Every athlete out there has a routine that gives them an edge over others. It isn’t all about talent when you’re an athlete, there’s a lot more to it, and each one has a way to get ahead. When it comes to a fitness routine, even swimmers have their own that helps them stay ahead of everyone else. Below are some of the fitness routines that are used by professional swimmers to gain a competitive edge.
Power
Power plays a major role in the success of any swimmer. Here are some exercises to build up the power in your muscles so you can swim faster than your competition:
- Do squats, lunges, and step-ups to strengthen your legs.
- Take advantage of the pull-up machine to target and develop your upper body strength.
- Use a plyometric box for bounding exercises that will help perfect your jump turn.
Endurance
An effective competitive swimmer must be able to maintain a constant pace throughout a race. Improving your endurance will help you in this regard, and these exercises can help:
- Stretches – Before any exercise routine, it’s important to do plenty of stretches, especially for your legs, arms, and back.
- Pushups and crunches – Doing pushups and crunches is one of the easiest ways to improve your upper body strength. These will allow you to keep up the pace for a longer period of time without tiring out too quickly.
Strength
Strength training plays an important role in the lives of many swimmers. In fact, it takes more than just swimming to be a successful swimmer. You need to look beyond the water if you want to gain that competitive edge. You may think that all professional swimmers do is swim, but they actually spend a significant amount of time exercising out of the water. This includes bodyweight or weighted exercises, gymnastics, and calisthenics to improve muscle strength. The biggest benefit of strength training for swimmers is building lean muscle mass. This helps improve your overall performance in the pool and even reduces your risk of injury when you’re competing at major meets across the world. The best way to get started with strength training as a swimmer is by working on compound exercises that target both your upper and lower body muscles. For instance, some key exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, jump squats, and lunges. Others include burpees and planks, which are great for conditioning your core muscles within the abdominal region too.
Mobility
Swimmers need to be mobile; it’s a huge part of their sport. This is why the aquatic performance training they undergo is quite crucial to their edge. It comprises several ideas, and most of them are centered around these activities.
- Lunge walks
- Knee hugs
- Leg swings forward and back and side to side. It’s important that you keep your hips square during these.
Workouts to Enhance Performance As A Swimmer
Professional swimmers don’t have it any easier than any other athlete out there. And they certainly don’t only spend most of their time underwater as many would like to think. These are some of the fitness routines that are used by a professional swimmer to have an edge.
