Do you do dryland exercises?

Do running and bicycling count? I've never done "wetwater" exercises as part of those activities. Dan

I do dryland training a couple times a week, both to enhance my swimming and to help offset the loss of muscle mass that comes with age. I like using stretch bands because you can simulate the compound motions of the stroke which increases the specificity of the exercise. I also do basic body weight exercises like push ups, pull ups, planks, etc.

I think at some point, every competitive masters swimmer should be taking time to do dryland or go to the gym. Sooner or later everyone is going to hit a plateau, and having the additional strength will stave off the eventual decline. This all depends on your age of course. (Some 30 somethings will keep improving well into their 40's before they experience any noticeable performance loss) Also...Swimming alone is not an impact sport, and there are many older swimmers who may encounter loss in bone density despite how often they hit the water. I recall seeing an article on osteoporosis in elderly swimmers and it was quite surprising. Anyway, dryland is definitely a benefit. It let's you break out the proverbial can of whoop-ass on the last lap of your 100....and most importantly, will help you retain muscle mass and density well into your AARP years and beyond.

As a 50-something female masters swimmer, strength-training is very important. While I think I gain a lot of strength just by swimming, I add resistance band exercises, planks, pull-ups & all kinds of core exercises in 2 30-minute workouts per week. Quicksilver hits the nail on the head in his last paragraph. I think it gives you a leg up in competition & helps you churn thru those tough sets in workouts. I've actually been thinking about running short distances several times a week to help with the cardio end of things.

I've actually been thinking about running short distances several times a week to help with the cardio end of things.I do this. Like 800m AFAP. If you haven't been running it's very easy to injure yourself starting though

Hi there! I've returned to training for open water swimming recently, and because of a back injury, I have to do dryland stuff in addition to the simming, but I'm at a loss of how to schedule the dryland workouts vs. my water workouts. Sometimes doing a swim after the dryland stuff is great for the back, but it's long and tiring. Should I alternate days? Only do the dryland stuff a couple of times a week? Any thoughts? Thanks!

As a master's swimmer I never really made time to do dryland. But, when I was at LCM Nationals last summer, a fellow team member interviewed several of the elite swimmers in masters. The overall message was the importance of retaining muscle mass and to do so everyone of them recommended a dryland regime. I started mine the very next week. Fast forward to this spring's Nationals. Some of my results were the fastest I'd been in 6 years. The only other thing I started was a protein shake so between the two, I believe, they were both important. Our dryland is focused on body weight exercises (almost no weights) and includes specific activities aimed at reducing injury for swimmers.

Do running and bicycling count? No. Dryland training specifically for swimming purpose. e.g. using resistance band to imitate strokes, etc. What I wonder is, if you have free access to pools 24 hours a day, couldn't you do all the trainings in the water? Or are some exercises more effective when done on dryland? Take, for example, the resistance band exercises, how is it better than actually pulling water in the pool?

Hi there! I've returned to training for open water swimming recently, and because of a back injury, I have to do dryland stuff in addition to the simming, but I'm at a loss of how to schedule the dryland workouts vs. my water workouts. Sometimes doing a swim after the dryland stuff is great for the back, but it's long and tiring. Should I alternate days? Only do the dryland stuff a couple of times a week? Any thoughts? Thanks! Alternating days is best. It can be difficult to go back to back with activities. Avoid burning out and making your fitness time an enjoyable routine is important to stay consistent. I usually swim M,W,F and use the gym on T,Th and sometimes Sat. (Depending on age, you should always fit in a recovery day). As far as types of dryland, it doesn't necessarily have to be heavy weights. Most facilities have a variety of weight machines, including rowing machines, and stair masters. This time of year is excellent for bike riding, and stand up paddle boarding. An excellent cross over sport for swimmers!

My in season regime is --- 3 days in the pool + 4 days at the gym with weights and cardio for 1 1/2 - 2 hours + one training session with my swim specific trainer. Not too bad for a 70 years of age swimmer that took High point trophy in the state and 5 medals at Greensboro nationals!