ACTIVE RECOVERY IS BETTER THAN PASSIVE RECOVERY FOR REMOVING LACTATE AFTER SWIMMING

Mota, M. R., de Aguiar, A. F., Dutra, M. T., Pardono, E., de Lima, F. D., Fontoura, H. P., & A Dantas, R. E. (2013). Acute effect of two types of blood lactate in recovery after swimmers maximum effort. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(5), Supplement abstract number 368.

blue line

This study evaluated the effect of active recovery and passive recovery on blood lactate after exercise in swimmers (N = 15). Ss participated in a 200 meters freestyle simulation, with two different forms of 15-minutes of recovery. Treatments were i) 15 minutes of passive recovery (supine position under the sun, covered with a towel) and ii) 5 minutes of passive recovery (supine, under the sun, covered with a towel) followed by 10 minutes of active recovery (performed at 60-65% of the maximum intensity of swimming) . Lactate samples were obtained before the competitive simulation, 5 minutes, and 15 minutes into post-exercise recovery

Pre-simulation times were similar on both occasions. Lactate levels were similar after five minutes of passive recovery. However, at 15 minutes, there was a significant difference between the treatments for lactate. Active recovery produced 35.6% removal of lactate while passive recovery resulted in only 14.96% removal.

Implication. Active recovery is more efficient than passive recovery in removing lactate after a 200 m swim. While ten minutes of 60-65% swimming intensity increases the rate of lactate removal it is insufficient to fully recover to resting levels.

Return to Table of Contents for Training for Swimming.

blue line