Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate the reliability of metabolic, stroke rate and stroke count measurements using a novel pacing device: the Aquapacer™. Ten male swimmers with mean ± s age=21±4yrs; stature=177±7cm; body mass=74.9±6.9kg; sum of four skinfolds=31.9±9.2mm and 200m time trial time=171.5±17.6s, volunteered for the study. Subjects completed two 200m breaststroke swims, at 85% and 95% of the pace of a maximal 200m time trial. This protocol was repeated on two further occasions, 48 hours apart. All variables demonstrated no practically-important nor statistically significant systematic changes across trials (P>0.05). The 95% limits of agreement (LOA) indicated random measurement error of between 1.6% and 18.2% of mean values for most variables. Such error magnitudes were deemed acceptable for the Aquapacer™ to be used in research settings and sports science support work on individual athletes. Carbon dioxide expired and blood lactate concentration following the swims at 85% of 200TT demonstrated measurement error (LOA)>32 %, which would make the detection of meaningful changes in either research or for individuals difficult. The latter finding has implications for assessing fitness at sub-maximal speeds and the identification of the lactate threshold.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 35-54 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Human Movement Studies |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2004 |