Post-activation performance enhancement does not occur following a large hand-paddles and parachute-resisted warm-up routine in collegiate swimmers

• Main Authors: Santiago Soares Bufalo (Author), Gabriel Fontanetti (Author), Renan Vieira Barreto (Author), Gabriel Rocha Benazzi (Author), Rubens Correa Junior (Author), Victor Marangoni (Author), Natália de Menezes Bassan (Author), Benedito Sérgio Denadai (Author), Camila Coelho Greco (Author), João Paulo Vilas-Boas (Author), Leonardo Coelho Rabello de Lima (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Our aim was to investigate if using a warm-up routine that included parachute-resisted sprints with large hand-paddles improves 50 m freestyle performance in trained collegiate swimmers. Twelve swimmers (23.9 ± 2.2 years, 179 ± 7 cm, 77.1 ± 10.6 kg) participated in the study and completed two 50-m freestyle races, each preceded by a different warm-up routine, either control (CON) or experimental (EXP). The warm-up routines consisted of 500 m of swimming at self-selected speed, followed by four 10 s sprints with 1 min rest intervals. During EXP, sprints were performed using large hand-paddles and a swimming parachute, while during CON, sprints were performed freely. Performance and technique were assessed during the 50 m freestyle races. We found no significant differences in 25- and 50 m performance times (CON: 12.6 ± 0.8 vs. EXP: 12.5 ± 0.8 s, ES = 0.125; and CON: 26.8 ± 1.6 vs. EXP: 26.7 ± 1.7 s, ES = 0.06, respectively) between the two conditions. Mean stroke length (CON: 2.04 ± 0.21 vs. EXP: 2.02 ± 0.22 m·cycle−1, ES = 0.09), stroke frequency (CON: 55.4 ± 5.3 vs. EXP: 56.3 ± 5.2 cycles s−1, ES = 0.17), and propulsive time (CON: 0.62 ± 0.07 vs. EXP: 0.61 ± 0.06 s, ES = 0.15) were also not different between conditions. It is possible that the CON warm-up routine induced the priming effects that lead to PAPE, or that the EXP warm-up routine primed the athletes further but also induced greater fatigue, resulting in no significant effects on swimming performance. Our findings suggest that parachute-resisted sprints with hand-paddles during warm-up do not enhance 50 m freestyle swimming performance in trained collegiate swimmers. Coaches and practitioners should consider exploring different warm-up protocols to identify what works best for their athletes.

Item Description

2624-9367
10.3389/fspor.2023.1244168