Cardio-pulmonary Characteristics during Land and Swimming Exercise

Cardio-pulmonary response was compared in nine American swimmers (18-21 year) during tethered swimming and land exercise. VE was significantly higher in land (P<.05) than in swimming due to the higher f. At a comparable VO2 greater HR was observed in land exercise during submaximal work. However, during maximal work the difference disappeared. The DLco increased linearly with VO2 during land exercise but plateaued out during swimming so that compared to land DLco was higher in swimming at submaximal work. There was a linear increase in Vc with increase in VO2 in both swimming and land exercise. The Vc during swimming was significantly higher (P<.01) than that in land exercise over all work loads. During submaximalwork VE, HR, DLco, and Vc were affected by the water immersion and posture. However, during maximal work in spite of higher Vc in swimming the DLco was almost the same as that in land exercise. It was postulated that the stimulus for an adequate oxygen uptake is governed by the work demand which overcomes any influence from other sources such as water immersion or posture.