TY - JOUR
T1 - Case Study
T2 - Comparison of Swimsuits and Wetsuits Through Biomechanics and Energetics in Elite Female Open Water Swimmers
AU - Zacca, Rodrigo
AU - Mezêncio, Bruno
AU - de Souza Castro, Flávio A
AU - Nakamura, Fábio Y
AU - Pyne, David B
AU - Vilas-Boas, João Paulo
AU - Fernandes, Ricardo J
N1 - Funding Information:
Zacca, Mezêncio, Vilas-Boas, and Fernandes are with the Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, and the Porto Biomechanics Laboratory (LABIOMEP-UP), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Zacca is also with the CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia, Brazil. Mezêncio is also with the Laboratory of Biomechanics, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. de Souza Castro is with the School of Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Dance, Aquatic Sports Research Group (GPEA), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Nakamura is with the Dept of Physical Education, Associate Graduate Program in Physical Education, University of Pernambuco (UPE)/Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Pyne is with the University of Canberra Research Inst for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, ACT, Australia. Zacca ([email protected]) is corresponding author.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Human Kinetics, Inc
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - AIM: The authors investigated how the Arena Powerskin R-EVO Closed Back swimsuit and Arena Carbon Triwetsuit (full-sleeve wetsuit), both approved by the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) regulations, affect biomechanics and energetics of 3 elite female open water (OW) swimmers at maximal and 4 submaximal swimming intensities.METHODS: Three elite female OW swimmers (OW1 = 24 y, 1.64 m, 60 kg; OW2 = 23 y, 1.69 m, 65 kg; OW3 = 27 y, 1.63 m, 64.5 kg) were tested 1 week prior to a FINA/CNSG (China National Sports Group) Marathon Swim World Series event and 40 days before the 18th FINA World Championships 2019. Each OW swimmer completed 2 identical testing sessions, one with a swimsuit and other with a wetsuit, involving shoulder flexion power output assessed from medicine-ball throw, maximal performance and drag coefficient assessment, and an incremental intermittent swim test at 4 different relative intensities.RESULTS: Estimated peak oxygen uptake was 4.4 L·min-1 for OW1, 5.6 L·min-1 for OW2, and 5.0 L·min-1 for OW3. Despite a distinct behavior observed on index of coordination for OW3, a null index of synchronization, increased stroke rate (mean difference = 2%-8%), reduced drag factor (minimum = -14%; maximum = -30%), lower energy cost (mean difference = -2% to -6%), and faster performance (mean difference = 2% to 3%) were observed with the wetsuit compared with swimsuit for all elite OW swimmers.CONCLUSION: The wetsuit enhances submaximal swimming performance, and this increase is dependent on the OW swimmer's characteristics. The higher stroke rate and lower stroke length detected with wetsuit could be related to movement constraints imposed by the suit.
AB - AIM: The authors investigated how the Arena Powerskin R-EVO Closed Back swimsuit and Arena Carbon Triwetsuit (full-sleeve wetsuit), both approved by the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) regulations, affect biomechanics and energetics of 3 elite female open water (OW) swimmers at maximal and 4 submaximal swimming intensities.METHODS: Three elite female OW swimmers (OW1 = 24 y, 1.64 m, 60 kg; OW2 = 23 y, 1.69 m, 65 kg; OW3 = 27 y, 1.63 m, 64.5 kg) were tested 1 week prior to a FINA/CNSG (China National Sports Group) Marathon Swim World Series event and 40 days before the 18th FINA World Championships 2019. Each OW swimmer completed 2 identical testing sessions, one with a swimsuit and other with a wetsuit, involving shoulder flexion power output assessed from medicine-ball throw, maximal performance and drag coefficient assessment, and an incremental intermittent swim test at 4 different relative intensities.RESULTS: Estimated peak oxygen uptake was 4.4 L·min-1 for OW1, 5.6 L·min-1 for OW2, and 5.0 L·min-1 for OW3. Despite a distinct behavior observed on index of coordination for OW3, a null index of synchronization, increased stroke rate (mean difference = 2%-8%), reduced drag factor (minimum = -14%; maximum = -30%), lower energy cost (mean difference = -2% to -6%), and faster performance (mean difference = 2% to 3%) were observed with the wetsuit compared with swimsuit for all elite OW swimmers.CONCLUSION: The wetsuit enhances submaximal swimming performance, and this increase is dependent on the OW swimmer's characteristics. The higher stroke rate and lower stroke length detected with wetsuit could be related to movement constraints imposed by the suit.
KW - exercise physiology
KW - aquatic locomotion
KW - drag
KW - shoulder
KW - technique
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119340407&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1123/ijspp.2021-0044
DO - 10.1123/ijspp.2021-0044
M3 - Other Journal Article
C2 - 34343967
SN - 1555-0265
VL - 17
SP - 130
EP - 136
JO - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
JF - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
IS - 1
ER -