Physiology-based considerations when training the youth

The aim of the present chapter is to offer a few conceptual frameworks the practitioner is invited to consider in order to anchor their approach to training the young swimmer to a solid and sound theoretical ground. For instance, the relationships between swimming speed versus performance time, and muscular force versus contraction velocity, may be used to not only conceptualise career plans (Long-Term Athlete Development; LTAD) and design in-water and dry-land training programmes, but also refine pacing strategies and consider use of training aids. The Fick equation may be added to this theoretical framework for a deeper consideration of acute and chronic adaptations to aerobic training. The reader should find in this chapter new theoretical and practical ideas from the field of sport physiology to reflect upon and potentially reshape their training philosophy.