As many of you know, dryland work is almost as important as the time spent in the water. Many coaches try to hammer thousands of miles (kilometers) during practices focusing little or not at all on strengthening the body outside the pool. Such practices lead to swimmer burnouts early in their years and many shoulder problems (even though those are mainly caused by incorrect technique).
In order to keep your swimmers or yourself fit, get them out of the water and give them what they need. It is a lot tougher to fight gravity than the density of water, therefore you can sometimes get so much more from doing the right thing on the dryland. One thing is for sure, dryland excercises help prevent swimming injuries. I have put together a few excercises that are very helpful in strengthening your core and in improving the way you feel in the water. Here you go:
1. Run, run, run (simple as that). Running is a great way to keep in shape and to improve stamina.
2. Core stability excercises including: Pillar stands, iso holds,
stability ball excercises
3. Swim bench, Vasa trainer, biokinetic, stretch cordz - all these are good to get some more resistance on your swims and to improve your underwater pull without actually getting wet.
4. Shoulder stability with cords or tera bands - use these in all possible motions and directions
5. Bouncing medicine balls keep your muscles occupied and keep the boys on your team happy. Women don't seem to enjoy those that much.
6. If you need more variety try a boxing class, tae bo, kickboxing or yoga. All of these pay close attention to developing the core body which is the essence of swimming.
After doing similar exercises for a while, you will feel very tight around your waist which will cause you to become more comofortable in the water. You will finally be able to rotate your body from side to side with less effort. So, don't waist another minute and give it a shot. It works!!!
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