I am new to this forum and looking for some advice/help.
I have been away from competitive swimming for almost 10 years now. I haven't even been in a pool for lap swim due to the fact that I was in a very rural area of VT with no pool access. Now that I am back home in Buffalo with a LMSC, I would like to return back to competition. I recently discovered USMS after some Internet browsing and was immediately intrigued. I never knew this organization existed. After scanning through the website and forum, it got my competitive juices flowing again. I was a competitive swimmer from a little tyke to college and am very excited and motivated to get back in the pool.
I am looking for some tips and ideas for returning to competitive form. I was a butterflyer and have some shoulder issues. I want to ease back into it without getting hurt. I am looking for some exercises to help strengthen my shoulders before pushing myself too much.
I would appreciate any diet/nutrition advice. I kind of let myself go the last couple of years.
Also, I will be in a location with no LMSC but access to a pool for about 5 months and am looking for workouts that I can do.
Any help you could give me would be outstanding. Thanks!!!!
Greetings jbdrags. Since shoulder problems can be pretty complex, I'll just offer a list of dryland exercises that I've done over the years to strengthen my shoulders. I too have returned to swimming after a while of non-swimming (20 years of bodybuilding/powerlifting). So here goes:
shrugs - these can be done with a barbell, dumbells, bands, etc., whatever provides the resistance that you can handle. Reps can vary, depending upon who you talk to or what you want to do.
rotator cuff exercises - there are a variety of ways to do this, the main motion is done keeping the elbow bent at a 90° angle, and moving the arm in a "tennis back-hand motion." This can be done standing up with cables or bands, or lying on a bench with dumbells. The exercises should be googled for more indepth explanation.
standing barbell or d-bell shoulder press - take a barbell, start by holding it at shoulder level, and then press up to lockout. These should be done standing, starting with very light weight until you get used to the balance and coordination that's involved. I'd also recommend doing these in front of the body, as pressing from behind the neck can cause unnecessary stress on the shoulders. This is also a great exercise for developing the core muscles that make up your trunk.
other exercises might include anterior, lateral, or posterior d-bell raises, and possibly d-bell or barbell upright rows.
In the course of doing this stuff for over 20 years, I've had some minor shoulder problems from time to time, and have found that some exercises seem to cause me more problems than they're worth. You might experiment and see what works for you. Also, I think the shrugs and rotator cuff exercises are important as they seem to help stabilize the shoulder, and this should help in swimming. Sorry for the long post, hope this helps.:banana:
Greetings jbdrags. Since shoulder problems can be pretty complex, I'll just offer a list of dryland exercises that I've done over the years to strengthen my shoulders. I too have returned to swimming after a while of non-swimming (20 years of bodybuilding/powerlifting). So here goes:
shrugs - these can be done with a barbell, dumbells, bands, etc., whatever provides the resistance that you can handle. Reps can vary, depending upon who you talk to or what you want to do.
rotator cuff exercises - there are a variety of ways to do this, the main motion is done keeping the elbow bent at a 90° angle, and moving the arm in a "tennis back-hand motion." This can be done standing up with cables or bands, or lying on a bench with dumbells. The exercises should be googled for more indepth explanation.
standing barbell or d-bell shoulder press - take a barbell, start by holding it at shoulder level, and then press up to lockout. These should be done standing, starting with very light weight until you get used to the balance and coordination that's involved. I'd also recommend doing these in front of the body, as pressing from behind the neck can cause unnecessary stress on the shoulders. This is also a great exercise for developing the core muscles that make up your trunk.
other exercises might include anterior, lateral, or posterior d-bell raises, and possibly d-bell or barbell upright rows.
In the course of doing this stuff for over 20 years, I've had some minor shoulder problems from time to time, and have found that some exercises seem to cause me more problems than they're worth. You might experiment and see what works for you. Also, I think the shrugs and rotator cuff exercises are important as they seem to help stabilize the shoulder, and this should help in swimming. Sorry for the long post, hope this helps.:banana:
