Dynamics of Metabolic and Biomechanical Criteria of Preparedness of Elite Female Swimmers at 200 M Events within a Macrocycle

Proceeding from the available objective scientific information on energy supply and biomechanics of swimming, to work out and implement the individual training program for elite swimmers, practical coaches generally apply a macro approach: training impact →?→sports result.In other words, the principle of the "black box" is used since the internal mechanisms for swimmer"s energetic and biomechanical systems functioning are not sufficiently studied.However, from the standpoint of the entire organism, between the energy supply, biomechanics, and the useful outcome of the swimmer"s activity, there are functional relationships, formalized as biophysical models [1,2,3].Evidently, the main outcome of an athlete"s activity in water locomotion is swimming velocity at the competition distance, which predominantly contributes to the sports result.These are the biophysical models that make it possible to apply a more efficient microapproach: training impact → rationale→ outcome (swimming velocity).With a swimmer"s steady non-stationary motion in water performed with any sports technique, at the first stage, the produced metabolic power is transformed with losses into mechanical power, which, at the second stage, is transformed with additional losses into the athlete"s swimming velocity.For sports swimming, this process is formalized as a corresponding biophysical model [4]:Abstract: The research aimed at improving the training process for medium-distance swimmers on the basis of regular and interconnected analyses of metabolic and biomechanical criteria of their preparedness.The study involved four elite female swimmers who specialized in different swimming techniques ata distance of 200 m (825-988 FINA Points).During the macrocycle of preparation for the 2017 World Swimming Championship, in the 8×200 m step-test with progressively increasing swimming velocity, a longitudinal shift of the metabolic curve was observed, the direction of which primarily depended on the completed training load.Based on the biophysical model of the process under study, the analysis of swimming velocity values at the last stage of the test showed that variations in the volume, intensity, and content of training work at different preparation periods result in targeted, strongly interconnected and, sometimes, significant dynamics of the level of preparedness.In the taper phase, quantitative (numerical) criteria of special preparedness of the three female swimmers who successfully performed at the World Swimming Championship were recorded within the range typical for that distance: metabolic power =1331-1491W, mechanical efficiency =0.059-0.063andpropelling efficiency =0.71-0.73.Thus, the key factor for a swimmer's successful performance at the major competitions is the balance between the levels of functional, strength, and technical preparedness in the taper phase of the training program within the entire macrocycle.