Effects of olympic weightlifting–derived zexercises on physical performance in preadolescent swimmers: a pilot study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v73.117418Keywords:
strength training, muscle power, youth swimming, physical performanceAbstract
Introduction: Weightlifting-derived exercises, such as the snatch and the clean & jerk, have been proposed as effective strategies to improve physical performance by enhancing transfer to sport-specific technical actions across different disciplines.
Objective: To analyze the effects of a twelve-week program of weightlifting-derived exercises on physical performance in youth fin-swimming athletes.
Methodology: A longitudinal descriptive design with a quantitative approach and pretest–posttest measurements was employed. Six youth fin-swimmers participated (age: 11.6 ± 0.9 years; body mass: 38.5 ± 6.3 kg; height: 1.43 ± 0.1 m; BMI: 18.9 ± 1.9 kg/m²). Performance variables included medicine ball throw, countermovement jump (CMJ), and back squat execution velocity. The training program consisted of progressive overload exercises carried out over 12 weeks.
Results: Significant improvements were observed in the medicine ball throw (+15.1%, p=0.002) and in back squat execution velocity (p<0.05). Although CMJ increased by 5.9%, this change did not reach statistical significance (p=0.11).
Discussion: Evidence regarding strength training in youth populations remains heterogeneous. While approaches range from bodyweight training to the use of external loads, the present findings reinforce the usefulness of weightlifting-derived exercises to develop power in young athletes.
Conclusions: Weightlifting-derived exercises constitute an effective strategy to enhance upper-body power and lower-body execution velocity in youth fin-swimmers. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm their effects on vertical jump performance.
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