Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor | Department of Rehabilitation Sciences | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | So, Billy (RS) | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Ng, Shamay (RS) | en_US |
| dc.creator | Kwok, Wan Yu | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/13415 | - |
| dc.language | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | en_US |
| dc.rights | All rights reserved | en_US |
| dc.title | The effects of strength and conditioning training program on front crawl swimming performance, core muscle activity and force performance in swimming athletes | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Strength and conditioning (S&C) training, is prescribed for front crawl (FC) swimming performance enhancement, including resistance and plyometric training. Core training has received little attention though core muscles could stabilize the motions between upper and lower body during FC. Study showed greater core muscle activation in sprinting than middle-distance events, suggesting core training may benefit FC performance. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Few studies examined the effects of core training on force and muscle activation. Force is correlated with FC performance, but rarely studied in relation to core training. Surface electromyography (sEMG) is commonly used to assess muscle activation in swimming research, but no studies evaluate the training effects on muscle activation, instead studies measured the muscle strength tests only, to evaluate the effects of S&C training. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Core training warrants further investigation of the effects on force performance and core muscle activation. This would provide comprehensive understanding of potential benefits. The main purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of 8-week dry-land core training on 50M FC swimming time, tethered swimming force and core muscle activity. We hypothesize core training would improve swimming time, tethered swimming force and core muscle activation. This would be the first study to evaluate the effects of core training in various aspects. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | First, Chapter 3 was a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research about the effects of S&C training on FC and biomechanical performance. The positive results suggested S&C training was statistically significant on improving FC performance and strokes biomechanics. Also, the study highlighted that there is insufficient evidence on the effects of core training on FC swim. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | In Chapter 4, another systematic review focused on muscle activation of FC swim. This review described the studies’ characteristics and identified the research gaps in existing literature. Electromyography (EMG) studies mostly investigated muscle activation of the upper and lower limbs by using wired sEMG, but no study has been investigated by using wireless sEMG. Future research can adopt a wireless system to reduce restrictions on swimmers during the test. Furthermore, there is insufficient investigation on the core muscles during FC swim, which should have more research to be conducted in the future to have better understanding about core muscles. Besides, there is no study adopting sEMG to evaluate the changes in muscle activation after training. Hence, by using sEMG would allow us to quantify the changes after the S&C training. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Moreover, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Chapter 5, which adopted the tethered swimming test (TST) to collect swimming force data and evaluate its relationships with FC swimming performance and anthropometrics. This study demonstrated significant correlations between swimming tethered force, FC performance and anthropometrics. Importantly, the tethered swimming force can also predict FC performance. Therefore, tethered swimming force should be included as one of the outcome measures in future investigations. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | Furthermore, Chapter 6, the main study of this thesis, was an intervention study to evaluate whether additional 8-week core training could be beneficial to FC swimming performance, tethered swimming force by TST and core muscle activity by sEMG. This study was conducted to address the research gaps that we have highlighted and pointed out in previous studies. We hypothesized core training would enhance swimming performance and tethered force. Also, we estimated core muscle activation would significantly change after core training. | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | In the main study, 32 FC swimmers were randomly allocated to experimental (EG) or control groups (CG), stratified by sex. The EG completed an additional 8-week dry-land core training in addition to their normal swimming training. The CG only maintained their regular swimming training. Outcomes were collected twice (pre-intervention and post-intervention), including a 50m FC time trial, TST to collect tethered swimming force, and core muscle activity assessed by sEMG. Results showed non-significant interaction effects for most measured parameters. However, the EG demonstrated significant within group improvements in both swimming time, and some tethered swimming force parameters compared to the CG. Besides, no significant differences were observed in muscle activation and co-contraction index (CCI) also showed varied changes between groups and sexes. This study provides a novel insight, suggesting that core training would benefit FC performance and force production. But divergent neuromuscular adaptations were observed between sexes, warranting further exploration. Importantly, no injuries were reported during the 8-week training. With more improvement shown in the swimmers of EG, this finding further supports the implementation of core training to optimize swimming performance. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | 403 pages : color illustrations | en_US |
| dcterms.isPartOf | PolyU Electronic Theses | en_US |
| dcterms.issued | 2024 | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | Ph.D. | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | All Doctorate | en_US |
| dcterms.accessRights | open access | en_US |
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