Swimming is a unique type of physical activity. Particular attention is paid to the development of strength, endurance and coordination of movements. Professional swimmers try to improve these indicators not only in water, but also on land. Exercises on land for swimmers not only improve physical fitness, but also add variety to training. The training program is developed by specialists and is aimed at improving the swimmer's performance in the pool, rather than pumping him a muscular relief.
Swimming features
First of all, you should consider the features of swimming:
- When moving in water, all muscle groups work simultaneously. To do this, it is necessary that the muscles of the whole body work not only simultaneously, but also their movements are coordinated among themselves and make the maximum contribution to the effective promotion of the swimmer.
- When moving in the water, the swimmers lack any support for the movements and they have to create it on their own with the strength of the muscles, for this very reason the muscles of the body should be well developed and able to keep the whole body in the water.
- When promoting, the swimmer makes the same repetitive movements and if he does not have any additional training, then over time there will be a muscular imbalance, i.e. one group becomes much better developed than the others, and this negatively affects his health.
- For a swimmer, not only strength and endurance are important, but also flexibility. An insufficiently flexible body will not only become an obstacle when performing the technique, but can also lead to injuries.
- The greatest load during swimming is the shoulder joints. To avoid injury to these joints, it is necessary to carefully monitor the technique of swimming.
Dry swimming
Dry swimming refers to a set of exercises on land for swimmers, aimed at facilitating the development of swimming techniques, improving it, improving the physical form of a swimmer, and preventing injuries.
For professional swimmers, such classes are mandatory, and training outside the pool is given no less attention than water classes.
The most popular dry exercises for swimmers are stretching exercises and aimed at preventing injuries of the shoulder joint.
Physical fitness swimmers
Have you ever seen a professional swimmer? Slim, muscular, toned body. It is impossible to achieve this with just training in the pool. An important role here is played by the swimmer’s special exercises on land.
It is clear that swimming cannot be learned outside the water, but even without performing special exercises on land it is impossible to achieve at least some worthy indicators in this sport. Therefore, if you dream not only to “wallow” in the pool, but want to achieve some kind of result, pay more attention to strength and physical training outside the pool walls.
So, what is the direction of the swimmer’s training outside the water? It is worth paying attention to fitness, stretching and weight training.
Power training
Strength training in the gym not only improves endurance, but also develops the swimmer's explosive power, which is of great importance in short-distance swimming. But in the performance of power exercises on land for swimmers, the main thing will not be to build up large muscle mass, as it will increase the body's resistance in water and, accordingly, reduce the speed of movement. In short, all professional swimmers are very strong, but at the same time slim.
During strength training for swimmers, there are two types of exercises:
- In order to develop strength and speed, exercises on land for swimmers are performed with great weights and at maximum speed, but with a minimum number of repetitions.
- To improve coordination of movements and increase the number of mitochondria, on the contrary, exercises are performed with a small weight, but with a large number of repetitions.
When compiling a training program, the specialization of the swimmer should be taken into account. If he works at short distances, it is most important for him to develop explosive power and, therefore, perform the first group of exercises. If he specializes in long distances, then it is more important for him to develop endurance and the second option of strength training is suitable for him.
Stretching
Swimming is a sport in which the flexibility and mobility of certain joints is of great importance. And while in other sports, hypermobility of the joints can cause possible injuries, then in swimming it will rather save you from pain.
Fitness
In swimming, the muscles of the abs, back and legs are most involved. They are the ones that get killed most often, and therefore fitness exercises on land for swimmers are most often aimed at working out these muscle groups.
Kifut exercises
These exercises are deservedly called gold, and they are aimed primarily at training swimmers. Such exercises on land for swimmers without equipment are aimed at increasing the flexibility and elasticity of the muscles, improving posture.
Execution Rules:
- For three weeks, do the exercises daily or at least five times a week. After this time, two to three executions per week will be sufficient.
- Perform exercises no later than two hours before bedtime.
