#exercises for swimming

[traindaly]

3 Essential Shoulder Exercises for Swimmers

The demands of competitive swimming require robust shoulder mobility, endurance, and power. The repetitive motions of the competitive strokes can stress the shoulder complex, emphasizing the need for well-rounded strength training outside the pool. Here, we discuss three crucial shoulder exercises that every swimmer should incorporate into their regimen.

Prone Trap Raises with Dumbbells on Incline Bench

How to:

Lie face down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging straight down.

Neutral spine and neck.

With palms facing down like you are swimming, raise the dumbbells laterally to shoulder height. Imagine your shoulder blades moving first, followed by the arms.

Lower them slowly back to the starting position and repeat.

Benefits:

Scapular Stability: The lower trapezius muscle, which this exercise targets, plays a significant role in upward rotation of the shoulder blade. For swimmers, enhanced upward rotation can lead to better overhead position during strokes and decreased risk of swimmers shoulder related injuries.

Improved Muscular Balance: The repetitive strokes and patterns of swimming can sometimes lead to muscular imbalances. This exercise promotes the opposite motion, countering potential muscular imbalances

Injury Prevention: Regularly strengthening the trapezius muscles, posterior shoulder, can reduce the risk of common overuse injuries in swimmers, like swimmer’s shoulder.

2. Prone External Rotation Overhead Reach with Weight Plates on an Incline Bench

How to:

Lie face down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging straight down.

Keep the neck neutral.

With palms facing down like you are swimming, raise the dumbbells laterally to shoulder height, squeezing the shoulder blades together.

Lower them slowly back to the starting position and repeat.

Benefits:

Scapular Stability: The trapezius muscle, which this exercise targets, plays a significant role in stabilizing the shoulder blades. For swimmers, enhanced scapular stability can lead to better arm positioning during strokes and decreased injury risk.

Improved Posture: Swimming can sometimes lead to a rounded shoulder posture. This exercise promotes the opposite motion, countering the forward-leaning position and promoting better posture.

Injury Prevention: Regularly strengthening the upper trapezius can reduce the risk of common overuse injuries in swimmers, like swimmer’s shoulder.

Prone External Rotation Overhead Reach with Weight Plates on an Incline Bench

How to:

Lie face down on an incline bench holding a light weight plate in each hand, elbows bent at 90 degrees.

Keeping your elbows bent, begin by externally rotating the shoulders, lifting your hands to the ceiling, then press the weight forward in a Y-formation.

Return to the starting position and repeat.

Benefits:

Full Shoulder Activation: This exercise demands multiple shoulder movements: external rotation and overhead reach. This combination activates various muscle groups, enhancing overall shoulder strength and endurance.

Enhanced Mobility: The overhead reach improves range of motion and strengthens the shoulder muscles in a manner similar to the arm’s overhead motion during the competitive swimming strokes. This can lead to improved stroke efficiency.

Rotator Cuff Health: The external rotation component strengthens the small but essential rotator cuff muscles, which are crucial for shoulder health and function in swimmers, particularly countering and improving the internal rotation of a high-elbow catch.

3. Dynamic Downward Dog from an All Fours Quadruped Position

How to:

Start on all fours in a tabletop position with wrists aligned under shoulders and knees under hips.

Push through your hands and lift your hips up and back, straightening your legs and arms to form an inverted V or a downward dog position.

Return to the quadruped position and repeat.

Benefits:

Shoulder and Spine Mobility: Transitioning between these two positions promotes upward rotation of the shoulder blade improving overhead position, and mobility of the hips, and ankles.

Enhanced Proprioception: This exercise challenges body awareness and control, which is crucial for perfecting swimming techniques and coordination.

Core Activation: The dynamic motion between the two positions engages the core, teaching swimmers to activate their core muscles during strokes for better stability and power

Swimming is a comprehensive sport that necessitates specific training to enhance performance and reduce injury risk. Incorporating these three shoulder exercises can offer swimmers a robust and balanced shoulder complex, ensuring they're not only powerful in the water but also protecting their shoulders for the long haul.

Remember always to consult a coach familiar with swimming mechanics and complimentary dryland exercises before starting any new exercise regimen. Proper technique in the water, and strength in the gym is paramount to developing strong resilient shoulders for a lifetime of swimming!

