Swimming Exercises: Endurance, Training Equipment, and Pull-Ups for Swimmers
Swimming Tips by Dan Daly
DALY Tip 1: Which one’s better for swimming?
A foundation of endurance creates a base in the off and pre-season for cycles of power training during in-season and competition phases. Ultimately the higher an endurance athlete's maximum power is, the longer they can potentially sustain submaximal power for distances over :30sec.
Are you getting better at going longer, but slower, or are you training towards goal paces and times?
DALY Tip 2:
Swimming equipment like buoys are great tools for adding additional stability and balance to a movement.
Buoys shift the load to the upper body, but also allow for a point of stability in the legs and core for better rotation and streamline.
Dryland exercises like the armbar and hard roll also provide external load and points of stability to drive core position, streamline and rotation.
Add some gear to your training to improve stability and strength in your swim.
DALY Tip 3: Can you perform a pull-up?
Butterfly and pull ups are similar in joint actions, muscles used, and strength to perform. For those of you who have a strong rhythmic butterfly, can you also perform a pull-up? We’d bet yes If no, the best way to start is by doing them.
Begin with eccentric pull-ups or negatives, starting at the top of a pull up and lowering your self as slowly as possible to slow hang, jump up and repeat for sets of 5 reps.
Try machine or band assisted pull ups on other days.
DALY Tip 4: 3 lifting mistakes endurance athletes make
They focus too much on single muscles like the rotator cuff and core, and not enough time on the bigger multi muscle multi joint movements. Like your sport, your lifts shoulder integrate the body as a whole, training patterns not muscles.
They spend too much time on reps and volume and not enough on weight and intensity. The higher your 100% is the higher your submaximal sustained force and effort are racing. Strength has a greater trickle down effect for greater repetitions output. Programming is lower in total volume and work, sparing your energy for other training, and your muscles of undo soreness.
Too much slow twitch work and not enough fast twitch work. If you want to get faster, add some speed and power training. Power cycles should follow periods of strength, aligned with big events, to prepare you to feel light and explosive.
