RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRYLAND STRENGTH AND SWIMMING PERFORMANCE: PULL-UP MECHANICS AS A PREDICTOR OF SWIMMING SPEED

This study aimed to examine the validity of the countermovement jump (CMJ) and the pull-up exercise as predictors of swimming performance. Twelve young male swimmers (Mean +/- SD, 19 +/- 3 years; 75 +/- 10 kg; 180 +/- 6 cm) with a homogenous level of performance (50-m freestyle time [50(F)]: 26.41 +/- 1.44 seconds, coefficient of variance: 5.5%) participated in this study. Subjects performed a test of a single pull-up (PU) and a test of maximum number of pull-ups until muscular failure (PUF), and the mechanics of the ascending phase were recorded using a lineal force transducer. The height reached in a single CMJ test and the mean height during 30 consecutive CMJs were also determined. The swimmers' 50-m leg-only swimming time (503 was also registered. The 50 F time was strongly correlated with different variables of the PU (r= -0.76 to -0.80; p <= 0.05) and PUF test (r= -0.64 to -0.88; p < 0.05), but not with the number of pull-ups performed. A significant relationship between 50 F and 50 L was observed (r= 0.78; p < 0.05), with no relationship between the CMJ tests and swimming performance. Furthermore, multiple linear regression showed that 50(L) and the relative loss of velocity during the PUF test accounted for 84% (p < 0.001) of the 50(F) performance variance. This study shows the validity of the analysis of pull-up mechanics and 50(L) to predict short-distance swimming performance in trained swimmers, confirming the importance of upper-limb strength and leg kick on this sport.