ABSTRACT
The majority of swimming events are less than 2 minutes in duration. During exercise bouts of this brief duration, anaerobic ATP production is the primary energy source for the active skeletal muscles. More importantly, the rate at which ATP is delivered also influences muscle contraction and in turn, swimming speed. Thus, it would appear that a large capacity for anaerobic energy production is beneficial for fast swimming. Information describing the anaerobic capacity reveals distinct differences between sprint and endurance trained athletes for both the capacity and the rate at which fuel is supplied to the contracting muscles during high-intensity exercise. This high glycolytic demand corresponds well with glycogen breakdown and glycolytic enzyme activities of the muscles when exercising at supramaximal intensities (>100% VO2max). However, lactate alone appears to be a poor indicator of total anaerobic energy yield during high-intensity exercise. These data emphasize the importance of ananerobic energy release during swimming competition. Currently, the swimming community advocates volume overload training to produce optimal performances. Due to the high degree of muscle plasticity and physiological adaptability, coaches and athletes should be aware of the specific adaptations during this type of swimming training. Practical methods on the pool deck (a stopwatch) and proper nutritional guidelines can serve to gauge the effectiveness of their training plan on swimming speed.
