Road to Success, July 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, July 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, August 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, January 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, October 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, November 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, December 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, December 2005

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, February 2006

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, March 2006

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, May 2006

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Road to Success, April 2006

Monthly newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation

Oxygen uptake kinetics and middle distance swimming performance.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether V˙O(2) kinetics and specifically, the time constant of transitions from rest to heavy (τ(p)H) and severe (τ(p)S) exercise intensities, are related to middle distance swimming performance. DESIGN: Fourteen highly trained male swimmers (mean ± SD: 20.5 ± 3.0 yr; 75.4 ± 12.4 kg; 1.80 ± 0.07 m) performed an discontinuous incremental test, as well as square wave transitions for heavy and severe swimming intensities, to determine V˙O(2) kinetics parameters using two exponential functions. METHODS: All the tests involved front-crawl swimming with breath-by-breath analysis using the Aquatrainer swimming snorkel. Endurance performance was recorded as the time taken to complete a 400 m freestyle swim within an official competition (T400), one month from the date of the other tests. RESULTS: T400 (Mean ± SD) (251.4 ± 12.4 s) was significantly correlated with τ(p)H (15.8 ± 4.8s; r=0.62; p=0.02) and τ(p)S (15.8 ± 4.7s; r=0.61; p=0.02). The best single predictor of 400 m freestyle time, out of the variables that were assessed, was the velocity at V˙O(2max)vV˙O(2max), which accounted for 80% of the variation in performance between swimmers. However, τ(p)H and V˙O(2max) were also found to influence the prediction of T400 when they were included in a regression model that involved respiratory parameters only. CONCLUSIONS: Faster kinetics during the primary phase of the V˙O(2) response is associated with better performance during middle-distance swimming. However, vV˙O(2max) appears to be a better predictor of T400.