Effect of strength training on muscular strength-aerobic performance relationship for competitive swimmers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify the effects of strength training on the muscular strength-aerobic erformance relationship. Sixteen swimmers were assigned to control (CG) or experimental (EG) groups and underwent seventeen weeks of swimming training. Swimmers in the EG also performed dry land strength training (DLST), lasting twelve weeks, and aiming to develop power. A 10 minutes test (T10) was taken before and after the 12 weeks of DLST, in order to evaluate aerobic resistance, one maximum voluntary contraction (1MVC) and maximum repetition in 30s (REM) using 70% of 1MVC, where total weight was calculated. Total weight, T10, and 1MVC were all normalized for body mass. There was no signifi cant correlation between percent changes in T10 and dry land muscle strength, despite signifi cant increases being detected in dry land muscle strength. It can be concluded that nonspecifi c training does not improve aerobic performance in swimming.