A sprint experiment

+ ABSTRACT Zampagni, ML, Casino, D, Benelli, P, Visani, A, Marcacci, M, and De Vito, G. "Anthropometric and strength variables to predict freestyle performance times in elite master swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 22: 1298–1307, 2008—The aims of this study were to determine in elite master swimmers of both genders whether, using anthropometric variables and the hand grip strength measure, it was possible to predict freestyle performance time, whether the considered predictors were related similarly to different events (50, 100, 200, 400, 800 m), and whether they were the same in male and female master swimmers. The relationships between performance times and age, body mass, height, arm length, forearm length, forearm muscle volume, and hand grip strength were examined in 135 elite master swimmers. Pearson’s simple correlation coefficients were calculated and then prediction equations were developed. Age, height, and hand grip strength were the best predictors in short-distance events, whereas only age and height were predictors in middle- and long-distance events. The correspond- ing coefficient of determination (R2) of performance times were 0.84 in the 50-m event, 0.73 in the 100-m event, 0.75 in the 200-m event, 0.66 in the 400-m event, and 0.63 in the 800-m event. These regression equations were then cross-validated in a control group of 126 nonelite, age-matched swimmers, obtaining significant and good correlations for all distances (range, r = 0.67 and 0.83; p , 0.01), indicating that predictors are valid in an extended sample of master swimmers. Differences between sexes were not found in 50-m event, but were present in all other events. These models might be useful to determine individual performance times by contributing to improving the individual’s training program and the selection of master swimmers. Coaches could have better accuracy in determining whether an athlete needs a strength training program in order to optimize performance time."

Age, height, and hand grip strength were the best predictors in short-distance events.... Moral of the story: never arm wrestle Leslie. :) S

whether, using anthropometric variables and the hand grip strength measure, it was possible to predict freestyle performance time, whether the considered predictors were related similarly to different events (50, 100, 200, 400, 800 m), and whether they were the same in male and female master swimmers. Maybe someone else knows: why hand-grip strength? Easy to measure, good proxy for upper body strength, or other? (I can't access the full article to check.) Hand-grip only seems important for sprint events; you sprinters need to be out there shaking a lot of people's hands. Politicians must be good candidates to be sprinters.:bolt:

Maybe someone else knows: why hand-grip strength? Easy to measure, good proxy for upper body strength, or other? (I can't access the full article to check.) Hand-grip only seems important for sprint events; you sprinters need to be out there shaking a lot of people's hands. Politicians must be good candidates to be sprinters.:bolt: No clue, lat pull down strength or something similar would be much more meaningful and probably much better correlated to performance than hand grip strength.

I think Chris is correct. If you have good hand strength, chances are you will be strong throughout the skeletal muscular system. I agree it's most likely an easy to measure proxy for strength in general. I also found it interesting that strength doesn't seem to matter much in middle and longer distance events. As for you, Mr. Jazzhands, I did, indeed, read your posted study in its entirety (though I admit I kind of skimmed over the Methods section a bit.) I was glad to see that there is a study, albeit of 26 people, where some forms of weight lifting compared favorably with swimming with or against rubberized restraints. Between these two studies, I can see where weight lifting might be beneficial to sprints. But I still maintain that most masters swimmers can derive the same benefits from race pace sets, which allows you to overload your muscles to the point of failure the same way lifting does. The advantage of doing this in the water is that you are using exactly the same muscles and kinetic chain of muscles that are required to swim fast; in the gym, the best you can do is train, in a rather general way, large muscle groups that are recruited--in slightly different ways--in swimming. And even if you can train each individual muscle in the beaded necklace of the kinetic chain via weight alone, that still leaves somewhat questionable the connecting tissues that must work in perfect harmony to optimize performance. Look at Tiger Woods golf swing. Every *** in the chain is perfectly coordinated. I'm sure he's strong, and I am sure he works out. But the only way to get that perfect whip swing is to practice the whole thing, over and over again. I am sure there's a million guys with much stronger arms, legs, abs, obliques, etc. than Tiger Woods. He remains one in a million because of his ability to coordinate all the parts. Ditto for Michael Phelps and any elite athlete who depends as much on skill as raw musculature. Phelps, for his, part, didn't even lift at all until recently. Do you think this hurt his swimming?

No clue, lat pull down strength or something similar would be much more meaningful and probably much better correlated to performance than hand grip strength. Back in the day (early 70s) I was a kinesiology major. We had these hand grip "ergometers" which accurately measured the force you could generate with your grip. The user didn't even have to change into gym clothes. I imagine they are still standard issue for any kinesiology lab or physical therapy office. In contrast, a uniformly calibrated lat pull machine is not going to be available everywhere you might want to make measurements. I suspect there are also many fewer degrees of freedom in the measurement of hand grip strength (basically you just grip it a squeeze it like your life depended on it) than there would be in lat pulls (elbows in/out, hands in/out, hold breath, exhale during the exercise, training effect over time as you learn to involve more muscles or the more correct muscles for the exercise, etc), so the measurement will be more reproducible across labs and over time. It won't obviously be perfect, but it's probably a pretty good proxy for overall upper body strength and the reproducibility will be important when you are trying to compute statistics across a population of subjects. Skip

But I still maintain that most masters swimmers can derive the same benefits from race pace sets, which allows you to overload your muscles to the point of failure the same way lifting does. Are you saying you can achieve failure in the pool from muscular microtrauma like you can from weight lifting? How do you determine that in the pool? Do you move the "speed pin" from 56.7 to 56.5 and when the swimmer blows out at the 50, you know they failed because of trauma because they had adequate energy to do that next 100? I see no justification to say that lifting high weight low reps to failure can similarly be accomplished in the pool. With regards to your chain theory. Did you see this: http://youtu.be/Y0ge2TYDllw It addresses your chain theory and I believe your quoted case, Tiger Woods, does strength training.

I am sure there's a million guys with much stronger arms, legs, abs, obliques, etc. than Tiger Woods. He remains one in a million because of his ability to coordinate all the parts. Ditto for Michael Phelps and any elite athlete who depends as much on skill as raw musculature. Phelps, for his, part, didn't even lift at all until recently. Do you think this hurt his swimming? Have you seen Phelps improvements in the 100m Free lately?

Are you saying you can achieve failure in the pool from muscular microtrauma like you can from weight lifting? How do you determine that in the pool? Do you move the "speed pin" from 56.7 to 56.5 and when the swimmer blows out at the 50, you know they failed because of trauma because they had adequate energy to do that next 100? I see no justification to say that lifting high weight low reps to failure can similarly be accomplished in the pool. This. There is zero evidence that muscle and strength gains from lifting can be accomplished with remotely close to the same efficiency as weightlifting in just about any sport and it is why athletes lift and why the biggest change in sports training across sports in general over the past 30-40 years has been strength/weight training (and steroids but still...). Also, as discussed before, rest, diet, and recovery are of paramount important in adding strength and muscle mass, which is simply impossible to do if you are swimming too many yards even if you lift. lastly, Tiger woods may be an athlete, but golf is hardly a good example of a sport or one that compares to swimming (or any sport that actually requires athletisicm :)

Phelps, for his, part, didn't even lift at all until recently. Do you think this hurt his swimming? Missed this the first time I read your comment. Phelps recently added Olympic lifts (snatch, clean & jerk). He started lifting immediately following Athens, so about 7 years. I wouldn't say that is recent for someone who is 24. According to (recent) interviews with Phelps, lifting and dry lands have become a larger focus on his training.