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The best swimming workout includes a dry land program that incorporates exercise ball exercises to strengthen the core musculature.
The best swimming
workout should include exercise ball exercises. I treat a lot
of swimmers with the
local aquatics club. The level of competition is fierce. They
swim 6 days a week, often more than once a day with only 2 weeks off
per year. With these high level swimmers occasionally
exceeding 20,000 meters per day in training, overuse injuries
frequently occur.
Core conditioning as part of a program of swimming exercises has been
proven to improve
muscular power, kinesthetic awareness, flexibility, posture and aid in
injury prevention. Core stabilization on the ball as part of your
swimming workout can help build trunk
strength which will help you maintain streamlines off the wall,
decrease drag during the stroke and optimize technique and form. The
stronger the core, the better the hip turn and all motion during the
stroke.
Core strengthening provides the final link in the injury prevention
plan. Lower abdominal strengthening should be emphasized in the dry
land conditioning program for swimmers. The goal of abdominal
strengthening is to develop increased control of the pelvis by avoiding
excessive anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar lordosis. Exercises should be
done with the pelvis in a neutral position and the spine in good
alignment. Development of muscular endurance is also one of the goals
of core strengthening, because swimmers must support their body in the
water for long periods of time while training. Abdominal exercises to
build core strength may be part of a separate strength training session
or may be effectively accomplished without untoward risk of injury just
prior to or just after swimming.
Preventative exercise can be an important addition to a training
program if done correctly. These exercises may not be appropriate as
treatment for swimmers who have a preexisting injury. Those swimmers
should be evaluated before they begin a rehabilitation program which
may or may not include exercise ball exercises depending on the nature
of the injury. With the "new" freestyle techniques that emphasize body
rotation and balance, scapular stabilization, appropriate stretching,
and core strengthening become even more important for injury-free
swimming and, ultimately more effective technique.
Exercise ball exercises as
part of the your best swimming workout will help you
- Use fewer strokes to cover a given distance.
- Use smoother movements with less splash, and better
coordination.
- Create better trunk control which gives the limbs a strong
base from which to generate power.
- Improve trunk roll which helps reduce the incidence of
shoulder injuries.
- Decrease drag during your stroke.
The Importance of a Strong Core
A strong core will
help you perform with better technique, longer, and with fewer
injuries. No matter what your swim stroke, core stability is essential
for good swimming technique. The freestyle and backstroke involve a
rolling from one side to the other which is initiated in the core. A
weak core means less rolling and more stress on the shoulders. The best
swimming workout will address this.
The cause of a painful shoulder in swimmers can be attributed to a
myriad of stroke flaws. A hand entry which crosses the
midline will cause an impingement in the anterior shoulder at
the biceps tendon and the supraspinatus. This is
further aggravated by a thumb first entry which stresses the
biceps attachment to the labrum. A crossover pull-through
usually results from a crossover entry and increases the
duration in the impingement position. A crossover entry is aggravated
by an unstable core and can be addressed with the best swimming workout.
Proper body roll can resolve most of the impingement risks.
(Provided the swimmer does not have a history of instability) Studies
have shown that swimmers with painful shoulders had serratus anterior
muscles that became less active or inactive. This is an important
muscle in scapular stabilization (among others) and is easily addressed
with swimming exercises with the ball.
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The majority of
force produced during swimming comes from the
trunk and shoulders. Like the spine, the shoulder must also be stable
to
transmit energy from the trunk to the upper extremity.
You can see here
that increased lateral trunk movement during the swim
stroke can increase turbulence and drag. Core stabilization exercises
will prevent that. |
Core
conditioning should aim at strengthening the different phases of
the stroke. Select a phase and have the swimmer hold that position
while doing a particular exercise is optimal in making the exercise
sport specific.
Exercise ball exercises should be done as part of a dry land
program prior to swim practices. Stretches should be done prior to your
exercise ball workout. As exercises become easier you can add 1-2 kg
dumbbells or wrist and ankle weights to increase the intensity of your
exercise ball routine for the best swimming workout.
The Swimmer's Exercise Ball
Exercise Routine
Perform three sets of
each exercise as described three times per week. If you find the
exercises very easy, feel free to progress them as each exercise ball
exercise description suggests.
The best
swimming workout includes cardiovascular components to train the
appropriate energy systems, technical
training, strength and endurance training as well as swimming exercises
on the ball (also known as the swiss ball, ab ball, balance ball, fit
ball, gymnic ball, fitness ball, therapy ball, physio ball, etc.)
b
est swimming workout
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