The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different percentages of critical speed (CS) in the heart rate (HR), the mean stroke rate (SR), the mean stroke length (SL), and perceived exertion (PE) in front crawl. Fifteen swimmers of both genders performed five repetitions of 200 m at different percentages of CS (90, 95, 100, 103, and 105%), in random order. HR, PE and SR showed a significant positive correlation with the percentage of CS (rho = 0.585, p <0.001, rho = 0.720, p <0.001, rho = 0.489, p <0.001, respectively). However the SL showed no significant correlation with the percentages of CS (rho = -0.151, p> 0.05). The results from percentages of CS may help coaches to understand the impact of responses related to the internal load during training program.
Front Crawl; Training; Heart Rate
