Efecto del calentamiento activo y de diferentes intervalos de recuperación sobre el rendimiento en natación

Abstract

Purpose: Determine the effect of active warm-up with different recovery intervals, in freestyle swimming performance, in 50m and 200m. Methods: Seven-teen athletes (13.5 ± 2.18 years), registered with the Costa Rican Federation of Water Sports, with training and competition experience of 4.47 ± 1.28 years. Before the 50m and 200m freestyle swimming tests, four experimental conditions were carried out: 1) Control (without warmup); 2) Warm-up (960m) + 20 min rest; 3) Warm-up (960m) + 10 min rest; 4) Warm-up (960m) without rest. The order of the tests (50 m and 200 m freestyle) and the experimental conditions were randomly assigned. The statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA of repeated measures, accepting significance with p <0.05. Results: No significant difference was found between conditions before the 50m freestyle swimming test (F = 0.83, p = 0.48), nor the 200m freestyle swimming test (F = 0.88, p = 0.46). Also, there was no effect of the different recovery times on performance in both swimming tests. Different patterns of individual response to the experimental conditions were observed. Conclusion: As a group, it is not necessary to perform an active warm-up before the 50m and 200m freestyle swimming tests. However, it is justified for the coach to pay attention to the individualized response, so that he chooses the best protocol or warmup condition or not, to improve the athletic performance of his athletes.