AUTHOR=Lee Hsuan-Yen , Chao Te , Hsu Chi-Chieh , Chang Ning-Wei , Chen Yi-Liang , Tsai Yung-Shen 

TITLE=Effects of different warm-up methods on 50-meter breaststroke swimming performance

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1505648

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2024.1505648

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=PurposeTo examine the effects of different warm-up methods on 50 m breaststroke performance in both breaststroke specialists and individual medley swimmers.Methods18 swimmers (breaststroke group: 9, individual medley group: 9) who met the qualification standards for the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games participated in this study. Each participant completed four different warm-up protocols (a conventional 1,400 m warm-up and a 700 m conventional warm-up that integrated tubing-assisted (TA), paddle (PD), or squat (SQ) warm-ups) over four separate days. Following each warm-up protocol, a 50 m breaststroke performance test was conducted with inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors attached to specific body segments to evaluate and compare stroke performance, stroke length, stroke frequency, and the acceleration of the hands, sacrum, and feet across different warm-up methods.ResultsThe breaststroke specialists who performed the TA warm-ups recorded significantly less time than those who performed the conventional 1,400 m warm-ups (35.31 ± 1.66 s vs. 35.67 ± 1.83 s, p = 0.006). There was a trend that individual medley specialists who performed the SQ warm-ups recorded less time than those who performed the PD warm-ups (34.52 ± 1.45 s vs. 34.92 ± 1.46 s, p = 0.043). The stroke length of breaststroke specialists following the TA warm-ups was shorter than that following the PD warm-ups, the SQ warm-ups, and the conventional 1,400 m warm-ups. Breaststroke specialists who engaged in the TA warm-ups had higher stroke frequency than those who engaged in the conventional 1,400 m warm-ups, the SQ warm-ups, and the PD warm-ups. During the TA warm-ups, breaststroke specialists exhibited a shorter stroke length and a higher stroke frequency than individual medley specialists. Acceleration data from the center of mass and limb segments, recorded by IMUs, were insufficient to fully explain the variations in stroke frequency, stroke length, and overall performance caused by the different warm-up protocols.ConclusionBreaststroke specialists exhibited significant improvement in their 50 m breaststroke performance after the TA warm-up. By contrast, individual medley specialists benefited more from the SQ warm-up.