Evaluation of Coach-Assisted Training Versus Self-Training in Amateur Swimmers

Objectives: Aim of the study was to compare in two groups of male swimmers, divid-ed into master (MS) and leisure (LS), a series of anthropometric and metabolic parame-ters evaluated before (T0) and after six months training (T6). Method: For MS training protocols were administered by a certified swimming coach and entailed 3 days a week of swimming practice which had as a final goal the competition season. LS were in-stead regular swimmers involved in a recreational workout without any supervision and any specific goal other than keeping themselves physically fit. Results: At T6 both groups performed the test with a significant increase of their total time (TT; MS = 11.9 ± 13.4%; LS = 8.3 ± 15.5%; p>0.05) and maximum speed reached (Spmax; MS= 6.5 ± 9.3%; LS = 2.1 ± 10.6%; p>0.05). Maximal aerobic capacity in MS increased by 12.6 ±14 while in LS 2.5 ± 5.4% (p<0.05). VO2 consumption at anaerobic threshold was increased by 16.8 ± 16.8% for MS and 2.5 ± 5.4% for LS (p< 0.05). Conclusions: Our results show that only the coach-assisted training was able to evoke significant physiological ad-justments in parameters related to aerobic capacity such as VO2max increase and VO2AT.