EVALUATION OF A SWIM BENCH

Abstract

Swim benches are used in dry-land training and for performance diagnosis by most elite swimmers. For the purpose of diagnosis generally the swimmer's mechanical output power is measured. But there are some problems: E. g. the influence of the water resistance and the influence of the legs' power to swimming are not included in a swim bench test. Competitive performances (200 m) and data from swim bench tests (average mechanical output power) of four elite female swimmers (one participant of Olympic finals 2000 and three participants of German championships) over a period of two years were correlated for each swimmer. The results suggest, that swim benches are useful for an individual performance diagnosis if the mechanical output power is acquired.