In swimming, one of the aims of the training is the individualization of the swimming intensities along with the objective to optimize the training.Many of the physiological references for determining the swimming intensities are taken from swimmers without any type of functional disability. In fact, there are few studies that give relevant information about the physiological response in disabled swimmers. The International Paralympic Committee establishes 10 different classes depending on the loco motor ability of the swimmer. This way so, the purpose of the present study has been to analyze if there are physiological differences between disabled and non disabled swimmers at anaerobic and aerobic swim intensities. Material and methods: 38 well-trained swimmers volunteered for the study: 7 disabled swimmers of the class 1 to 5 (G1), 12 swimmers of the class 6 to 10 (G2) and 19 swimmers without functional disability (G3). The test consisted of swimming 2 repetitions at maximum speed with 30` rest between them. The fi rst repetition (R1) had a length of 223,99±7,87 seconds. The second repetition (R2) had a duration of 71,66±2,46 seconds. To the minutes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 after fi nishing every distance a sample of 5 ìl of capillary blood was taken to determine the maximum accumulation of LA in R1 at an intensity of aerobic-anaerobic swim and in R2 at an anaerobic intensity. To determine LA, the lactate analyzer Lactate-Pro was used. To find the descriptive ones (mean, standard mean error), standard statistical methods were used. To establish the differences of means between groups the test t was used for independent samples. Results: The Table 1 shows the results obtained in every repetition by each of the groups. Conclusions: At anaerobic and aerobic-anaerobic swim intensities, low class swimmers have a physiological lower response in comparison with high class swimmers and those without functional disability. Nevertheless, the high class swimmers have a physiological response similar to the swimmers without functional disability. Therefore, it would be advisable to individualize the analysis of the physiological answers in the swimmers of low classes with the objective to optimize the training intensities.
© Copyright 2008 Archivos de medicina del deporte. Federación Española de Medicina del Deporte. All rights reserved.