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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.

Sec. Exercise Physiology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1636405

This article is part of the Research TopicSwimming Competitions Analysis: State of the Art and Future ImprovementView all 7 articles

Influence of Upper-Body High-Intensity Intermittent Training on Energy Metabolism and Maximal Oxygen Uptake in Elite Swimmers

Provisionally accepted
Lei  ZhangLei Zhang1Hanyi  LiHanyi Li2Tongling  WangTongling Wang3Chao  ChenChao Chen2*
  • 1Wenzhou Business College, Wenzhou, China
  • 2Dalian University, Dalian, China
  • 3Huzhou University, Huzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Purpose: This paper aimed to investigate the effects of upper-body high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on energy metabolism and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in elite swimmers. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which elite swimmers were stratified and randomly assigned to either an upper-body HIIT group or an upper-body moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) group. The HIIT group performed upper-body HIIT sessions lasting 60 min, including a warm-up, main workout, and cool-down at a 2:3:1 time ratio. The main workout consisted of circuit-based HIIT involving 8 exercises, each performed for 20 s with 10 s of rest, totaling 230 s per circuit, with 3-minute interset intervals, repeated for 3 sets. The MICT group followed a similar session structure except that the main workout involved 8 continuous exercises performed for 60 s each with 20-second rest intervals and 20-second interset intervals and also repeated for 3 sets. Pre-and post-intervention assessments included upper-body cycle ergometry to evaluate the VO2max and indices of energy metabolism. Repeated-measure ANOVA was used to analyze changes in VO2max and energy metabolism indicators. Results: Prior to the intervention, no significant differences in VO2max or energy metabolism indices between the two groups were noted. After four weeks of training, the HIIT group exhibited significant improvements in VO2max and energy metabolism parameters as assessed by upper-body ergometry (p < 0.05). By contrast, the MICT group showed no significant changes in these indicators (p > 0.05). A significant interaction effect was observed between time and group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: A four-week program of upper-body HIIT significantly enhances energy metabolism and VO2max in elite swimmers. These findings provide a theoretical basis for incorporating upper-body HIIT into the training regimens of competitive swimmers to optimize aerobic capacity and metabolic efficiency.

Keywords: Athletic Performance, Upper-body Training, Cardiopulmonary function, metabolic efficiency, high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

Received: 27 May 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Li, Wang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Chao Chen, Dalian University, Dalian, China

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