Propulsive Force Asymmetry during Tethered-Swimming

Abstract This study aimed to determine whether: i) tethe­red-swimming can be used to identify the asymmetry during front crawl swimming style; ii) swimmers that perform unilateral breathing present greater asymmetry in comparison to others that use bilateral breathing; iii) swimmers of best performance present smaller asymmetry than their counterparts; iv) repeated front crawl swimming movements influence body asymmetry. 18 swimmers were assessed for propulsive force parameters (peak force, mean force, impulse and rate of force development) during a maximal front crawl tethered-swimming test lasting 2 min. A factorial analysis showed that propulsive forces decreased at the beginning, intermediate and end of the test (p0.05). When performance was considered (below or above mean group time), a larger asymmetry was found in the sub-group of lower performance in comparison to those of best performance (p