REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1636595
This article is part of the Research TopicSwimming Competitions Analysis: State of the Art and Future ImprovementView all 6 articles
Comparative Effectiveness of Physical Training Modalities on Swimming Performance: A Two-Tier Network Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1People's Public Security University of China, Beijing, China
- 2officers college of PAP, Chengdu, China
- 3Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective: To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of different physical training environments and modalities on swimming performance and sport-specific skills in competitive swimmers using a two-tier network meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic search of six databases identified 36 randomized controlled trials involving 844 competitive swimmers. A first-tier network meta-analysis compared aquatic, dry-land, and combined training environments across performance outcomes (25m, 50m, 100m, 200m times) and sport-specific metrics (start time, turn time, swim velocity, stroke rate, stroke length). A second-tier analysis further examined specific training modalities within combined and dry-land categories. Mean differences (MD) and standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported; interventions were ranked using surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Results: Combined training showed the highest efficacy across multiple outcomes. Compared to control, it significantly improved 100m time (MD = -2.01s; 95% CI: -2.87 to -1.16), swimming velocity (MD = 1.27 m/s; 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.94), stroke rate (SMD = 1.63; 95% CI: 0.92 to 2.34), and stroke length (SMD = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.23 to 1.49). In the second-tier analysis, water plus dry-land resistance training (W+DRT) ranked highest across 50m, 100m, swim velocity, and stroke metrics. Core training and power training showed specific benefits for 25m sprint (MD = -0.90s; 95% CI: -1.79 to -0.01) and take-off velocity (MD = 0.18 m/s; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.32). Conclusion: Combined aquatic and dry-land trainingespecially W+DRTmost effectively improves swimming performance and sport-specific skills. Core and power training function as targeted adjuncts. These findings provide a concise, precision-based prescription for physical preparation in competitive swimming.
Keywords: References: 38. Tables: 3; Figures: 9. Supplementary File: 1 Not applicable Competitive swimming, physical training, swimming performance, network, Competitive swimming, randomized controlled trials
Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Liu, Zhao and Gao. 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: Jie Gao, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.