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Presentation Abstract

Session: B-23-Aquatics
Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Presentation: 534 - Fatigue Effects On Propulsive Forces And Stroke Rate During Tethered And
Front Crawl Swimming Tests
Location: Hall C, Poster Board: 9
Pres. Time: Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Category: 103. Fitness Assessment, Exercise Training, and Performance of Athletes and Healthy People
- Sport Science
Keywords: Tethered swimming; swimming fatigue; stroke rate
Author(s): André L. Rodacki1, Karini B. Santos1, Gleber Pereira2, Paulo C. Bento1. 1Paraná Federal
University, Curitiba, Brazil. 2Positivo University, Curitiba, Brazil.
Abstract: Purpose: The swimming performance depends on the maintenance of the highest velocity
throughout the race and fatigue may induce changes in stroke parameters as the race unfolds
and cause performance reduction. Tethered-swimming (TS) has been used to investigate
propulsive forces as a strong relationship between TS forces and free front crawl swimming
(FS) velocity are found in short races (e.g. 25 to 100m). However, there is a paucity of studies
analyzing these forces in longer races (e.g., 200m) and how these forces change over time. It
was aimed to determine how propulsive forces and stroke rate change during a simulated TS
and 200m FS at beginning (BEG), middle (MID) and end (END) of the test. Methods:
Twenty-one swimmers (21.6 ± 4.8 years, 1.78 ± 0.06m, 71.7 ± 8.1kg) were assessed for peak
force, mean force, impulse, rate of force development and stroke rate during 2 min of a
maximal TS test and a of 200m FS race. Forces were measured at 1000Hz by a strain gauge
attached on a cable fixed at waist level. Results: Propulsive forces decreased from BEG to
MID of the test (p<0.05), while stroke rate decreased in all instants of the TS (p<0.05). The
peak force was the only propulsive TS parameter positively correlated (p<0.05) with the clean
velocity in FS. The stroke rate was positively correlated (r = 45; p≤ 0.01) with TS and FS
during the MID instant. There was a relationship between the stroke rate of the TS and the
200m FS only at the MID instant. This relationship may be related to the smaller mean stroke
rate in the TS (5.3%) in comparison to the 200m FS. This relationship increased during the
first 50m of the FS (30.2 ± 0.89s) and may be explained by the fact that measurements
performed at earlier stages of the test may not necessarily represent the whole swimming (i.e.,
the entire 200m FS race). Thus, the findings of the present study seem to represent a more
realistic analysis of the conditions met in competition and training in comparison to others
that have analyzed shorter periods. Conclusion: The peak force was the best performance
predictor. The decrease in the stroke rate and propulsive force during TS were attributed to
fatigue effects. The findings of the present study indicated that a 2 min TS test is a more

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realistic assessment of conditions met in competition and training in comparison to other

studies that have used shorter periods of analysis.
Disclosures: A.L. Rodacki: None.

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