Pre-competition load: why listening to swimmers may tell us more than a spreadsheet ratio

A spreadsheet can show stability while the athlete reports growing tiredness. This does not require choosing between the data and the sensation. It requires understanding what each information can represent.

A survey with international swimmers compared load indicators throughout the season and found a relevant relationship to the discussion on competitive preparation.

What was observed

Seven swimmers, four men and three women, were followed by 40 weeks, covering three main competitions. The researchers combined perceived effort with duration or volume measures and calculated acute-chronic load indices.

Higher load accumulated in indicators that integrated perceived exertion and volume in the seven weeks prior to competitions was associated with worse performance. The models based on acute-chronic ratio presented limited explanatory capacity. The analysis was observational and small: it did not test a standardized reduction of seven weeks as universal intervention.

Two questions that should not be confused

A ratio between recent load and longer load describes a temporal relationship. It does not alone provide a complete reading of recovery. A value considered stable can occur in very different contexts.

To visualize, imagine a routine that remains demanding for several weeks. The absence of a sudden change does not demonstrate that the requirement is well absorbed. On the other hand, a punctual change in ratio does not automatically identify a problem.

The perceived exertion adds another question: how much did that session require from the swimmer? Its value depends on consistent collection and interpretation within the history. Nor should it be converted into an infallible indicator.

Work outside the pool enters the calculation

The study included both water and soil sessions. This helps to remember that the program does not end when the swimmer leaves the pool. A strength session may be appropriate in itself and still interfere with the organization of the rest of the week.

For the reader, learning is not eliminating resistance training before competition. It is defining its function in that period and observing the response to the set. What matters is the actual preparation received by the person, not the sum of programs considered separately.

Editorial example: review the final phase without copying a formula

A swimmer arrives at the competitive period maintaining the usual volume, but records increasing effort and loses quality in priority sessions. The review could start with the complete sequence: pool, strength, displacements and recovery opportunities.

Then it would be necessary to ask if each session still serves the function of that phase. The decision does not depend on reproducing an exact reduction in the research. The follow-up should help the coach choose which stimuli to preserve and what costs to reduce.

If performance improves after a change, this also deserves to be recorded. However, an isolated improvement does not compete that adjustment was the only cause; it is necessary to consider accumulated preparation and competitive context.

Seven weeks is not a recipe for taper

The analyzed window indicates where an association appeared in the group. It does not establish the mandatory start of a load reduction and does not determine universal percentages. Seven athletes from a national team also do not represent all recreational swimmers or triathletes.

The teaching is to integrate objective and subjective tendencies to interpret the approach of competition. One ratio for the spreadsheet does not replace the question about how the athlete is responding to the program. In this study, this distinction was more enlightening than the search for a single readiness index.

Cada um no seu ritmo. Juntos no caminho.