Combined strength and endurance training in competitive swimmers

A combined intervention of strength and endurance training iscommon practice in elite swimming training, but the scientificevidence is scarce. the influences between strength and endurancetraining have been investigated in other sports but thefindings are scattered. some state the interventions are negativeto each other, some state there is no negative relationship andsome find bisected and supplementary benefits from the combinationwhen training is applied appropriately. the aim of thisstudy was to investigate the impact of a combined interventionamong competitive swimmers. 20 subjects assigned to a trainingintervention group (n = 11) or a control group (n = 9) from twodifferent teams completed the study. anthropometrical data,tethered swimming force, land strength, performance in 50m,100m and 400m, work economy, peak oxygen uptake, strokelength and stroke rate were investigated in all subjects at preandpost-test. a combined intervention of maximal strength andhigh aerobic intensity interval endurance training 2 sessions perweek over 11 weeks in addition to regular training were used,while the control group continued regular practice with theirrespective teams. the intervention group improved landstrength, tethered swimming force and 400m freestyle performancemore than the control group. the improvement of the 400mwas correlated with the improvement of tethered swimmingforce in the female part of the intervention group. no changeoccurred in stroke length, stroke rate, performance in 50m or100m, swimming economy or peak oxygen uptake duringswimming. two weekly dry-land strength training sessions for11 weeks increase tethered swimming force in competitiveswimmers. this increment further improves middle distanceswimming performance. 2 weekly sessions of high-intensityinterval training does not improve peak oxygen uptake comparedwith other competitive swimmers.