Dryland Training For Swimmers

Great points from the above poster. When designing a dryland program we all need to use progression and make sure propoer technique is demonstrated before moving to the next step. For example, one must show proper from in a body weight squat before adding speed and eventually moving on to a jump squat. I work for JC Santana at the Institute if Human Performance and he has developed 3 simple rules to follow: 1 - No Pain in Movements (you would think would be the obvious but isn't to some) 2 - Show control in all movements 3 - Use proper progression If you follow these rules and make sure your athletes have fawless technique you are good to go. To your point on the term functional training - I do beleive this term is misused way to much in the industry. To many people decide that standing on a stability ball or some senseless exercise that so called looks creative but doesnt so anything is now functional training. You must always ask yourself why am I doing this exercise and how does it being the function I am trying to improve. Train Hard, Train Smart. Next week I will post some workouts that our swimmers are doing in there power phase right before taper starts.

I think Dave Salo's book Complete Conditioning for Swimming is a great place to start as well...

Here is part of the workout that I did yesterday with Elle Weberg and Arlene Semeco. On Monday's we do upper body power mixed in with some lower body and core exercisesThese are two high level athletes so they workout is somewhat advanced. Make sure you master the basics before moving on to faster, more explosive movements. Circuit # 1 (go through this 3 times) Lat pulldown 3 x 5 Overhead Med Ball Slams 3 x 5 1 Leg squat or a staggered squat 3 x 10 Stability Ball Knee Tucks 3 x 15 Circuit # 3 Machine Rows 3 x 5 Rope Climb 3 x (1) - 15 to 20 ft rope Stability Ball Bridge 3 x 15 Stability Ball Log Roll 3 x 10 If you checkout IHPSWIM on facebook you can find pictures and video clips of some of the other exercises that we do.

Grif, this is a great thread that you have started. I know that I need to get stronger out of the pool. I am not an elite athlete, nor do not have the time to commit to a full dryland program. I think that it would be helpful to have a shortened version of a workout that people of all abilities could integrate into their routines. What exercises would you recommend?

I know that I need to get stronger out of the pool. I am not an elite athlete, nor do not have the time to commit to a full dryland program. I think that it would be helpful to have a shortened version of a workout that people of all abilities could integrate into their routines. What exercises would you recommend? I'm not Grif, but I would like to chime in with a few comments on these points: If you're not an elite athlete and have time limitations it is paramount that you get some basic assessment of your movement abilities first. Many masters swimmers have this misconception that dryland training must involve long sessions in the weight room. You can eliminate a lot of superfluous activity (and save time!) by identifying your weak links of movement first. Some common dryland dysfunctions that manifest themselves in the water include.... 1) The pattern of unstable neck, lumbar spine, knee, and scapulae combined with immobile thoracic spine, hips, shoulder joint, and ankles. The cause of this dysfunctional series of joint patterning often relates to lifestyle/postural issues. You can throw all the exercises you want at the issue, but as soon as you leave the gym and get in your car or go back to your desk with crappy posture you've just erased the new "software" that you just downloaded with all of your exercising. 2) Poor landing skills. A lot of swimmers spend too much time on the wall during their turns because they don't know how to land softly and change directions. When performing jumping drills (whether plyo jumps or simply jumping rope) the focus should not only be on the explosiveness of the push, but also on the quality of the landing. This is where the supervision of a good coach is PARAMOUNT...if you're working out under Grif's supervision you'll probably get this down quickly. Show up at some nonsense boot camp class at your local big box gym and you'll just randomly burn some calories and learn poor habits (and possibly get hurt in the process). 3) Inability to segmentally disassociate. Basically this refers to the ability to move the lower body independently of the upper body in the appropriate sequence. Many stroke flaws (and technical flaws in all rotationally based sports) exist because the upper body and lower body are unable to work independently. 4) This is related to number 2 and 3, but deceleration skills are also a problem for many swimmers. That is, they can rotate from side to side, but lack power because they can't change directions quickly. Again, this is a motor learning issue that will show up both on land and in the water.

One more brief comment...Rope climibing and rock climbing are about as good as it gets for dryland conditioning. Unfortunately, these activities aren't readily available most places due to insurance policies. Rope climbing forces the body to move in that natural primitive crawling pattern of L arm-R leg/R arm-L leg. Any time we can restore our basic movement patterns and build dynamics from there we are in the right direction.

Some common dryland dysfunctions that manifest themselves in the water include.... Poor landing skills. A lot of swimmers spend too much time on the wall during their turns because they don't know how to land softly and change directions. When performing jumping drills (whether plyo jumps or simply jumping rope) the focus should not only be on the explosiveness of the push, but also on the quality of the landing. I think this observation is excellent. In a short course mile I have to "jump" 65 times in 19-ish minutes. Moments wasted on poor foot placement and use can really add up. There are a lot of trainable muscles in the feet and ankles.

Another alternative which we use is a good old peg climbing board but those are not frequently availible either. You can buy a 1.5" inch manilla rope about 15 ft in length and toss it over a pull up bar. It gives you 7.5 ft" of length on each side. From there you can perform pull - ups on the rope with a staggerred hand position. This is not as beneficial as the rope climb because you end up doing have the reps with one arm over the top and then you switch. When you climb the rope you will incorporate more rotation as you pull.

Following up on the point about feet and ankles...It is critical to both assess and train the lower extremities dynamically. This doesn't mean we go straight into working on jumping skills but it does mean that the feet and ankles are very revealing of certain "core" limitations. There are many people who can achieve good ankle range of motion in a static, non-weight bearing state who lose that mobility the instant they put their ankles under a load. The cause is frequently related not to sports factors but instead to a lifestyle in developed countries that inhibits hip and ankle mobility (i.e.high heeled footwear, mechanized transportation, lots of time seated). There's nothing wrong with this, but it does help to know what is causing the limitations if the foot and ankle aren't working as desired. Before getting into jumps, the body weight (or "naked") squat that Grif referenced is not only a good exercise, it also is a valuable lower extremity assessment tool. One reason that good strength coaches require perfect body weight squats before getting into jumps is that you can "fake" ankle mobility by adding load. If you can't do a perfect-form squat without weight, but you can get a full range of motion WITH weight (or under a jump), you have simply collapsed at the bottom. That's NOT dynamic ankle mobility; but it is a good way to hurt your knees and low back, especially for swimmers who spend most of their training time in a non-weight bearing state. We want to achieve authentic ankle flexion that flows from stable feet and knees combined with mobile hip sockets. The ankles are part of a lower extremity kinetic chain that requires well timed core activation, mobile hips, stable knees, and stable feet to operate efficiently.

Thanks for the information. I think that it is really to get confused with all of the different information available out there. Videos really help to reinforce what the exercises should look like. It makes sense that rope climbing would be one of your fundamental exercises that you use for the dryland training. It is one of the hardest things that I have ever tried! For people who do not have access to a rope or a rock wall, is there anything that can be used as a substitute that is just as effective?