Longitudinal intra- and inter-individual variability in young swimmers' performance and determinant competition factors

Abstract

Abstract-The main purpose of this study was to follow-up the intra-and inter-individual variability of young swimmers' performance and determinant factors over two competitive seasons. Thirty young swimmers (14 boys: 12.33±0.65 years -old; 16 girls: 11.15±0.55 years-old) were followed-up throughout two consecutive seasons (seven evaluation moments). Performance (100m freestyle), anthropometric, kinematic, hydrodynamic and efficiency features were evaluated. A gender and skill-level effect was observed. Boys improved in a higher amount (%) comparing to girls. Overall, swimmers in skill-level 2 (both genders) presented a higher intra-individual variability. Performance and anthropometrics showed a significant inter-individual variability in most moments, but hydrodynamics, kinematics and efficiency did not. Within each skill-level hydrodynamics, kinematics and efficiency were the variables that showed a high inter-individual variability. As a gender and skill-level effect was noticed in an age-group of young swimmers, coaches and practitioners should put the focus in specific and customized training plans for each skill-level of swimmers.Keywords: young swimmers, seasons' variations, efficiency, stroke mechanics, anthropometricsResumo-"Análise longitudinal da variabilidade intra-e inter-individual da performance e fatores determinantes em nadadores jovens." O objetivo principal do estudo foi acompanhar a variabilidade intra-e inter-individual da performance e dos seus fatores determinantes de nadadores jovens durante duas temporadas competitivas. Trinta nadadores jovens (14 nadadores: 12.33±0.65 anos; 16 nadadoras: 11.15±0.55 anos) foram avaliados ao longo das duas épocas (7 momentos de avaliação). Foi avaliada a performance (100m livres), e variáveis antropométricas, cinemáticas, hidrodinâmicas e de eficiência. Foi observado um efeito do sexo e do nível competitivo. Os nadadores melhoraram em maior quantidade (%) do que as nadadoras. Os nadadores no nível competitivo 2 (ambos os sexos) apresentaram uma intra-variabilidade superior. A performance e as variáveis antropométricas apresentaram uma inter-variabilidade significativa na maior parte dos momentos de avaliação, ao contrário das variáveis hidrodinâmicas, cinemáticas e de eficiência. Dentro de cada nível competitivo as variáveis hidrodinâmicas, cinemáticas e de eficiência foram as que apresentaram uma variabilidade inter-individual superior. Como foi verificado um efeito do sexo e do nível competitivo, treinadores e praticantes devem colocar o foco em treinos específicos e personalizados para cada grupo de nadadores de acordo com o nível competitivo.Palavras-chave: nadadores jovens, variações sazonais, eficiência, mecânica da braçada, antropometria 293Resumen-"Análisis longitudinal de la variabilidade intra-y inter-individual del rendimiento y sus determinantes en nadadores jóvenes." El objetivo principal del estudio fue el seguimiento de la variabilidad intra-e inter-individual del rendimiento y sus factores determinantes de nadadores jóvenes en dos tempora...

Young Swimmers' Anthropometrics, Biomechanics, Energetics, and Efficiency as Underlying Performance Factors: A Systematic Narrative Review

“…Nonetheless, the same reasoning (i.e., importance of energetics/efficiency) can be claimed in shorter race events, at least based on research carried out in the 100-m freestyle (Morais et al, 2013b , 2014b ). The η F increased or at least was maintained over time (Morais et al, 2020b ).…”

“…They are prone to improve the kinematics and kinetics over long-term periods of time (Morais et al, 2017 , 2020b ). Nonetheless, in specific moments of a season, young swimmers may impair the stroke biomechanics (Morais et al, 2013b , 2014b ). Despite the variations within the season, swimmers improved the stroke biomechanics when comparing the beginning and the end of the season.…”

“…The η F increased or at least was maintained over time (Morais et al, 2020b ). Additionally, high skillful swimmers yielded larger efficiency over time compared with their slower counterparts (Morais et al, 2014b , 2015 ). The HR (as an energetic indicator) may also present an association with the energetics of swimmers in the 50-m, 100-m, (Alshdokhi et al, 2020 ), and 400-m freestyle (Ferreira et al, 2019 ).…”

Physical fitness improvements of 8-week light vs. heavy tyre flip training in young adults

“…Participants in this study had limited weight training and no TF experience. Relevant research indicates that participants with no previous training experience often demonstrate accelerated progress and larger inter-subject variability in training responses [ 19 ]. This was corroborated by this study, because at the start of the intervention participants took longer to complete each set of TF, and larger standard deviations (SD) and work-rest ratios were observed ( Figure 1a and 1b ).…”

Reproducibility of an endurance test for master swimmers

“…The swimming tests are increasingly adhering to specificity principles by various athletes, and they are no longer exclusively for high-performance counterparts. It is worth noting that a test needs to be valid and reproduced in different groups or cohorts by the same evaluator or different evaluators 17 . The Progressive Swim Test (PSwT), an exclusive test for 18 to 30 years old male swimmers non-participants in high-performance competitions, presented a level of favorable reproducibility and validity with possible application in the indirect assessment of aerobic conditioning for the prescription of non-competitive swimming [18][19][20][21] .…”