The Effect of an Upper Body Warm Up Versus Passive Swim on 100 Meter Freestyle Times

Authors

William P. Celis, Texas Lutheran UniversityFollow

Abstract

Warming up before an athletic event is vital for ideal performance and injury prevention. However, the ideal type of warm-up is often debated. In swimming, previous research has demonstrated that in-water warm-ups generally provide better results compared to on-land warm-ups Yet, limited studies have directly compared the effects of land-based versus in-water warm-ups on swimming performance. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 5-minute passive in-water warm-up versus a 5-minute dynamic land-based warm-up on 100-meter freestyle swim times. METHODS: Participants included 31 individuals (25 men and 6 women), 9 of whom were from a Master Swim class, while the remaining 22 were college students from Texas Lutheran University (TLU). On the first day of the study, participants completed either a 5-minute dynamic land-based warm-up or a 5-minute passive in-water warm-up, followed by a timed 100-meter freestyle swim. Several days later, participants returned to complete the alternate warm-up method before performing another timed 100-meter freestyle swim. After collecting all swim times, three separate paired t-tests were conducted to evaluate whether the type of warm-up had a significant impact on 100-meter freestyle performance. The tests analyzed (1) overall performance differences, (2) variations by age and (3) distinctions between novice and experienced swimmers.[ES1] RESULTS: All three t-tests showed no statistically significant differences between the two warm-up methods (include specific p-values here). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that neither a 5-minute passive in-water warm-up nor a 5-minute dynamic land-based warm-up provided a clear advantage in improving 100-meter freestyle swim times. Potential limitations of this study include participants' activities in the days prior to testing and the potential for fatigue from the swimming warm-up to negatively affect novice swimmers. Although this study did not yield statistically significant results, further research is warranted to explore the effects of different warm-up types on swimming performance, particularly with larger sample sizes and controlled external factors.

Recommended Citation

Celis, William P. (2025) "The Effect of an Upper Body Warm Up Versus Passive Swim on 100 Meter Freestyle Times," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 17, Article 97.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/97