The effects of a loaded pre-competition activity using tethered swimming on 25-yard swim sprint performance 2021

Warmup is a standard practice for swim competitions, but there is minimal scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of pre-competition activities (PCA) after the swim warmup. This study examined whether a loaded PCA using tethered swimming while attached to a power rack improves performance in a 25-yard swim sprint. Post activation performance enhancement (PAPE) may be the proposed mechanism for improvement resulting from a loaded PCA. To determine if PAPE existed following the loaded PCA, varsity swimmers from SUNY Cortland performed a 25-yard sprint a loaded PCA and after an unloaded PCA (control). All participants performed a standard meet warmup (1600-yards) prior to completing the unloaded or loaded PCA. To counterbalance the swim trials, half the participants completed the loaded PCA during the first swim trial then completed the unloaded PCA during the second trial which took place forty-eight hours later, and vice versa for the other half of the sample. A paired samples t-test revealed no significant differences when comparing average group 25-yard time (s) after the loaded PCA and unloaded PCA (p \u3e .05). However, fifteen of the twenty-two participants (68% of the sample) improved their 25-yard sprint times following the loaded PCA with a 1.62% percent improvement (0.23 seconds) compared to the unloaded PCA on average