Get Ready to Swim With This Dryland Warm-up

How many times have you showed up to swim practice feeling a world of tension stemming from your day? You might note a tight shoulder or knee pain while standing on deck, though you might hop in the water and hope to work out the kinks during your warm-up.

Do this for five, 10, or even 20 years, and it becomes easy to see why a little bit of tension can grow into a lot of missed practice time due to pain or injury. Also, if you add up all of those strokes you took with restricted movement or an adjusted movement pattern to avoid the pain, it’s easy to see why your swimming form might be a little less than optimal. Imagine what your swimming ability would be like if you could maximize each stroke of practice from the very first.

One of the most impactful and simplest adjustments you can make to your swimming routine is to add a dryland warm-up before each practice or meet. This doesn’t require any fancy equipment or committing a large chunk of time. Simply carving out 10 to 15 minutes to activate your body before your first stroke of the day can help you enjoy the sport you love for longer and with fewer interruptions because of pain or injury.

What a Dryland Warm-up Should Accomplish

In its simplest form, a dryland warm-up should accomplish three things: 1) increase your heart rate, 2) warm your body, and 3) prepare you for the demands of what lies ahead. There are multiple ways to achieve this and craft a warm-up specific to your needs. Your warm-up can evolve and doesn’t have to be the same routine each day of the week or the same for a full year. I recommend changing your warm-up routine once a quarter based on how your body is responding to your swim practice and daily life.

Try This Dryland Warm-up Routine

A great place to start is with some exercises that target your shoulders, adductors, and ankles. These areas of your body manage a lot of the workload during swim practice, and you’ve probably complained about discomfort in at least one of these areas if you’ve been swimming for a few years or more. Remember, a good warm-up can be accomplished in many ways. Here’s just one example of what you can do.

Complete two rounds of the following exercises. Take minimal rest between exercises and rounds, pacing this section to take five minutes to complete.

• Floor angel + knees bent x 12
• Adductor rocks x 6 on each side
• Ankle press x 12

The next area to consider is your core stability. When your core (abs, obliques, hips, glutes, back, etc.) is stable, your limbs can function at a more efficient level. Without stability, limb movement effectiveness decreases, and frustration rises. Focusing on controlling your lower back and ability to resist rotation are two solid places to start.

Complete two rounds of the following exercises. Take minimal rest between exercises and rounds, pacing this section to take five minutes to complete.

• Plank shoulder taps x 12 on each side
• Dead bug x 6 on each side

To top off your warm-up, focus on some multi-joint movements to help increase your blood flow and get different parts of your body ready to work together. This will bring it all together and have your body primed for a solid first stroke.

Complete two rounds of the following exercises. Take minimal rest between exercises and rounds, pacing this section to take five minutes to complete.

• Squat matrix x 2 of each type
• Hinge W x 12