Swimming performance can be described as the result of the transformation of the swimmer's metabolic power into mechanical power with a given energetic efficiency. Most of the energy produced by the swimmer is utilized to overcome water resistance or drag, and the rate of energy expenditure theoretically increases with the cube of the velocity. This energy is generated by the sum of the immediate (phosphagen), short-term (anaerobic glycolysis) and long-term (oxidative phosphorilation or aerobic) energy delivery systems. The relative contribution of each system has been frequently determined on research developed in other types of exercise activities or from linear calculations. The modeling of the energy metabolism behavior using computer simulation, combined with physiological field measurements, offers new insights and improved estimations on the relative contribution of the energy delivery systems.
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