Posted on June 14, 2016 by Jenny Cromack
What you do out of the water can improve what goes on in the water. First and foremost if you’ve got work to do on your technique, that’s an important element to prioritise.
However once this is well on the way its time to start incorporating some dry-land training for swimming to help further develop your capabilities. Numerous studies have shown relationships between upper/lower body strength power and swimming velocity and endurance (see Morouco et al., (2012) for an excellent review).
Before we look at program suggestions, or exercises, its important to state the goal is not to cause hypertrophy. If you’re an endurance athlete have no fear the following recommendations seek to enhance structural, neural, and mechanical components without causing Arnold sized biceps! It’s also important to note that strength training will not decrease your flexibility, if you compare a competitive weightlifters hamstring flexibility to a runners or cyclists, you’re in for a big shock, weightlifting does not make you inflexible. If anything, research has suggested that particularly eccentric muscle actions can lengthen sarcomere length enhancing flexibility. So throw yourself into the following recommendations of dry-land training for swimming safe in the knowledge its likely going to cause positive transfer.
Without going into too much detail, the key focus is to develop strong lat, deltoids, hamstring, glutes and adductors, depending on the swimming style.
Here is a great starting program to enhance your swim performance. Aim to complete it 2x per week. (aim to complete 6 weeks, the intensities for each week are in the brackets, expressed as a % of 1RM)
- A1. Deadlift 4 x 5 @ (75,80,85,80,85,90)
- A2. Box Jump 4 x 5
- B1. Pronated Grip Pull Ups 4 x5 (75,80,85,80,85,90)
- B2. Medicine Ball Slams 4×4
- C1. Bulgarian Split Squat 4 x 5 per leg (75,80,85,80,85,90)
- C2. Lateral Bound 4 x 5 per side
- D1. DB Shoulder Press 3 x 8 (65,70,75,70,75,80)
- D2. Pallof Press 3 x 12 per side
Swim strong!
References
Morouço, P.G., Marinho, D.A., Amaro, N.M., Pérez Turpin, J.A. and Marques, M.C., 2012. Effects of dry-land strength training on swimming performance: a brief review.