10 and 30 s) and during the “two-speed test” recently described by Mader. It was expected that a better understanding of these relationships could provide evidence how to adjust training intensities from results obtained during the two-speed test.

Fifty-nine male swimmers of the German national level participated in this study. After a 30-min maximal swimming test, a mean lactic acid concentration of 4.01 ± 0.75mmol/l was found. The corresponding mean velocity was similar to the speed (V4) calculated for the 4mmol/l level on the basis of the results obtained during the two-speed test (2 × 400). During 30 min continuous swimming at 95% to 105% of the velocity V4, there was a significant correlation (r = 0.82, P < 0.001) between the swimming speed and the lactic acid concentration. In the 30-min maximal test, the velocity V4 correlated significantly with both the lactic acid concentration (r = -0.58, P < 0.005) and the swimming speed (r = 0.97, P < 0.001). During the interval exercises with rest periods of 10 s, the swimming velocities corresponding to the same lactic acid level as during continuous swimming, increased for the 50, 100, 200, and 400 m by 11.23%, 4.21%, 2.95%, and 2.02% of V4, respectively. With rest periods of 30s, the swimming velocity for the 100, 200, and 400 m increased by 7.34%, 4.22%, and 3.01% of V4, respectively. In spite of a constant swimming velocity during the interval series with rest periods of 30 s, we found a significant decrease of the lactic acid between the first and the third repetition.

Key words

endurance exercise - physical training - swimming - lactic acid - anaerobic threshold