Integrated land–water training enhances 200–800 m front-crawl performance in trained youth swimmers

Abstract

Efficient stroke coordination under fatigue is a critical determinant of middle-distance performance in youth swimmers; however, integrated land–water training approaches remain insufficiently explored. This randomized controlled trial investigated whether incorporating an integrated land–water training program into regular practice improves 200–800 m front-crawl performance in trained youth swimmers. Thirty-eight trained male swimmers aged 12–13 years were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG; n = 19) or a control group (CG; n = 19) for a 12-week in-season intervention. Both groups trained five times∙week−1 (~120 min∙session−1) with equivalent swim volume. The EG replaced a portion of standard dry-land and technical training with a structured land–water program that combined balance, unilateral stability, and power exercises on land with specific in-water timing and race-pace drills. Performance was evaluated pre- and post-intervention over 200, 400, and 800 m front crawl. Secondary outcomes included stroke rate, stroke length, and inter-arm coordination (Index of Coordination) derived from video analysis. After adjusting for baseline performance, the EG demonstrated significantly greater improvements than the CG across all distances (all p ≤ 0.008). The adjusted between-group advantage increased with distance: 2.25 s at 200 m, 6.88 s at 400 m, and 11.06 s at 800 m, corresponding to an ~1%–2.5% improvement in the EG versus ~0.5% in the CG. Anthropometric changes were comparable between groups, and no significant between-group differences were observed in stroke kinematics or inter-arm coordination. These findings suggest that incorporating approximately 25–30 min of integrated land– water training per session during the season can significantly improve middle-distance performance in trained youth swimmers without increasing overall training volume.