{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T12:18:30Z","timestamp":1774613910018,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JFMK"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Stroke rate (SR) is a critical determinant of swimming speed and performance; however, the relationship between upper-limb movement frequency assessed on land and SR in water remains unclear. Methods: This preliminary study examined the association between dry-land upper-limb movement frequency and in-water kinematics in ten male competitive swimmers (15.23 \u00b1 1.06 years). Dry-land upper-limb movement frequency was evaluated through two maximum-effort trials consisting of 10\u201312 circular arm movements performed under a straight-arm condition (STRSR) and a swimming-technique-simulated bend-arm condition (TECHSR). All trials were video-recorded for analysis. In-water testing included a maximum-effort 50 m sprint and 8\u201312 \u00d7 25 m progressively increasing speed tests to elicit maximum swimming speed and maximum SR. SR, swimming speed, stroke length, and stroke index were calculated for all trials. Results: No relationship was observed between dry-land upper-limb movement frequency and SR of the 50 m test (p &gt; 0.05). However, the percentage difference between STRSR and maximum SR was associated with stroke index at maximum speed (r = \u22120.66, p = 0.04), maximum SR (r = \u22120.65, p = 0.04), and swimming speed at maximum SR (r = \u22120.72, p = 0.01) \u03bff the 8\u201312 \u00d7 25 test. Similarly, TECHSR was correlated with stroke index at maximum speed, SR, and stroke length in the 8\u201312 \u00d7 25 test (r = \u22120.67 to \u22120.71, p = 0.01). Conclusions: These findings suggest that faster and more efficient swimmers exhibit a greater difference between their maximum dry-land movement frequency in upper limbs and the SR adopted in water, allowing a greater potential to adjust in a more comfortable and submaximal manner in water movements.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk11020140","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T11:12:25Z","timestamp":1774609945000},"page":"140","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Upper Limbs Movement Frequency: Connection to Swimming Performance and Kinematics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Papadopoulos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Aquatic Sports, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7040-1553","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gavriil G.","family":"Arsoniadis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Aquatic Sports, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Sports Performance Laboratory, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2040-354X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Argyris G.","family":"Toubekis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Aquatic Sports, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Sports Performance Laboratory, School of Physical Education and Sports Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"57","article-title":"How Do Reaction Time and Movement Speed Depend on the Complexity of the Task?","volume":"2","author":"Skurvydas","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. 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