The Effect of Blood Flow Restriction Training on Swimming Performance in Swimmers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of practical blood flowrestriction (pBFR) applied during swimming training on sprint and endurance performancein master swimmers. Fifty‐four male master swimmers (36‐51 years) were randomly assignedto either a pBFR group (n = 27) or a control group (n = 27). Both groups followed thesame swimming training programme twice weekly for eight weeks. In the pBFR group, elasticbands were applied to the proximal region of both thighs at a perceived tightness levelof 7/10 during approximately 20 min of low‐intensity swimming performed at the beginningof each training session. Performance was assessed using a 50‐m freestyle kick test, a100‐m freestyle swimming test, and a 12‐min Cooper swimming test.