Purpose. competitive performance in swimming depends on a number of factors including, among others, the development of relevant muscle groups. The aim of the study was to clarify the relationship between muscle strength and swimming velocity and the role of individual muscle groups in front crawl swimming. Methods. sixteen physical education university students participated in the study. The strength values, defined as torque produced during isometric contractions, of eight upper and lower extremity muscle groups were measured. Data were compared with participants' front crawl swim times in the 25m and 50m distances. Results. correlation analysis demonstrated a relationship between muscle strength and swimming velocity. statistically significant relationships were observed between swimming velocity and the torque values of the elbow flexor and shoulder extensor muscles as well as the sum of upper extremity muscle torque values (p ⋋ 0.05). Conclusions. The results indicate the need for a focus on training those muscle groups identified as having a statistically significant relationship with swimming velocity for a given distance, as the sample showed deficiencies in the strength of those muscle groups responsible for generating propulsive force in the front crawl. Additionally, the collected data can serve as a diagnostic tool in evaluating the development of muscle groups critical for swimming performance.
Purpose. It has been suggested that the critical swimming speed (CSS ) of young swimmers may be estimated by using two timed maximum exertion efforts at distances of 50 and 400 m. The aim of this study was to find out if the estimated CSS for a group of boy swimmers corresponds to the results obtained from a 12-min swim test and to examine if there was a difference whether these tests were completed using different swimming strokes. Methods. The study was carried out on 24 boys (age 12.2 ± 0.1 y, height 158.0 ± 1.8 cm, weight 47.7 ± 2.2 kg), all of whom were competing at the regional level. The participants were timed completing the 50 and 400 m distances at maximal effort, while the 12-min test was assessed by the total distance swum, all three trials performed in the front crawl and breaststroke. Results. The results found a close relationship between CSS determined by the 50 and 400 m distances and the distance covered during the 12-min test for both strokes (breaststroke r = 0.79, p = 0.0000; front crawl r = 0.83, p = 0.0000). There were no significant differences between CSS and the mean velocity of the 12-min swim test with swum in the front crawl (0.862 ± 0.027 m · s-1 and 0.851 ± 0.027 m · s-1, respectively); however, CSS was significantly higher (p = 0.002) than the mean velocity found in the 12-min test in the breaststroke (0.769 ± 0.018 m · s-1 and 0.727 ± 0.022 m · s-1, respectively). Conclusions. CSS estimated on the basis of the front crawl but not breaststroke is a good predictor of the average velocity of the 12-min swim test for young male swimmers.
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