"The Effect of a Dynamic Warm-up versus In-Water Warm-up on Swim Times" by William P. Celis
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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.

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