(50) ACTIVE RECOVERY ENHANCES BLOOD LACTATE CLEARANCE REGARDLESS OF SPECIALITY OR DISTANCE IN MALE NCAA DIVISION I SWIMMERS

Purpose: This study sought to determine whether male NCAA Division I (DI) swimmers of differing specialties and distances differ in blood lactate clearance during passive or active recovery following a high-intensity, event-specific swimming bout. Methods: Twenty male NCAA D1 swimmers (age=21.1 ± 1.9 years; height=184.9 ± 5.9 cm; weight=82.5 ± 8.0 kg) were divided according to their event specialty by distance and stroke and made to complete a “broken swim” of their respective events (100 back, n=1; 100 free, n=2; 200 fly, n=2; 200 back, n=4; 200 breast, n=3; 200 free, n=2; 400 individual medley- IM, n=2; 500 free, n=4). Swimmers were grouped by event distance and randomized to either a passive (passive; n=10) or active (active; n=10) recovery group post-swim. The active recovery consisted of a 1,000-yard, self-paced swim consistent with their typical team process. After a standardized warm-up, baseline blood lactate concentration (mMol) was measured via finger prick and recorded. Blood lactate was subsequently measured and recorded at 0 min, 2 min, 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, and 20 min post-swim. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess changes in blood lactate from baseline (α = 0.05). Post-hoc tests were completed with the Holm correction factor. ANCOVAs were also conducted to account for event distance and stroke. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated. Results: Blood lactate increased from baseline in both groups (p< 0.001), but returned to baseline at 15 min and 20 min post-swim in the active group only (p >0.05). There were large differences between conditions at 10 min (p=0.015; d=2.180), 15 min (p=0.018; d=2.202), and 20 min (p=0.004; d=2.290) post-swim. There was no impact of stroke or event distance on clearance (p >0.05). Conclusions: Active recovery enhances blood lactate clearance following a high-intensity event-specific swimming bout regardless of specialty or distance in male NCAA DI swimmers. Practical Applications: These findings highlight the need for active recovery measures in swimmers, particularly when they may have to swim multiple events in relatively quick succession in competition settings. This may suggest that event distance and stroke have little impact on blood lactate clearance, and, therefore, active recovery methods should be considered for all swimmers, independent of event specialty. Future work should examine whether non-swimming recovery methods, such as walking or cycling out of the pool, can similarly enhance blood lactate clearance since in-pool active recovery may not always be feasible in some competition settings. Acknowledgements: None.