Low-Volume High-Intensity Race-Pace Training in Finswimmers

Overview

This single-group case series describe individual responses to a 9-week low-volume, high-intensity race-pace training block in 5 finswimmers from the Antioquia Underwater Activities League (LASA), Colombia. The intervention will be oriented towards race-specific swimming paces and will include repeated swimming efforts prescribed according to each athlete's main competitive event. External training load, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, pace stability, and sport performance were monitored throughout the block. The primary outcome was the change in performance time in each athlete's main competitive event from baseline to post-intervention. The study used an intra-individual descriptive approach and did not include randomisation, a control group, or causal inference.

Finswimming is a high-speed aquatic sport in which performance in short and middle-distance events depends on the ability to produce and sustain race-specific velocity. Traditional aquatic training models often emphasise high training volume; however, for events lasting from seconds to a few minutes, race-pace work, neuromuscular quality, and individualised load monitoring may be particularly relevant. This study follows 5 finswimmers from the Antioquia Underwater Activities League (LASA) during a 9-week low-volume, high-intensity training block. All participants received the same general training approach, but training distances, repetitions, target times, and race-pace references were individualised according to each athlete's main competitive event. Before the intervention, athletes completed a basic characterisation and a baseline performance assessment using an official competition result. Training target times were estimated from the baseline performance. During the 9-week block, the investigators recorded external load variables, including distance, repetitions, weekly volume, target time, and actual time for each relevant repetition. Internal load were monitored using heart rate and rating of perceived exertion. Pace stability were estimated from repeated times in event-specific distances using descriptive indicators such as mean time, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. After the intervention, performance were reassessed in the athlete's main event through an official competition or a comparable standardised control test. Data analysis were focus on individual responses, weekly trends, and descriptive changes from baseline to post-intervention. The study were not include a control group or randomisation; therefore, findings were interpreted as exploratory and non-causal.