- Do not overwork when doing exercises. If you feel that you are not yet able to perform all of them, feel free to reduce the number of exercises. Gradually, you will be able to complete the entire program.
- If you are not able to complete all the exercises so far, then alternate them so that you give a load to different muscle groups.
- Breathe freely, never hold your breath.
There are several varieties of exercises:
- Land exercises for the spinner.
- Land exercises for breaststroke swimmers. They take into account all the features of this type of swimming.
- Land exercises for the rabbit. In some cases, they will have to be performed with an assistant.
- Land exercises for butterfly. This is a large complex, but necessary for an athlete.
In addition to the above, among the swimmers are popular exercises on land for swimmers for the back from Postal A. I. These exercises are shown in the video below.
Rubber Workout
This simulator serves to develop stroke power and is at the same time a fairly simple device, but at the same time very effective. One of the advantages of such a simulator is its mobility. In addition, it can be used constantly, both before the competition, and in the preparatory period or during the recovery period.
Before starting classes, you need to stretch yourself well, especially for the shoulder joints and muscles. In addition to the usual warm-up, it is good to do exercises from general physical training - push-ups, abs and pull-ups.
At the end of classes with an elastic band, a hitch should be made to relieve the load from the upper spine. It will also be nice to add some yoga exercises, for example, the classic bar.
Mistakes when practicing with elastic
- The main mistake of beginners is that they do not control the return of the hands to their original position, that is, by making a stroke, he relaxes his hands, allowing the elastic to make a spontaneous jerk in the opposite direction. Such an implementation will certainly lead to injuries and dislocations of the shoulder joint, perhaps not immediately, but in the future, diseases will be guaranteed to you.
- The second mistake is a large number of repetitions. Performing 50 repetitions and more, you will not improve the strength of the stroke, but definitely “kill” your back and shoulders. Train the strength of the stroke in the pool - there you can swim at least endlessly.
- Do not exercise with elastic more often than three times a week. Daily exercise will do more harm than good.
- Perform exercises while standing. Lying on the mat, you are in a relaxed state and you will not be able to control the movements of the hands during the stroke in time, which will lead to injuries to the shoulder and upper spine.
Children training
Children's training is not much different from training an adult swimmer, with a discount, of course, on the level of training.
The main tasks facing the trainer:
- Harmoniously develop the main muscle groups.
- Strengthen the musculoskeletal system.
- Eliminate a lack of muscle development.
The children's body is just being formed, and most often they have poorly developed muscles of the abdomen, back and back of the hips. Girls also suffer from a lag in the development of the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Therefore, this must be taken into account when drawing up a training program.
Usually it includes:
- general exercises without the use of objects;
- exercises with a partner;
- with weight;
- on gymnastic apparatus;
- on jumping stands of various heights;
- on power simulators.
In addition to them, stretching and exercises on land are mandatory for swimmers to coordinate movements.
Strength training exercises for children:
- Exercises from the TRP complex - climbing a pole or a rope, throwing a ball, jumping, running with obstacles and the like.
- General, for the development of the body - paired or single, with the use of dumbbells or gymnastic sticks, etc.
- Individual items from other sports, such as skiing or outdoor sports.
- Exercises with a partner - are used not only when it is not possible to use special sports equipment, but also in order to emotionally diversify the workout and introduce an element of competition into it.
Since the children's body is only being formed, all exercises, as mentioned above, should be aimed at the uniform development of the whole body. An improperly designed training program threatens children with hypertrophy of certain muscle groups, for example, when a child has disproportionately developed shoulders with a miniature overall figure.
Swimming is good for the child’s body and it doesn’t matter if the child does it professionally or you just recorded it in the pool. Children involved in this sport are much less sick, have a stronger nervous system, proper posture, good immunity, sleep and appetite. Now more and more often swimming lessons with a child begin to be held from the first days of his life, and this is a very good tradition among modern parents.