Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of two resistance exercises on 25 m freestyle swimming performance. Twenty-eight regional and national male swimmers volunteered and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Resistance Swimming Group (RS): (n=9; 16.2 ± 3.8 yr), Elastic Band Group (EB): (n=9; 15.9 ± 4.0 yr.), and Control Group(C) (n=10; 15.7 ± 2.2 yr). Swimmers completed a 25 m swim trial at baseline. Subsequently, RS performed resisted crawl swimming with 30% of maximum load (1RM) in a power rack for 12 m and 30 seconds later a 25 m maximal swim trial. EB performed 10 seconds of arm freestyle strokes with elastic bands and 30 seconds later a 25 m maximal swim trial. C performed only the second 25 m maximal swim trial. Each group repeated this protocol four times, with two minutes of rest between repetitions. A two-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences in 25 m swimming times between groups for any of the repetitions performed, and there were no significant differences in 25 m swimming times between the repetitions within each group. The results showed that the resistance exercises performed in this study before the 25 m swim trials did not affect swimming times.