To Swim Down or Not To Swim Down

Column by Kevin Swander

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, October 16. IT has long been tradition in swimming to warm down after hard sets, practices and meets. From a very young age, swimmers are taught that warming down is essential for recovery and injury prevention. There are countless studies out there that reinforce this school of thought, and I tend to agree with them that warming down is essential. However, the other day I had a thought…what if warming down wasn't always necessary? What if there may be a benefit to not warming down after practice or races?

How so? Some of you may be asking. Here's what I was thinking about: If a swimmer, during hard training, chose to not swim down; is there any benefit to a "passive warm down"? Keep in mind this would only be during hard training or racing, during taper athletes should always swim down, and especially at championship meets!

We know that swimmers are taught from an early age that after a hard practice or meet they should warm down, they are told this so they can ‘recover' faster and will be ready for the next practice or race. Personally, I had never known why we swam down other than that it was supposed to make me feel better. It wasn't until college that I actually learned what is really happening to my body. Hopefully, I will do my teacher's justice and explain it correctly!

The processes that lead to fatigue in the body are not 100 percent clear even today, but what we do know is that the waste-products from energy consumption (the energy required to practice/race) have lowered the pH of the blood making it more acidic; this is what most swim coaches refer to as lactic acid production.

Most people tend to think "lactic acid" is the sole cause of fatigue. Scientists now theorize that this isn't completely true. They state that there are many processes that cause fatigue and that "lactic acid" is not the sole determinant.

What scientists have discovered (and why we tend to use "lactic acid" as an index of fatigue) is that the "lactic acid" levels in our blood tend to coincide with the given intensity of an exercise bout. This means that the harder we exercise, the more "lactic acid" we produce.

Therefore, many (including myself), assume that the less "lactic acid" that is in our bodies, the better; which is why we (as athletes) warm down after intense exercise. Research experiments have shown that during an active warm down the "lactic acid" levels can return to baseline in as little as 20 minutes; however, during passive warm down the process can take as long as 2 hours.

What all of this means is that after practice and racing, "lactic acid" levels can be returned to baseline faster by warming down.

My question to coaches, scientists, swimmers, and anyone else interested is, could there be any benefit or ‘training effect' from a passive warm down during intense portions of the season? Does a swimmer (or athlete) gain any extra benefit from having the body under an added strain up to two hours after practice or racing?

This question is open to answers from anyone, I am eager to hear other people's thoughts, opinions, experiences, research, etc.

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