Are Dry-Land Force-Velocity Abilities Related to In-Water Load-Velocity Profiles in Sprint Swimming?

Dry-land maximal strength was more strongly correlated to in-water swimming parameters than dry-land maximal speed.

• Study included 10 male and 7 female sprint swimmers (age: 18 ± 2.2 years; body mass: 67.5 ± 6.3 kg; height: 178.7 ± 7.9 cm)
• Dry-land force-velocity profiles were assessed on three exercises: lat pulldown, bench press, and bench pull
• In-water load-velocity profiles were assessed using a semi-tethered swimming protocol
• Multiple linear regressions and Spearman correlations were used with significance level p < 0.05

Strong relationships were found between maximal force measured on the lat pulldown exercise and swimming parameters.

• The lat pulldown showed the strongest associations with in-water parameters among the three dry-land exercises tested
• The other dry-land exercises tested were bench press and bench pull
• This finding emphasizes the lat pulldown as a particularly relevant exercise for swimming performance

Dry-land maximal force, velocity, and power parameters had a stronger association with maximal swimming velocity than with maximal swimming load.

• This pattern was observed across the dry-land force-velocity profile parameters
• Maximal swimming velocity and maximal swimming load were both derived from the in-water semi-tethered load-velocity profile
• The finding suggests that dry-land training parameters are more predictive of unloaded sprint swimming capacity than tethered force production

A sex-dependent effect was observed regarding load-velocity parameters and some dry-land parameters including dry-land maximal power.

• The sample consisted of 10 male and 7 female swimmers
• Sex differences were specifically noted for in-water load-velocity parameters and dry-land maximal power
• Sex was considered as a variable in the analyses through multiple linear regressions

Previous studies have shown that the ability to produce maximal power and maximal force on dry-land is strongly related to sprint swimming performance.

• Swimming propulsion can be improved using dry-land resistance training
• The relationship between dry-land force-velocity and in-water load-velocity profiles had remained underexplored prior to this study
• This gap in knowledge motivated the current investigation into these relationships in sprint swimmers