Adaptability in Swimming Pattern: How Propulsive Action Is Modified as a Function of Speed and Skill

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to identify how spatiotemporal, kinetic, and kinematic parameters could (i) characterize swimmers' adaptability to different swimming speeds and (ii) discriminate expertise level among swimmers. Twenty male participants, grouped into (a) low-, (b) medium-, and (c) high-expertise levels, swam at four different swim paces of 70, 80, 90% (for 20 s), and 100% (for 10 s) of their maximal speed in a swimming flume. We hypothesized that (i) to swim faster, swimmers increase both propulsion time and the overall force impulse during a swimming cycle; (ii) in the frequency domain, expert swimmers are able to maintain the relative contribution of the main harmonics to the overall force spectrum. We used three underwater video cameras to derive stroking parameters [stroke rate (SR), stroke length (SL), stroke index (SI)]. Force sensors placed on the hands were used to compute kinetic parameters, in conjunction with video data. Parametric statistics examined speed and expertise effects. Results showed that swimmers shared similarities across expertise levels to increase swim speed: SR, the percentage of time devoted to propulsion within a cycle, and the index of coordination (IdC) increased significantly. In contrast, the force impulse (I ⁺) generated by the hand during propulsion remained constant. Only the high-expertise group showed modification in the spectral content of its force distribution at high SR. Examination of stroking parameters showed that only high-expertise swimmers exhibited higher values of both SL and SI and that the low- and high-expertise groups exhibited similar IdC and even higher magnitude in I ⁺. In conclusion, all swimmers exhibit adaptable behavior to change swim pace when required. However, high-skilled swimming is characterized by broader functional adaptation in force parameters.

Keywords: constraint-led approach; coordination; expertise; force; motor control; spectral analysis.

Figure 1

Locations of the force sensors over the hand.

Figure 2

Example force time series from a national level swimmer at two different paces (V1 = 1.2 m.s⁻¹, 70% vs. V4 = 1.8 m.s⁻¹, 100%), and the corresponding duration of the swim phases for each pace. The graph illustrates how two cycles can have comparable overall impulses (I⁺/stroke) whereas Fpull and Fpush are of higher magnitude at V4 compared to V1.