Designing performance systems that adapt instead of break

Across the set of included studies, the message is consistent enough to matter. Adding strength and conditioning alongside swim training tends to improve sprint freestyle performance, and the meta analysis supports improvements in fifty meter and one hundred meter outcomes compared with swim training alone.1

A peer reviewed trial in Frontiers in Physiology puts a clean spotlight on comparing cold water immersion, percussive massage, and passive rest after an exhausting eccentric protocol designed to leave the lower body fatigued and sore

World Aquatics updated the backstroke finish rule (SW 6.3) so that once a swimmer’s head passes the 5 m mark before the wall, they’re allowed to fully submerge—which means they can potentially dolphin kick underwater into the finish instead of staying on the surface for a “classic” touch.

Pre-cooling boosts work in the heat. Internal/external precooling can enhance intermittent and endurance performance—slushies, ice towels, cool rooms.

Technique scoping review. Groundstrokes/serves: sequencing and EMG timing themes guide cueing and camera-based feedback.

80/20 (or pyramidal) isn’t dogma—use event specificity. Blend polarized foundations with race-specific threshold/CP work in the final meso.

HIIT still works for trained folks—dose wisely. Meta-analyses show performance gains in trained athletes; >8-week blocks favor strength outcomes too.

Vertical & horizontal FV profiling. Use CMJ/sprint profiling to locate deficits and predict change in jump/sprint with targeted work.

Max-strength vs. plyo vs. endurance for starts. Head-to-head comparisons show program choice changes block time & flight; periodize across the season.