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Dry-land strength training is a common component of swimming programs; however, its efficacy is contentious. A common criticism of dry-land strength training for swimming is a lack of specificity. An understanding of movement patterns in swimming can enable dry-land strength training programs to be developed to elicit adaptations that transfer to improvements in swimming performance. This study aimed to quantify the range and velocity of hip roll, shoulder roll, and torso twist (produced by differences in the relative angle between shoulder roll and hip roll) in front crawl at different swimming speeds. Longitudinal torso kinematics was compared between sprint and 400-m pace front crawl using 3D kinematics of 13 elite Scottish front crawl specialists. The range (sprint: 78.1°; 400 m: 61.3°) and velocity of torso twist (sprint: 166.3°·s; 400 m: 96.9°·s) were greater at sprint than 400-m pace. These differences were attributed to reductions in hip roll (sprint: 36.8°; 400 m: 49.9°) without corresponding reductions in shoulder roll (sprint: 97.7°; 400 m: 101.6°) when subjects swam faster. Shoulder roll velocity (sprint: 190.9°·s; 400 m: 139.2°·s) and hip roll velocity (sprint: 75.5°·s; 400 m: 69.1°·s) were greater at sprint than 400-m pace due to a higher stroke frequency at sprint pace (sprint: 0.95 strokes·s; 400 m: 0.70 strokes·s). These findings imply that torques acting to rotate the upper torso and the lower torso are greater at sprint than 400-m pace. Dry-land strength training specificity can be improved by designing exercises that challenge the torso muscles to reproduce the torques required to generate the longitudinal kinematics in front crawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research investigating both the physiological and physical characteristics of elite dragon boat paddlers. The authors simulated 200-m (meter) and 500-m (meter) dragon boat racing in an attempt to identify characteristics that predict race performance and quantify the metabolic energy contributions. The results of tests measuring maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD), excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), and flexed arm girth in paddlers are discussed.

The article presents the results of a study which investigated use of high intensity dumbbell exercises to manage pain and fatigue in cases of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induced by isokinetic eccentric contractions. It focused on the negative impact of DOMS on dynamic movements involving the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), and demonstrated that this can be attenuated by vigorous warmup using submaximal weights.

The article reports on research conducted to examine the recovery of static and dynamic muscle performance after eccentric damage with and without repeated exercise, using different exercise modes between exercise bouts. Researchers evaluated 12 athletes who performed dumbbell exercises. They found that resistance training, including dumbbell exercises, may be continued after eccentric damage and that a delay in recovery onset may occur depending on which training method is used.

This study investigated the effect of movement velocity on the relationship between loading intensity and the number of repetitions of bench press. Thirteen healthy men (age = 21.7 ± 1.0 years; weight = 76.8 ± 2.5 kg; 1 repetition maximum [1RM] = 99.5 ± 6.0 kg), who were involved in regular weight training, voluntarily participated in the experiment. Subjects performed bench presses on a Smith machine at 5 different intensities (40-80% 1RM), repeated for 4 velocity conditions (slow: 0.15 ± 0.03 m·s-1; medium: 0.32 ± 0.07 m·s-1; fast: 0.52 ± 0.12 m·s-1; ballistic: maximum velocity), which were randomly assigned over 5 experimental sessions after a 1RM test. Velocity significantly changed the relationship between intensity (%1RM) and the number of reps performed (p < 0.001), with faster velocities producing a higher number of reps. A significant interaction between intensity and velocity meant that velocity had a much greater effect on repetitions at lower intensities. These results suggest that the benefits of using a stretch-shortening cycle during faster movements outweigh the associated disadvantages from the force-velocity relationship. The practical applications of this study are that, when trainees are assigned a resistance training with specific RM values, the lifted intensity (%1RM) or weights will not be consistent unless velocity is controlled during training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]