ENERGY-EXPENDITURE OF SWIMMERS DURING HIGH-VOLUME TRAINING

The purpose of this study was to examine the total energy expenditure (TEE) of swimmers during high volume training (17.5 +/- 1.0 km.d(-1)) using the doubly labeled water method. Five female swimmers (age, 19 /- 1 yr; height, 178.3 +/- 2.2 cm; weight, 65.4 +/- 1.6 kg) were admin istered a dose of H-2(2) O-18 and monitored for 5 days. Training consi sted of two sessions per day, lasting a total of 5-6 h. Energy intake (EI) was calculated from dietary records. Resting energy expenditure ( REE) was measured on a non-training day and averaged 7.7 +/- 0.5 MJ.d( -1) (1840 +/- 130 kcal.d(-1)). There were no changes in body weight (d ay 1, 65.4 +/- 1.6; day 5, 65.2 +/- 1.5 kg) over the measurement perio d. TEE of the swimmers during the training period averaged 23.4 +/- 2. 1 MJ.d(-1) (5593 +/- 495 kcal.d(-1)). EI averaged 13.1 +/- 1.0 MJ.d(-1 ) (3136 +/- 227 kcal.d(-1)), implying a negative energy balance of 43 +/- 2%. TEE expressed as a multiple of REE was 3.0 +/- 0.2. The result s of this investigation describe the total energy demands of high volu me swimming training, which may be used to address the dietary concern s of the competitive swimming athlete.