The Influence of Auditory Cueing on Stroke Rate in Elite Swimmers
Rachel E. Williams 1, Jedediah E. Blanton 1, Tjaša Pintar 1, and Jared M. Porter 1
Equipment similar to a metronome provides auditory cueing to guide a person’s movement pace. However, it is unknown if learning transfers to a performance setting where auditory cueing is unavailable. Though the use of tempo training is popular in swimming practice, it is prohibited in competition. The purposes of the current study were the following: (1) determine if using a tempo trainer influences swimmers’ ability to maintain stroke rate in a post-test, and (2) determine if swimmers’ self-efficacy in maintaining stroke rate changed based on the presence of a tempo trainer during practice. A total of 15 elite female swimmers (M age = 19.80, SD = 1.47) volunteered to participate from a Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association team in the United States of America. The study consisted of three sets of a swim workout (i.e., pre-test, intervention, post-test). Participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. Both groups were instructed to maintain the same stroke rate for the entire duration of the study. The experimental group, however, was provided with a tempo trainer to use during the intervention round, and then asked to remove the tempo trainer during the post-test. Participants’ average stroke rate was recorded, and volunteers responded to questions before and after each trial (four trials per set) to measure self-efficacy and subjective success in maintaining stroke rate. There were no differences observed from pre-test to post-test in either group for each measured variable (i.e., stroke rate, self-efficacy, and subjective success). This raises the question about the effectiveness of utilizing auditory cues (i.e., tempo trainer) during swim practice for the purpose of improving stroke rate during competition. Future research should consider increasing the time between the intervention and the post-test to further examine the effects of tempo training on swimming stroke rate.