Abstract: Influence Of Morphology And Strength On Front Crawl Swimming Speed In Junior And Youth Age Group Swimmers.
OBJECTIVES:
This study, conducted in two male age groups, was aimed at analysing the influence of body properties, dry-land strength and swimming strength on 50 m crawl (VCrawl).
METHODS:
We examined two competitive groups, Youth (20.6 ± 1.05), and Junior, (17.3 ± 0.59), through: a. (lean) body mass (BM and LBM), (total) body height (BH and TBL) and arm span (AS); b. counter movement jump (CMJ) and maximum isometric strength of elbow and knee joints; c. tethered crawl strength. We hypothesized that a higher relationship of strength indices in younger swimmers in VCrawl and tethered swimming would be a better sprint performance predictor.
RESULTS:
The Junior group revealed a significant relationship between somatic traits (BM r = 0.63; BH r = 0.55; TBL r = 0.58; AS r = 0.52 with p < 0.05 LBM r = 0.78; with p < 0.01) and VCrawl, whereas such interplay was not found in the Youth group. General dry-land strength indices CMJ [cm], CMJ [J] or isometric strength of knee joint muscle flexors and extensors (r = 0.57; r = 0.69; r = 0.56; r = 0.57, respectively) also significantly correlated with VCrawl only in the Junior group. The Junior group’s tethered swimming strength had a higher but not significant relationship with VCrawl. The Youth group instead achieved significantly higher VCrawl and stroke rate (SR). The SR revealed (r = 0.41, p= 0.014) a relationship with VCrawl only after combination of both groups.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study demonstrates a better strength relationship with VCrawl in the younger Junior group. In the future, evaluation of sprint swimming aptitudes, besides on the basis of somatic traits and properties of dry-land or water strength measurement, should be complemented by measurements of real sprint swimming technique parameters.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS:
In youth and junior swimmers, morphological properties play as much a role in VCrawl as strength factors. Future studies should assess this in older ages, elite swimmers, and if these factors are influenced with training (particularly strength training) to understand the influence strength training on performance.
Reference:
- Strzała M, Stanula A, Krężałek P, Ostrowski A, Kaca M, Głąb G. Influence Of Morphology And Strength On Front Crawl Swimming Speed In Junior And Youth Age Group Swimmers. J Strength Cond Res. 2017