Morning Exercise: Enhancement of Afternoon Sprint-Swimming Performance
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Context:
An exercise bout completed several hours prior to an event may improve competitive performance later that same day.
Purpose:
To examine the influence of morning exercise on afternoon sprint-swimming performance.
Methods:
Thirteen competitive swimmers (7 male, mean age 19 ± 3 y; 6 female, mean age 17 ± 3 y) completed a morning session of 1200 m of variedintensity swimming (SwimOnly), a combination of varied-intensity swimming and a resistance-exercise routine (SwimDry), or no morning exercise (NoEx). After a 6-h break, swimmers completed a 100-m time trial.
Results:
Time-trial performance was faster in SwimOnly (1.6% ± 0.6, mean ± 90% confidence limit, P < .01) and SwimDry (1.7% ± 0.7%, P < .01) than in NoEx. Split times for the 25- to 50-m distance were faster in both SwimOnly (1.7% ± 1.2%, P = .02) and SwimDry (1.5% ± 0.8%, P = .01) than in NoEx. The first 50-m stroke rate was higher in SwimOnly (0.70 ± 0.21 Hz, mean ± SD, P = .03) and SwimDry (0.69 ± 0.18 Hz, P = .05) than in NoEx (0.64 ± 0.16 Hz). Before the afternoon session, core (0.2°C ± 0.1°C [mean ± 90% confidence limit], P = .04), body (0.2°C ± 0.1°C, P = .02), and skin temperatures (0.3°C ± 0.3°C, P = .02) were higher in SwimDry than in NoEx.
Conclusions:
Completion of a morning swimming session alone or together with resistance exercise can substantially enhance sprint-swimming performance completed later the same day.
McGowan, Thompson, and Rattray are with the University of Canberra Research Inst for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, Australia. Pyne is with the Discipline of Physiology, Australian Inst of Sport, Canberra, Australia. Raglin is with the School of Public Health, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN.
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