The Effects of Active Pool Recovery on Fatigue and Athletic Performance Following Intense Physical Activity

Subject Area

Health, Human Performance and Athletics

Description

Any athletic performance or sustained physical activity, whether it be a sporting event, resistance training or cardiovascular exercise, can induce significant muscle fatigue and/or delayed onset muscle soreness. Insufficient recovery from fatigue can impact subsequent athletic performance, particularly when the time frame between events is short. Cold water immersion is a commonly used recovery technique. Some sports teams have utilized the campus pool to allow for immediate cool water immersion for an entire team. However, surprisingly, limited studies have examined whether active movement and stretching in the pool reduces muscle soreness and fatigue (Dawson et al. 2005; Ghetto & Golden, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 20-minute active pool recovery following a 60-minute, fatigue-inducing match of Ultimate Frisbee would reduce fatigue and improve athletic performance. Vertical jump, 20-meter sprint, and fatigue was assessed in 10 male participants before, immediately after, and 24-hours after the Ultimate Frisbee game. We found that there was statistically no group effect between the control and pool groups. For the sprint, there was no statistically significant difference at the three time points, but there was for the vertical jump. The pre-jump average was statistically higher than the 24-hour jump average. While pool recovery did not impact the reduction in athletic performance due to fatigue, the study did show that ultimate frisbee induces fatigue without the use of weightlifting protocols or extended treadmill running or cycling. As an experimental method, this could be utilized to induce fatigue in a more engaging, game-simulating manner in future studies.

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The Effects of Active Pool Recovery on Fatigue and Athletic Performance Following Intense Physical Activity

Any athletic performance or sustained physical activity, whether it be a sporting event, resistance training or cardiovascular exercise, can induce significant muscle fatigue and/or delayed onset muscle soreness. Insufficient recovery from fatigue can impact subsequent athletic performance, particularly when the time frame between events is short. Cold water immersion is a commonly used recovery technique. Some sports teams have utilized the campus pool to allow for immediate cool water immersion for an entire team. However, surprisingly, limited studies have examined whether active movement and stretching in the pool reduces muscle soreness and fatigue (Dawson et al. 2005; Ghetto & Golden, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 20-minute active pool recovery following a 60-minute, fatigue-inducing match of Ultimate Frisbee would reduce fatigue and improve athletic performance. Vertical jump, 20-meter sprint, and fatigue was assessed in 10 male participants before, immediately after, and 24-hours after the Ultimate Frisbee game. We found that there was statistically no group effect between the control and pool groups. For the sprint, there was no statistically significant difference at the three time points, but there was for the vertical jump. The pre-jump average was statistically higher than the 24-hour jump average. While pool recovery did not impact the reduction in athletic performance due to fatigue, the study did show that ultimate frisbee induces fatigue without the use of weightlifting protocols or extended treadmill running or cycling. As an experimental method, this could be utilized to induce fatigue in a more engaging, game-simulating manner in future studies.