The effect of controlled warm-up exercises on the crawl swimming performance of under-15 male waterpolo players

Abstract

The effect of controlled warm-up exercises on crawl swimming performance was determined in 31 under-15 male water polo players. The study employed a two-group crossover design in which the subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group swam a 50m crawl sprint with no preliminary warm-up, followed two days later by a 50m crawl sprint with a preliminary controlled warm-up. The other group did the two swims in reverse order. The controlled warm-up programme consisted of approximately 4 minutes of dynamic exercise and 8 minutes of passive stretching. Results showed a decrease in performance times of 71% of the subjects after exposure to a controlled warm-up programme. This positive effect was attributed to the increase in muscle temperature, leading to an increase in the speed of muscle contraction, smoother muscle contraction and improved strength of muscle contraction. Thus it was concluded that controlled warm-up exercises have a positive effect on the crawl swimming performance of under 15 male water polo players.