Validating Physiological And Biomechanical Parameters During Intermittent Swimming At Speed Corresponding To Lactate Concentration Of 4 Mmol Center Dot L-1

Background: Physiological and biomechanical parameters obtained during testing need validation in a training setting. The purpose of this study was to compare parameters calculated by a 5 x 200-m test with those measured during an intermittent swimming training set performed at constant speed corresponding to blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol center dot L-1 (V4). Methods: Twelve competitive swimmers performed a 5 x 200-m progressively increasing speed front crawl test. Blood lactate concentration (BL) was measured after each 200 m and V4 was calculated by interpolation. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), stroke rate (SR) and stroke length (SL) were determined during each 200 m. Subsequently, BL, HR, SR and SL corresponding to V4 were calculated. A week later, swimmers performed a 5 x 400-m training set at constant speed corresponding to V4 and BL-5x400, HR-5x400, RPE-5x400, SR-5x400, SL-5x400 were measured. Results: BL-5x400 and RPE-5x400 were similar (p > 0.05), while HR-5x400 and SR-5x400 were increased and SL-5x400 was decreased compared to values calculated by the 5 x 200-m test (p < 0.05). Conclusion: An intermittent progressively increasing speed swimming test provides physiological information with large interindividual variability. It seems that swimmers adjust their biomechanical parameters to maintain constant speed in an aerobic endurance training set of 5 x 400-m at intensity corresponding to 4 mmol center dot L-1.