THE INFLUENCE OF A SWIMMING WORKOUT SESSION ON SKINFOLD MEASURES

Abstract

The body composition quantifies the structural components of the body, muscle, bone and fat. The skinfold technique requires some pre-test measures, and it is strongly recommended to avoid any physical activity prior to the test. Objectives: To investigate the influence of a swimming workout session on skinfold measures. Methods: The sample consisted of 16 male volunteers, aged 20-25 years, nonsmokers, swimmers for at least three months. Initially, the subjects underwent an assessment using the skinfold technique, and the measurement of body mass and height. Then we started a workout session that consisted of ten arrivals: a length swimming front crawl and a length back swimming back crawl; ten arrivals alternating between front crawl and back crawl legs-only with a kick board, and ten arrivals were performed using a pullboy, swimming arms - only front crawl and back crawl. At the end of the workout other ten alternating arrivals were performed: two arrivals in front crawl and two in back crawl, with a total length of 1360 meters in 40 to 42 lesson minutes (17- meter swimming pool with temperature of 19.5 º C). The skin folds and body mass were assessed again five minutes after workout session after the skin dried. A paired student´s t-test was used as statistical analysis with a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. Results: We observed a reduction in the general sum of the skin fold values (p = 0.05). Conclusion: Even showing a reduction in the sum of the values, when we applied the equations by Pollock and Guedes, there was no difference in the percentage of fat before or after a swimming lesson.