The Effects of Different Warm-up Volumes on the 100-m Swimming Performance: A Randomized Crossover Study
1,200 m and 600 m warm-ups gave faster 100-m freestyle (59.29 s and 59.38 s) than an 1,800 m warm-up (60.18 s) in 11 national-level swimmers
Participants
n=11 male swimmers at the national level
Protocol
3 × 100-m freestyle time trials on separate days, each after a different warm-up in randomized order: standard WU (1,200 m), short SWU (600 m), long LWU (1,800 m); all three replicated the swimmers' usual sets and drills
Measured: 100-m time, stroke length / stroke index / propelling efficiency per 50-m lap, blood lactate ([La]) and testosterone:cortisol before and after the trial
Key Results
100-m time: WU 59.29 s (95% CI 57.98-60.61) and SWU 59.38 s (95% CI 57.92-60.84) were faster than LWU 60.18 s (95% CI 58.53-61.83); WU and SWU did not differ meaningfully
Second 50-m lap after the 1,200 m WU: higher stroke length (ES 0.77), stroke index (ES 1.26) and propelling efficiency (ES 0.78) than after the 600 m SWU
Pre-trial [La] was HIGHER after WU and SWU than after LWU (ES 1.58 and 0.74); testosterone:cortisol was higher after WU than LWU (ES 0.86)
After the trial, [La] (ES ≥ 0.68) and testosterone:cortisol (ES 0.93) were higher following WU than LWU
Core temperature and RPE were not reported in the abstract
Mechanism
The authors read the result as a long warm-up impairing 100-m performance, with the 1,200 m warm-up producing a more efficient race (better stroke mechanics in the second lap). They point to the lactate and hormonal (testosterone:cortisol) responses to each warm-up as the likely mediators. Inference, not tested: the extra 600 m of the long warm-up adds fatigue without adding readiness.
Practical Application
In 11 national-level swimmers, a 1,200 m or 600 m warm-up gave a faster 100-m freestyle (59.29 s / 59.38 s) than an 1,800 m warm-up (60.18 s): more warm-up volume before a sprint event was worse, not better
The standard 1,200 m warm-up also produced the most efficient second lap (stroke length, stroke index, propelling efficiency vs the 600 m warm-up) — a moderate volume, not the minimum, gave the best mechanics
Pre-race lactate was higher after the two shorter warm-ups than after the long one, so "higher lactate before the start" here went with the faster swims, not the slower one
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: for cycling sprint and short time-trial events a similar principle applies — see Tomaras 2011 REF-276 (less warm-up, more power) — but the specific durations for cycling are not tested in this study
Limitations
Only 100-m sprint distance
National-level, not elite international swimmers
Only male swimmers
No DOI line in this entry (PMID only)
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from B+: crossover, n=11 (<15)
Content correction 2026-09-27
"Long warm-up → higher pre-race lactate and RPE" -> the abstract reports the opposite for lactate (pre-trial [La] higher after the 1,200 m and 600 m warm-ups than after 1,800 m); RPE and core temperature are not in the abstract and were removed.
Added the actual times (59.29 / 59.38 / 60.18 s), CIs and effect sizes; noted that the 1,200 m warm-up gave better second-lap mechanics than 600 m.
Tier "mixed→Tier 4-5 (review...)" -> Tier 3 (national-level); Sport "cycling, swimming, sprint" -> swimming; cycling durations (10-15 min, >30 min) removed as not from this paper.
Level B+ -> B (crossover, n=11).