The UK and many countries across the world have recently been hit by another national lockdown which has had a direct effect on leisure facilities, inclusive of swimming pools. As avid swimmers, we like to work on our fitness and technique in the water as much as possible and therefore need another outlet to practice!
As well as open water swimming, which we discussed in our most recent blog post here you can also work on your technique through dryland swim training.
WHAT IS DRYLAND TRAINING FOR SWIMMERS?
Exercises performed outside of a pool/water environment are considered dryland training. Many athletes utilise this training during pool maintenance or if there are adverse weather conditions (which is perfect for the winter months when the ocean can be a little chilly.)
Dryland training is a great way to work on your strength and conditioning, increasing flexibility and overall physical mobility. It is also a brilliant way to help fix any muscle imbalances and improve core strength. Importantly it can focuss on shoulder mobility. You do not need to be an Olympic swimmer or athlete to train this way, there are several different exercises which range from a beginner to advanced skill level, just like when you’re in the water.
DRYLAND WORKOUTS YOU CAN DO!
Advanced equipment isn’t needed to perform dryland workouts, you can train simply through bodyweight exercises or using swim/stretchy bungee cords!
If this is your first time doing a dryland workout you can focus on bodyweight exercises. As with any training plan, ensure you warm-up and activate your muscles before diving headfirst into the main piece of exercise.
You can warm up your body in many different ways for example; arm/leg swings, planking, jumping-jacks and hip bridge holds. When carrying out your main set, be mindful that technique is incredibly important - you don’t need to race to get through each exercise. Focus on the quality of your performance! In particular the position of your body, arms, hands and shoulders.
For your main workout look to add in push-ups, lunges, mountain climbers, and bodyweight squats. These are all great exercises to help your technique and increase your performance in the water. As with most workout plans, head for sets of 10, 12 or 15 and repeat three times to get your body moving.
If you do have access to swim/bungee cords, we discovered a great video by Dave Scott, a six-time Ironman Triathalon World Champion, who has demonstrated a great dryland workout you can do with the use of the equipment. You can find his video here.
Jack Maitland, a successful full-time triathlon coach is also running online Zoom swim cord classes throughout the current UK lockdown. Jack’s company ‘The Sports Ashram’ partner with The Big Blue Swim to run our ‘Swim Run’ week in May!
If you’d like to keep up to date with Jack’s Zoom classes over the lockdown period you can find all the information you need here.
We do hope the world will get ‘back to normal’ sooner rather than later, but for now, let’s keep doing what we can to thrive! Why not book a place with us for the summer? Your dryland techniques now will certainly transfer to a better performance in the open water this year!
07 January 2021
