How to improve your swimming warm up

Here Coach Tim talks us through how to improve your swimming warm up to get the most out of your swimming and bring this process to your summer races where ‘easy swimming’ just doesn’t happen!

Mobilisation before a session begins

As a coach I know I have been guilty of setting 400m mixed stroke warm up - in fact it became the mainstay to every session. Not that there is much drastically wrong with it, apart from the fact that it didn’t really do much than get the swimmer wet!

Another issue with it, is that in a competition whether that is in a pool or open water there is rarely the opportunity to swim 400m to loosen up, do some build work in a packed pool or ensure the wetsuit is comfortable, acclimatise before entering cold water.

As well as a swimming warm up, it’s important to know how to warm up on land before you swim. After a day sitting at a desk for long periods this will begin to inhibit your mobility and develop stiffness in your neck, shoulders through your upper thoracic. Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles. Moving your muscles helps your body to digest the fats and sugars you eat. If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats, sugars as fat in your body. Sitting can cause your hip flexor muscles to shorten, this can lead to problems with your hip joints.

Therefore its important to prepare our bodies properly before diving into the pool for the 400m mixed stroke warm up! To do this we can work through a dry land warm up to make sure our muscles have an adequate blood supply and are warm and supple ready for the up coming workout. The bigger the movement, the more blood flow is generated, the warmer and more flexible you’ll become and the better flow of fuel and nutrients to the muscles. An effective warm up needs to be progressive in its intensity and specific.

In order to maximise the warm up process you can utilise the RAMP process, What is this I hear you ask:

R - Raise the body temperature

A - Activate and

M - Mobilise the body, joints and muscles

P - Prime, to get ready.

What Routine Can I Follow?

Below is listed a basic blood flow stretching routine :

1. Body weight squats or push ups

2. Arm swings (left arm forward, right arm forwards, left arm backward, right arm backward)

3. Shoulder rolls

4. Bent over swings (alternate arms and double arms)

5. Bent over hugs (single arm and double arms)

6. Leg swings (left leg and right leg)

7. Cross body leg swings (left leg and right leg)

8. Tricep stretch

This needs to continue for at least 10mins for maximum benefit, so spend approximately 40sec to 1min on each.

Here is some activation and teamwork one one of our training camps

Mobilisation and Activation

You can use joint mobilisation, starting with the ankles and moving upwards through the body. Start with small rotations and as you get warmer increase the range of movement.

1. Ankle rotations (clockwise, anticlockwise)

2. Knee rotations (clockwise, anticlockwise)

3. Hip rotations (clockwise, anticlockwise)

To finish the warm up use a couple of core exercises to activate core then you are ready to go. Use a kick board to protect the knees, if needed.

1. Plank (with shoulder taps)

2. Supermans

3. Inchworms

These a just a few, there are an infinite number of exercises and ways to activate the core use the ones that work for you.

Summary

We’ve mentioned above around the benefits of an effective warm up, as a reminder here they are again :

• Raises heart rate and respiratory rate, resulting in increased blood flow and oxygen delivery to the working muscle. Making them more elastic and more efficient.

• Mobilises joints effectively, taking them through their desired range of movement.

• Engages muscles and tendons for the physical demands that are about to placed upon them during physical activity, reduces the risk of injury.

• Increase joint stability, when muscles engage around a joint, stability is enhanced.

There is still the thought of going through this routine without feeling embarrassed at the end of the pool by yourself swinging your arms and legs around.

If the above isn’t enough to help you overcome your embarrassment, here are a couple more benefits :

• Increase nerve impulse efficiency, which can enhance reaction time response

• Gives the athlete confidence to work at increased effort without fear of aggravating an old injury

• Provide the athlete with an opportunity to rehearse the skill element. To be able to work at the increased effort without the fear of injury.

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We’re here to help

Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.

The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.

If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.