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Int J Sports Med 2020; 41(05): 318-327
DOI: 10.1055/a-0975-9532
Training & Testing
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Anaerobic Threshold Biophysical Characterisation of the Four Swimming Techniques

Diogo Duarte Carvalho
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2   Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
,
Susana Soares
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
,
Rodrigo Zacca
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2   Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
3   CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, Brazil
,
João Sousa
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
,
Daniel Almeida Marinho
4   Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
5   Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
,
António José Silva
5   Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
6   Department of Sport Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
,
João Paulo Vilas-Boas
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2   Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
,
Ricardo J. Fernandes
1   Faculty of Sport, Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2   Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
› Author Affiliations Funding: This work is supported by national funding through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under CIFI2D PhD individual grant: SFRH/BD/138876/2018 and project CIDESD: UID/DTP/04045/2019.
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Publication History



accepted 07 July 2019

Publication Date:
23 January 2020 (online)

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Abstract

The anaerobic threshold (AnT) seems to be not only a physiologic boundary but also a transition after which swimmers technique changes, modifying their biomechanical behaviour. We expanded the AnT concept to a biophysical construct in the four conventional swimming techniques. Seventy-two elite swimmers performed a 5×200 m incremental protocol in their preferred swimming technique (with a 0.05 m·s−1 increase and a 30 s interval between steps). A capillary blood samples were collected from the fingertip and stroke rate (SR) and length (SL) determined for the assessment of [La], SR and SL vs. velocity inflexion points (using the interception of a pair of linear and exponential regression curves). The [La] values at the AnT were 3.3±1.0, 3.9±1.1, 2.9±1 .34 and 4.5±1.4 mmol·l−1 (mean±SD) for front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, and its corresponding velocity correlated highly with those at SR and SL inflection points (r=0.91–0.99, p<0.001). The agreement analyses confirmed that AnT represents a biophysical boundary in the four competitive swimming techniques and can be determined individually using [La] and/or SR/SL. Blood lactate increase speed can help characterise swimmers’ anaerobic behaviour after AnT and between competitive swimming techniques.

Key words

physiology - biomechanics - biophysics - anaerobic threshold - elite swimmers
 

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