The influence of different distances on determination of critical velocity in swimmers

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of different distance combinations on critical velocity (CV) and anaerobic work capacity (AWC). Nineteen swimmers experienced in this training modality participated in the study. CV was calculated by the angular coefficient of the linear regression line between distance and time obtained for each repetition. Five distances (50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 m) performed at an interval of 24 hours were used for the determination of CV, followed by the following four combinations of distances: CV1 (50, 100 and 200 m), CV2 (100, 200 and 400 m), CV3 (200, 400 and 800 m), and CV4 (50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 m). The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine the normality of the data. One-way ANOVA was used for comparisons between CV and the different combinations of shots (p < 0.05). The combination of smaller distances (CV1) resulted in an increase of CV (1.47 ± 0.13) and a decrease of AWC (11.91 ± 2.61). The use of shots of medium and long distance resulted in a lower CV (1.38 ± 0.10, 1.34 ± 0.09 and 1.36 ± 0.09 for CV2, CV3 and CV4, respectively) and higher AWC (19.84 ± 6.74, 27.44 ± 6.91 and 18.43 ± 5.21) when compared to short shots. The results suggest that shot distance influences CV and AWC, overestimating or underestimating the speed corresponding to maximum lactate steady state.