Problem Statement: Both the aerobic and the anaerobic metabolic systems contribute to the majority of competitive swimming events with a significant energy supply coming from glycolysis, which can lead to blood lactate accumulation. Importantly, stroke technique is a significant determinant of the energy cost of swimming. Head turning for inhalation can potentially affect hydrodynamic resistance, in turn influencing performance, while breathing restriction may contribute to fatigue. Purpose: Sufficient breathing is more important in longer distances with greater aerobic demand, thus, it is expected that restricting oxygen delivery would alter the metabolic contribution of these durations. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to compare metabolic responses to an incremental swim test with different breathing patterns in young competitive swimmers in the 200-m front crawl. Approach: Competitive male youth swimmers were recruited (n=8, Age=15 +- 2, Height=177.5 +- 9.6, Body weight=65.3 +- 11.8) from a local swim club. A 7 x 200m incremental swim test was conducted with two different breathing rates: 1, breathing every three strokes (BR3) 2, breathing every five strokes (BR5) in a counterbalanced fashion and blood lactate and heart rate (HR) responses were recorded. Data were compared using a 2-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Results: Although there was a main effect for time (p=0.000), lactate and HR responses did not show significant condition by time interaction for the BR3 and BR5 breathing conditions (p=0.098 and p=0.262, respectively). Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scores were almost identical on the 10-point Borg-scale between the two conditions at the completion of the swim test without any statistically significant difference (p=0.402). Conclusions: Experienced swimmers may attempt to control their breathing in order to increase swimming velocity by reducing drag without compromising performance due to lactate accumulation and fatigue. The current findings demonstrate that restricted breathing is feasible for longer (e.g. 200m) swimming distances.
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