Hi everyone
I've started practicing waterpolo in september. I would like to improve cardio and endurance because I got tired too easily. I need to be able to stay in the pool for at least 10 minutes in a row (even more) doing sudden turns, accelerations etc
Do you have any ideas about some training I could do in order to improve cardio and endurance? Let's say twice a week
Thanks a lot (I hope my English is good enough)
Daniel
Daniel18 -
Had you ever been a swimmer before trying water polo?
Water polo is indeed very demanding, and requires great eggbeater kick for vertical body lift, and quick transitions to/from horizontal to vertical body position and acceleration down the pool, either in a prone position or on your back.
Certainly, standard swim practices are a help, but specialized skills are also needed for "heads up" swimming with the ball, passing, and shooting.
Have you looked into the USA Water Polo Association?
Daniel18 -
Had you ever been a swimmer before trying water polo?
Also, how often are you playing?
Doing some swim sets a couple of times a week could help. Legwork (eggbeater kick) is also useful. If you are doing swim sets/practices to supplement water polo practices, they should be shorter and sprint oriented. If you watch a water polo game, it is basically a series of fast sprints.
In my younger years I was a high level water polo player and coach in CA and now am a 57 year old USMS swimmer.
Swimming and water polo are two different sports and it is much harder to get fit for polo with traditional swimming workouts than the other way around.
When we coached we learned the best way to condition for polo was by playing polo. Full court 4 on 4 scrimmaging, lots of counter attack drills...etc.
if you’re going to try to gain conditioning for polo by swimming I’d suggest sets like: (assume 25 yard pool) 10 x 25 @ 30 with climbing out of pool and starting with a dive.
Swimming sets of 75s where when you get to the wall you touch with hand but then use your hips and legs to do a quick turn of direction without using wall to push off of with legs.
Stay away from distance sets and focus on high intensity sets that require engaging core like climbing out of pool or quick change of directions
Also, how often are you playing?
Doing some swim sets a couple of times a week could help. Legwork (eggbeater kick) is also useful. If you are doing swim sets/practices to supplement water polo practices, they should be shorter and sprint oriented. If you watch a water polo game, it is basically a series of fast sprints.
Is this why water polo players are good sprinters when they swim in high school. Lots of sprint work.
Hello
I come back after a year. I try to give you more informations:
I'd like to find a training program (45 minutes twice a week) in order to be able to do some short sprints in a brief period of time (let's say 5 minutes). I'd like to improve my speed too
To put my request in the right context I have started playing waterpolo a year and a half ago and I would like to be able to do some short sprints in my game time without being exausted after the first one (if I do a couple of sprint when we attack I wanna be able to have the strenght to come back in defense when we lose the ball).
I noticed that the most experimented players are way faster than me so I would like to improve also this skill in order to reduce the gap
Beside the waterpolo practices (three times a week) I go in a public pool twice a week so I will be in a lane with other people (so climb out the pool and dive could be complicated)
Thanks in advance
