Passive Heating Increases Bench-Pull Power Output in Highly Trained Swimmers.

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Optimizing athletic performance requires understanding factors influencing power output.
• Passive warming strategies, like heated clothing, are explored for their potential benefits.
• The impact of controlled skin temperature changes on power performance in elite athletes remains an area of interest.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of passive heating via heated clothing on bench-pull power in highly trained swimmers.
• To determine the relationship between changes in skin temperature and upper-body power output following a passive warm-up intervention.

Main Methods:

• A crossover design study involving 8 elite swimmers.
• Swimmers underwent a pool warm-up followed by a 35-minute transition period wearing either standard warm clothing (control) or heated clothing.
• Bench-pull power was assessed at 50% of 1-repetition maximum during the transition phase.

Main Results:

• Heated clothing increased mean skin temperature by 0.7 °C without altering core (tympanic) temperature.
• Bench-pull mean and peak power output increased by 4.5% and 4.7%, respectively, following the heated condition.
• A strong positive correlation was found between skin temperature and both mean (r = .94) and peak (r = .89) power output.

Conclusions:

• Passive heating using combined upper- and lower-limb heated garments effectively increases whole-body skin temperature.
• This increase in skin temperature leads to significant improvements in short-duration upper-limb power, specifically in the bench-pull exercise.
• The observed improvements in power output are directly attributable to the elevated skin temperature induced by the heated clothing.