Just got back from the Greensboro meet and it brought back memories from previous Nationals. With so many swimmers attempting to warm-up in a fairly restricted area how do you do it? Are there any good dry land warm-up exercises that can simulate the pool action. I know this will be a problem at the nationals and am looking for some good advice.
Parents
Former Member
Great question. My goal would be to loosen up the joints that are most important for swimming and those that tend to feel the stiffest. A big part of my warm-up involves making sure my ankles are loose, since this makes the kick more efficient. So definitely do some toe raises, ankles rotations, and light ankle extension stretching. Backward arm circles loosen the shoulders. I always do some pec minor stretches before I swim, as well. And then maybe just some lightly weighted movement: body-weight squats, jumps, push-ups, etc. If you can plan ahead for this, bring stretch cords and do some simulated butterfly pulls.
Another part of the warm-up is studying the pool dimensions and materials. If you can't practice in your actual competition lane, take a very close look at the markings on the bottom and the changes in the depth. Maybe even feel the wall and the starting blocks and see how slippery they are. I came into a meet late today and was surprised by how slippery the wall was during my race. You don't want that.
Great question. My goal would be to loosen up the joints that are most important for swimming and those that tend to feel the stiffest. A big part of my warm-up involves making sure my ankles are loose, since this makes the kick more efficient. So definitely do some toe raises, ankles rotations, and light ankle extension stretching. Backward arm circles loosen the shoulders. I always do some pec minor stretches before I swim, as well. And then maybe just some lightly weighted movement: body-weight squats, jumps, push-ups, etc. If you can plan ahead for this, bring stretch cords and do some simulated butterfly pulls.
Another part of the warm-up is studying the pool dimensions and materials. If you can't practice in your actual competition lane, take a very close look at the markings on the bottom and the changes in the depth. Maybe even feel the wall and the starting blocks and see how slippery they are. I came into a meet late today and was surprised by how slippery the wall was during my race. You don't want that.
