Dryland Training For Swimmers

Thanks KeWebb - a good discussion is great for everone and gets you thinking about what we should really be doing.Thanks to Ap4305 for making some great points and really adding to the blog. First, as Ap4305 mentioned, we have to look at our needs as a swimmer. I will keep it general here. I call it L.A.P.S. - Lower Body Power, Alignemnt and core rotation exercises, Pull and Push Power, Shoulder Stability. Obviously it helps to look at these areas a little more closely as Ap4305 has but this is a general way to make sure all your needs are addressed in a dryland program. I have found that doing timed circuits are a great way to do a workout for someone who is short on time such as yourself KeWebb. I usually do 30 seconds per exercise with a 15 second rest/transition period. Here is an example of circuit for a beginner Exercise # 1 - Bodyweight Squat - L Exercise # 2 - Planks - A Exercise # 3 - Resistance or Cable pulldowns or swims - P Exercise # 4 - 2 hands on the flexibar (upper vibration) - S Perform this 3 times through - it takes only 3 min per round and a total of 9 min. If you design another one and do that 3 times it will only take 18 minutes. How is that for a short effective workout? I will post some more circuits or you can check soem videos, photos and workouts on my ihpswim facebook page. Oh yeah, and I love rope climbing and totally agree with Ap4305, it doesn't get much better than rope climbing when it comes to pull power and core strength

Today I went to my bootcamp class with this thread in the back of my mind, mostly how I should be careful with how I do plyometric type dryland exercises. I noticed that some of the more strenuous jumping exercises could injure one if not performed mindfully. I was pretty good at the squat jumps, but hesitant about the "skating". I don't understand how doing this exercise could help me, so I kind of hopped side to side. I guess that the question is, should I focus more on straight-plane exercises for the lower extremity, or would multi-plane exercises be just as beneficial? I just don't see them as functional for swimming as something as a squat jump, which essentially mimics pushing off of the wall.

Today I went to my bootcamp class with this thread in the back of my mind, mostly how I should be careful with how I do plyometric type dryland exercises. I noticed that some of the more strenuous jumping exercises could injure one if not performed mindfully. Hmmm...now there's an understatement :) I won't go on a complete boot camp rant, but I will say that many of these exercises that get hastily culled together in these boot camps were not designed to be conditioning tools. These exercises/drills were designed as skill tools to supplement the sport specific training of athletes that had gone through a multiyear progression of mastering basic drills before moving on to the more advanced ones. Doing complex plyometrics in the state of fatigue that most people work themselves into during boot camp class is simply a recipe for injury. A skilled coach with a small group of high level athletes can push the condtioning envelope with complex plyos, but the stuff most boot camp instructors do with their class is just scary (note I said "most"...there are some good ones out there). Regarding the use of multi-planar lower extremity exercises for swimming...yes, they are important (especially for women, due to pelvic structure and the role of hip mobility and stability in protecting the lower back and knees). I don't think you need to spend the time and energy on multi-planar plyos, but it is critical for the hips to function dynamically in all planes. Let's put it this way...if you don't have hip mobility in all planes when you ask your body to perform any type of rotational activity, your body will find a way to find movement from some less efficient mobility source such as the lower back and/or the knees.

I agree, exercises must be done in all 3 planes of motion but do not necessarily have to plyometrics. Again, it all comes down to progession. Before performing a skater you should master a bodyweight lateral lunge and then move on to a lateral lunge with external resistance. Once these movements are mastered and one can demonstrate CONTROL it may be time to try a skater at a low amplitude and progress the distance from there. My favorite training protocol for training all 3 planes of motion is called the dumbell matrix and was designed by one of the great physical therapists in Gary Gray. Also, have any of you guys been incorporating ropes into your training?

I posted this article on another topic. I wrote this for ASCA in 2006 an relates to this topic.

Recently I ran across this list of the "10 best core exercises" exercise.about.com/.../abexercises.htm I note that many Forumites and USMS bloggers do planks, which is #10. About six weeks ago I added these to my dry-land circuit. I'd like to see what others have to say about three issues: 1) I have tried both the regular planks and "modified planks". (In the latter, one supports body weight by elbows and knees, instead of elbows and toes as in the regular planks. There are pictures at the link above.) The regular planks seem to engage the muscles around the rib cage most, while the modified planks seem to engage the muscles in the lower abdomen most. The latter seems more appropriate for swimmers, especially if one is trying to build a better SDK, but they are slightly less effort overall. Any thoughts on this? 2) How long should one hold the plank and how many reps should one do? The web site says 20-60 s (3-5 reps). 60s x 5 reps doesn't seem excessive if they are done as part of a larger cycle. (See point 3 below.) I am thinking that maybe I should build up to holding the plank for a duration equivalent to a race, say about 2:30 if I wanted to focus on 200 IM. This would get pretty ridiculous if I wanted to focus on training for the 1500 free though! 3) Suppose I do 3 different exercises (e.g. planks, curls, squats). What are the relative merits of doing them in a cycle (planks, curls, squats, planks, curls, squats...) versus doing them serially, (planks, planks, planks, curls, curls, curls, squats, squats, squats...)?

. try a 3 pt plank with that 1 arm overhead! I am having trouble picturing this one - got a diagram?

I am having trouble picturing this one - got a diagram? Not exactly but see if this makes sense: 1) Get in a standard plank (toes and elbows) 2) Lift one arm up and point it forward (like superman) :D Tada! 3 point plank! Now where it gets fun is if you lift one foot and point it (diagonal from the arm pointing forward) and make a 2 point plank!

Its very very hard to do!

I love planks and all the different things that can be done with the different progression. You have somew good questions and I will try to answer them the best I can. 1 - I would say just because we "feel" certain muscles working more doesn't mean thats all that is working. When we do a plank we are teaching the inner muscles of the core to stabilize the spine (this is one train of thought and the one that I agree with). Stabilizing the spine will allows to to transmit foirce better and maintain proper posture in the water. When you plank from your knees it is obviously less intense therefore requiring less spinal stabilization. I feel from the kness is less effective for this reason. 2 - The length is a good debate. Anything over a minute gets a little ridiculous. I would work on increasing the intensity such as a 3 pt plank (lift a leg or arm) try a 3 pt plank with that 1 arm overhead! That is a killer. If you can hold proper form in that position for a minute you have plenty of core strength 3 - Its not exactly the pattern you do - its the rest between sets. For example of I do 3 sets of planks for 1 minute and take 30 seconds rest in between it would be beneficial to do some pull ups during the rest period. Reall, its the difference of doin another exercise during your rest time between planks instead of just sitting there. Hope this helps