Award Date
5-1-2022
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences
First Committee Member
John Mercer
Second Committee Member
James Navalta
Third Committee Member
Graham McGinnis
Fourth Committee Member
David Lee
Number of Pages
88
Abstract
Triathlon wetsuits are commonly used due to the potential benefits in swimming performance and thermoregulation. Triathletes may select different wetsuit styles depending on many factors such as temperature regulation, swimming technique, body type, and training purpose. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence for how different wetsuit styles affect physiological responses and swimming kinematics during submaximal swimming intensity. Therefore, this studyaimed to investigate the physiological responses and swimming kinematics during submaximal intensity front crawl swimming while wearing different wetsuit styles. Fourteen participants (n=6 male, n=8 female; all recreational triathletes or swimmers) completed a swimming graded exercise test (GXT) wearing only a swimsuit to determine maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2max). The test swimming pace for the experimental sessions was calculated as 80% of V̇ O2max from the GXT. Participants then completed four wetsuit conditions: regular swimsuit (NWS), buoyancy short (BS), sleeveless (SLW), and full sleeve wetsuit (FSW). Each swim was 4-minutes submaximal at the same test swimming pace. The order of the wetsuit conditions was randomized. All conditions were conducted in a swimming flume and metabolic measurements were made using a metabolic cart with a mixing chamber. The rate of oxygen consumption (V̇O2; ml·kg-1·min-1), rate of carbon dioxide production (V̇CO2; L·min-1), ventilation (VE; L·min-1), heart rate (HR; bpm), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and cost of transport (COT; J·kg-1·m-1) were determined as the average for the last minute of each condition. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was assessed after each condition. Also, the time to completion of 10 strokes was measured for further general stroke characteristics analysis such as stroke rate (SR; Hz), stroke length (SL; m), and stroke index (SI; m2/s). V̇O2, V̇CO2, VE, HR, and COT were each significantly different in the main effect by wetsuit conditions (p < 0.001). RER and RPE were significantly influenced by wetsuit conditions (p < 0.05). Based on the pairwise comparison, swimming without a wetsuit was significantly higher in V̇ O2, V̇ CO2, VE, HR, and RPE relative to the other wetsuit conditions (p < 0.05). Furthermore, V̇O2, V̇CO2, and COT during swimming with buoyancy shorts were significantly higher than SLW and FSW (p < 0.05). However, all dependent variables were not statistically different between SLW and FSW (p > 0.05). Stroke kinematics were not significantly different across the wetsuit conditions (p > 0.05). Positive correlations existed between V̇O2 and HR vs. stroke kinematics (i.e., SR, SL, SI). In addition, there were positive correlations between COT and SR. However, negative correlations existed between COT vs. SL and COT vs. SI. In conclusion, swimming with a regular swimsuit is the least economical at the test pace. In addition, it seems that either SLW or FSW can be used without significant physiological changes when swimming at 80% of V̇ O2max. Stroke kinematics did not change between wetsuit conditions. In addition, improving stroke length and index may be a good strategy for improving swimming efficiency.
Keywords
Stroke Kinematics; Swimming Physiology; Triathlon Swimming; Triathlon Wetsuits
Disciplines
Biomechanics | Kinesiology
File Format
File Size
1106 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Lim, Boram, "Investigation of Swimming Physiology and Swimming Kinematics while Wearing Different Triathlon Wetsuit Styles at Submaximal Front Crawl Swimming in Recreational Population" (2022). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 4428.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/31813313
Rights
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