Velocity, aerobic power and metabolic cost of whole body and arms only front crawl swimming at various stroke rates

Abstract

Elite swimmers gain ~11 % in velocity from their kick and, when used in conjunction with the arm stroke at the swimmers' preferred frequency, the metabolic cost of WB and AO swimming is the same. Coaches should consider these results when prescribing AO sets if their intention is to reduce the metabolic load.

Effect of leg kick on active drag in front-crawl swimming: Comparison of whole stroke and arms-only stroke during front-crawl and the streamlined position

“…Silveira et al (2016) reported that WS swimming velocity was higher than AS swimming velocity at the same stroke rate. From results of previous studies (Deschodt et al, 1999;Gourgoulis et al, 2014;Morris et al, 2016;Silveira et al, 2016), it is apparent that kicking during front-crawl contributes to swimming speed by approximately 10%. On the other hand, the use of a kicking motion is inefficient (Zamparo et al, 2002) and affects energy consumption (Holmér, 1974;Morris et al, 2016;Ogita et al, 1996;Ribeiro et al, 2015;Rodriguez et al, 2015).…”

“…Previous studies reported that kicking in front-crawl reduced the resistive force acting on the whole body by elevating the legs and counteracting the sinking moment produced by the arm motion (Nakashima, 2007;Yanai, 2001). In the present study, swimmers used buoys that allowed their legs to float while restricting their lower limbs movement were used, as was performed in other studies (Gourgoulis et al, 2014;Morris et al, 2016;Toussaint et al, 1988). As such, a swimmer performing the AS could prevent his resistance from increasing because he was just able to maintain his horizontal attitude by means of buoyancy.…”

Velocity, Oxygen Uptake, and Metabolic Cost of Pull, Kick, and Whole-Body Swimming

“…The rates at which participants were required to stroke and kick in the pull and kick trials, respectively, were programed into an audible pacer (Tempo Trainer Pro, FINIS Inc. ® , USA) inside the swimmer's cap. In the pull trials, swimmers matched the stroke rates (stroke cycles • min -1 ) recorded during the swim trials (measured by the lead researcher and a research assistant (ICC 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-0.99, P<0.001) as previously described 8 were supported by a pull buoy (buoyant force: 12 N), with the ankles fastened with a swimming band in both pull efforts, while the kick trials were completed with a kickboard. The kick rates (kick cycles • min -1 ) observed in the swim trials (calculated by the primary researcher (Technical Error of Measurement: 2.2%) using a previously described calculation 8…”

“…5 Possible reasons for the discrepancy in previous findings, aside from the unaccounted costs associated with holding a kickboard and changes in body position and drag profiles between testing conditions, could relate to lack of control over stroke and kick rate across trials, as these parameters can influence swimming velocity and metabolic cost. 6,7 Recent research 8,9 has investigated the importance of the lower-limb actions on velocity and metabolic cost by analysis of whole-body and arms-only swimming at matched stroke rates. However, the contributions of the arm and leg movements to swimming velocity, and the associated energy expenditure, while controlling stroke and kick rate, is yet to be examined.…”

“…To extend upon recent research, 8,9 the aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the velocity production and metabolic cost of swimming with the upper-limbs only and lowerlimbs only relative to whole body swimming using the novel approach of controlling the stroke and kick rate among the testing conditions.…”