Needs Analysis

Needs Analysis

Evaluation of Sport

Competitive swimming is a sport which involves multiple muscle groups when racing and training. As a result of this, both muscular endurance and muscular strength are key components of fitness. Muscular strength provides the power, which results in an increase in speed when moving through the water. The power comes from the arm pull under the water, with an increase in strength allowing for a greater force exerted on the water. Power also comes from the legs during the leg kick motion. A more powerful kick increases propulsion in the water, again resulting in an increased speed. Muscular endurance backs up the strength of the swimmer, it allows them to maintain the power output during a race, enabling them to keep up a race pace when competing.

A 400m individual medley swimmer would require a balance of strength, and endurance in order to maintain their power during their race. The dominant energy system also depends on distance. A 400m swimmer would use all three energy systems, with the lactic acid system being the dominant energy pathway. Racing at this distance involves some form of tactical pacing but would still involve swimming at a high intensity.

 

Evaluation of Athlete

The athlete is a male swimmer, aged 23 who performs at a national level, in the 400m individual medley event. Currently the athlete in question is at the start of his in-season and therefore the primary resistance training goal is to maintain the strength gained in pre-season while allowing time to focus on swim training. The secondary goals are to maintain muscular endurance in relation to core stability and to prevent further shoulder pain.

The athlete is currently free of injury, but experiences some undefined and intermittent bilateral shoulder pain after very long training sessions. This is common among swimmers and therefore prehabilitation exercises will aim to stabilise the shoulder joint and improve muscular endurance to address this issue.

The swimmer has 4 years’ experience using free-weights and resistance machines, performing well on basic strength tests provided, as well as balance tests. However issues with co-ordination were found throughout along with agility and general running issues; both running mechanics and the use of running as a cardiovascular exercise. The poor performance of agility and running mechanics were not a priority, due to the lack of relevance to swimming.