Effects of training and competitive swimming on serum proteins

¹ Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, D. C.

The major concern of this investigation was to observe chronic and/or acute effects of a typical intercollegiate training and competitive swimming program on plasma protein levels in young men. Plasma protein levels, followed over a period of 14 months in seven young college men, were analyzed by the technique of paper electrophoresis. No chronic effects in plasma proteins were observed; that is, no permanent change in plasma protein level was seen. Comparisons of data between competitive and noncompetitive seasons showed no significant difference. However, there were acute effects resulting from brief maximal exercise efforts. Albumin increased in response to participation in one or more competitive swimming events. A slight decrease was observed in the beta-globulin fraction. A similar albumin-beta pattern was seen in another group of varsity swimmers sprinting 220 yards. In both instances, the greatest deviation from pre-exercise levels was observed the next morning, some 11–20 hr later. Some of the mechanisms thought to act in causing a temporary alteration in plasma proteins during and after exercise are discussed.