Comparative Efficacy of Land- and Water-Based Active and Passive Recovery Modalities on Post-Exercise Cardiorespiratory and Metabolic Recovery in Male Swimmers

Abstract

Rapid post-exercise recovery is essential in swimming because repeated high-intensity efforts impose substantial cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic stress. This study compared the effects of active land-based recovery (ALR), active water-based recovery (AWR), passive land-based recovery (PLR), and passive water-based recovery (PWR) on heart rate, breathing rate, and blood lactate concentration following maximal swimming exercise.  Forty male state-level swimmers aged 25–30 years from Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh, were assigned to ALR, AWR, PLR, or PWR groups, with 10 participants per group. Following a 200-m continuous maximal-intensity swim, participants completed 20 minutes of their assigned recovery modality. Heart rate, breathing rate, and blood lactate concentration were assessed before swimming, immediately after swimming, and after recovery. Data were analyzed using mixed repeated-measures analysis of variance with Greenhouse–Geisser corrections where required. Significant main effects of time were observed for heart rate, breathing rate, and blood lactate concentration (all ). Significant time × recovery-modality interactions were also found for heart rate (, , partial ), breathing rate (, , partial ), and blood lactate concentration (, , partial ). After 20 minutes, AWR showed the lowest mean heart rate (99.50 ± 4.38 beats·min⁻¹), breathing rate (22.30 ± 1.42 breaths·min⁻¹), and blood lactate concentration (4.11 ± 0.39 units). Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons indicated significantly lower overall heart rate and blood lactate concentration in AWR than PLR ( and , respectively). No significant adjusted between-modality comparison was observed for breathing rate. Active water-based recovery was the most effective modality for facilitating post-exercise cardiovascular and metabolic recovery in the studied swimmers, particularly when compared with passive land-based recovery.