Help your body to develop muscles so the muscles will help you to swim longer and faster.

Together with  Kamishi Swimming School we prepared a wonderful set of dryland exercises for swimmers that  they usually provide to their crawl swimmers. It is a selection of exercises from Swimming Anatomy book by Ian McLeod. All of them you can do at home with just a little use of equipment or without equipment at all.

We start with

ARMS

 

Close grip push up

Execution:

1. Facedown, slide both hands under your chest so that your thumbs touch along the midline of your body at nipple level. Your toes support your lower body.
2. Holding your body in a straight line from your ankles to the top of your head, push your upper body upward until the elbows are almost locked.
3. Lower your body until your chest is 2.5 cm off the ground.

Be careful if you already have pain in the shoulder joint and avoid dropping too far into the ending position.

A common mistake is to take the head out of line with the rest of the spine, which will lead to either arching of the back or dropping the hips to the ground.

 

SHOULDERS

Prone T, Y, A (Blackburn)

This is our absolutely favorite exercise that helps to help prevent shoulder injuries!

Execution:

1 . Lying facedown, slightly arch your upper back and lift your shoulders off the ground.

2 . In a T position with your thumbs pointing to the ceiling, oscillate your hands up and down for 30 seconds.

3. Switching to the Y position with your palms down, oscillate your hands up and down for 30 seconds.

4 . Finish with your hands down by your sides forming an A. With your palms up, oscillate your hands up and down for 30 seconds.

Want an extra challenge? Add physioball! As in the water, holding the body in a straight line from the feet all the way to the top of the head is important.

Crabwalk

Crabwalk is an universal exercise for all styles of swimming and really improve your improve swimming mechanics. Another benefit is that the exercise places the shoulder in a closed-chain position. Exercises that do this enhance the recruitment of stabilising muscles surrounding the shoulder joint.

Execution:

1 . Position your hands and feet so that they are flat on the ground and you are face up.

2 . Lift your butt up off the ground by tightening your gluteal muscles.

3. Begin “walking ” by first moving your hands and then your feet.

4 . Avoid excessive shoulder strain by moving your hands no more than 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) at a time.

ABDOMEN

 

V-Up

Execution:

1. Lying face up in a streamlined position, stabilize your core by tightening the abdominal musculature.

2 . In unison, bring your arms forward and lift your legs until your hands are able to touch your feet.

3. Slowly reverse the movement, stopping when your hands and feet are just above the ground. Then repeat.

 

Flutter Kicks

Execution:

1 . Lie on the floor with your arms at your sides and tighten the abdominal muscles to set your core.

2 . Lift your shoulders 4 inches (10 cm) off the ground and your feet 1 2 inches (30 cm) off the ground, making sure to keep the low back in a neutral position.

3. Hold this position and flutter kick for 60 seconds or until you are unable to keep the low back stabilised in a neutral position.

 

 

LEGS

Single-Leg Squat

During the exercise, you should use the back leg for balance purposes only.

Execution:

1 . With a dumbbell in each hand, stand 2 feet (60 cm) in front of a flat bench and position your feet hip-width apart.

2 . Reach back with one foot and rest your toes on the bench.

3. Initiating the movement with your hips, lower your body until the thigh of the standing leg is near parallel to the ground.

4 . Return to the starting position by straightening your leg.

 

Enjoy!