Mallett A, Bellinger P, Derave W, McGibbon K, Lievens E, Kennedy B, Rice H, Minahan C. The Influence of Muscle Fiber Typology on the Pacing Strategy of 200-m Freestyle Swimmers.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2021;:1-6. [PMID:
33873156 DOI:
10.1123/ijspp.2020-0725]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE
To determine the influence of muscle fiber typology (MFT) on the pacing strategy of elite swimmers competing in the 200-m freestyle event.
METHOD
The top 3 career-best performances from 25 elite 200-m freestyle swimmers were analyzed-12 women (1:58.0 [0:01.3] min:s) and 13 men (1:48.4 [0:02.5]). Muscle carnosine concentration was quantified by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles and expressed as a carnosine aggregate z score (CAZ score) relative to an age- and gender-matched nonathlete control group to estimate MFT. Linear regression models were employed to examine the influence of MFT on the percentage of overall race time spent in each 50-m lap.
RESULTS
Swimmers with a higher CAZ score spent a greater percentage of race time in lap 3 compared with swimmers with a lower CAZ score (0.1%, 0.0% to 0.2%; mean, 90% confidence interval, P = .02). For every 1% increase in the percentage of race time spent in lap 1, the percentage of race time spent in lap 3 decreased by 0.4% for swimmers with a higher CAZ score (0.2% to -0.5%, P = .00, r = -.51), but not for swimmers with a lower CAZ score (-0.1%, -0.3% to 0.1%, P = .28, r = -.18). The percentage of race time spent in lap 4 decreased by 0.8% for higher-CAZ-score swimmers (-0.5% to -1.0%, P = .00, r = -.66) and by 0.9% for lower-CAZ-score swimmers (-0.6% to -1.3%, P = .00, r = -.65) when lap 1 percentage increased by 1%.
CONCLUSION
MFT may influence the pacing strategy of swimmers in the 200-m freestyle event, which provides an avenue for maximizing individualized pacing strategies of elite swimmers.
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