Dry-land Strength and Conditioning for Competitive Youth Swimmers

NCT07076017 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: ETH2425-0466
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 38
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Starts and turns play an important role in swimming performance, with starts accounting for around a quarter of the total time achieved in a 50m freestyle race and have been recommended as a high priority area for improvement by York City Baths Club (YCBC). The relationship between starts and turns and plyometric and general strength training is well documented. However, few studies have explored this relationship in competitive youth swimmers. This non-randomised controlled trial will evaluate the effects of a dry-land strength and conditioning programme, when added to usual swim training, on the physical fitness and start and turn performance of regional- and national-level age-group swimmers. The study intervention will involve two supervised gym sessions per week for 10 weeks. Study outcomes will be assessed before the intervention, at the midpoint and at 1 week and 3 weeks post-intervention. The following testing will occur: Pool-based testing (50m Freestyle; a Time to 7.5m test; Turn time); Gym-based testing (Counter-movement jump; Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull; Athletic Shoulder (ASH)) The dive and turn measures will be assessed via video recordings.

Conditions

Swimming; Strength Training Effects; Power Training Exercise Protocols

Keywords

Non-randomised controlled trial; Youth swimmers; Strength and conditioning; Race performance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Swim start performance

  Time to 7.5m from a race start

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

• Swim turn performance

  5m turn around time during maximal effort front-crawl swimming with tumble-turn

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Swim race performance

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

• Countermovement jump performance

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

• Lower-body strength

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

• Shoulder strength

  From enrolment to 3 weeks after the end of the intervention

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Dry-land strength and conditioning programme

Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Active control condition

Interventions

Dry-land strength and conditioning programme BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the experiment group will be asked to complete two supervised gym sessions per week for 10 weeks. Each session will include a variety of plyometric and strength exercises, selected for their relevance to start and turn performance in swimming.

Intervention group

Active control condition BEHAVIORAL

The control group will complete their usual swimming training which comprises of several pool-based session and one land-based session each week.

Control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 21 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Member of York City Baths Club's National, Regional or Club Squads
• Age 12 to 21 years old

You may not qualify if:

• Parent/guardian and/or swimmer unwilling to provide written, informed consent
• Current time-loss injury
• Unable to complete 2 interventions sessions per week for 10 weeks (intervention group only)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• York City Baths Club: collaborator
• York St John University: lead

Study Sites (1)

York St John University

York, YO31 7EX, United Kingdom

Location

Study Officials

• Garry Tew, PhD

  York St John University

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Evelyn Wright, MSc

  York St John University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Non-randomised controlled trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 10, 2025
• First Posted: July 20, 2025
• Study Start: August 8, 2025
• Primary Completion: December 10, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2026
• Last Updated: January 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations

GB (1)