Training methods and analysis of races of a top level Paralympic swimming athlete

Abstract

Training methods for Paralympic swimmers must take into account dif-ferent pathologies, competitions classes, athlete's individual circum-stances and peculiar physical adaptation mechanisms, hence general guidelines cannot be found in literature. In this study we present a training program, implemented for the physical preparation of a top lev-el Paralympic swimmer. The athlete under study, affected by infantile cerebral palsy within a clinical picture of a spastic tetraparesis, by the end of 2016 was holder of Italian, European, world and Paralympic titles in the 400-m freestyle competition, S6 class. The training macrocycle was structured in a 3-fold periodization (three mesocycles), in view of the preparation to three international competitions. The 4-month train-ing mesocycles prior to each competition differed substantially in terms of mileage load, intensity and recovery times. The first mesocycle was characterized by a sizeable low-intensity mileage load, the second one was shifted to lower mileage load, carried out at middle-to-high intensi-ty levels, the third one entailed increased effort intensity, counterbal-anced by lower mileage load. In all cases, recovery times were bal-anced to obtain optimized performance through physical adaptation to training stimuli, keeping into account the physiopatological response. Tapering phases were adjusted to maximize performance at competi-tion. As an assessment of the effectiveness of the training method, cor-respondence between chronometric and technical parameters in the three competitions and the respective mesocycle training programs was found. The results of the present study may support the develop-ment of training guidelines for athletes affected by upper motor neuron lesions.