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

I never really thought of myself as a person that likes to exercise or do sports, that is, before I discovered the joys of cycling. Holy shit. Oh my dace. Cycling is fucking amazing. It’s such a versatile activity!!! I can choose to cycle around the city to explore all the sights much faster and easier, just meandering around, I can choose to cycle long distance to someplace new or old, I can choose to cycle a certain route as fast as I can! Not only do I get the benefit of moving fast from point A to point B but I also get to savour all the sights around me, hear the birds, feel the wind on me, smell the flowers, take it all in. And if all that wasn’t just the best thing in the world already good cod does it just feel good to cycle. Really straining to reach a certain speed or going uphill makes me feel so alive. It makes my blood flow! And the feeling in my legs right after I’ve finished my route, AUGHHHH I live for that feeling, I really do. All my life I’ve felt like a wimp who could never reach the expected level of fitness if my life depended on it but when I cycle I feel so strong! I feel so capable! It’s amazing! I found My Sport and on cod I hope everybody finds theirs

[polyamorousmisanthrope]

Swimming and being an idiot

A knee injury had me back in the pool and I ain't cryin'. About the swimming, anyway. I like swimming a lot. Jogging hurts. Swimming doesn't. So, I swim.

Paying attention to necessary self-care in the water is very different from what you need for dryland exercise.

If you're walking really fast or running, you get hot. You get thirsty. In a normally-heated room, you might even feel a bit too warm and want some water when you get home.

You don't really have those thirst cues in the water, especially if it's a cool day and you're a bit chilled getting back home.

I got back from swimming today, and then just got HIT with being exhausted. Which, okay, a swim and a nap? AWESOME. (In the summer, when I did the open water stuff, I would look forward to the epic swim, followed by an epic meal and an epic NAP. Bliss)

I woke up from that nap feeling like crap. The fatigue and headache were worse.

"Okay, fine, you've got some decaf Earl Grey, so even if it IS after noon, make yourself a nice pot of tea and relax. You've done your chores for the day," I says to me.

Halfway through the pot, the headache and the exhaustion goes away and I realize I had nothing to drink for three hours after a 40 minute swim.

*drums fingers*

What are some symptoms of dehydration?

Well, fatigue and headache are a couple, so...

Yeah...

Have something to drink after you've been active, kiddiewinks. Don't be an idiot like me.

[mpregstuff]

Kiddie Pool | In a vibrant indoor pool, sunlight floods through enormous glass walls, illuminating the water's surface as Jake prepares for a dive into the unknown. His athletic frame slices through the shimmering blue, but it's the unexpected roundness of his belly—home to two tiny lives—that really grabs attention. Each stroke he takes is more than just a workout; it’s an exhilarating celebration of resilience and a rhythmic dance filled with anticipation. The sun reflects off his toned muscles, highlighting the striking contrast between strength and vulnerability. In this serene aquatic paradise, every powerful movement becomes a bold statement of his readiness for what’s to come. With each lap he masters, Jake embraces the beautifully chaotic journey of impending fatherhood, showing that the most profound transformations often surprise us when we least expect them. Here, in this moment, he’s not just swimming; he's carving out a new path for his life. More images are also available at https://mpregstuff.com.

[loveandthings11]

don’t lick the screen challenge

[ray935sworld]

Putting them next to each other so they can kiss in the pool

[thesilicontribesman]

Caerleon Roman Baths Museum, Caerleon, nr. Newport and Cardiff, Wales

[beneathsilverstars]

wow my endurance is so fucked i played the disappearance of hatsune miku on ddr and now my lungs hurt

[gouinisme]

trying to get a beach body (body that can handle going to the beach without being in so much pain i can barely stand up the next day)

[youokaybucky]

Hell yeah, let's go besties #DDofAB january 2025!! @dailydoseofaustinbutler / @slowsweetlove thank you for doing a january one for us 🫶

So I'm a swimmer, in a very loose sense. I used to be and now I grace the pool maybe once a month. I need to improve on that - so that's my new year's resolution. So have austin in a pool to start the year off right 🤭 Specifically in the carrie diaries because sebastian kydd rewired my brain chemistry.

[yumeyuyumeyume]

I want Iida to wrap Yuga in his big arms, comfort him and give him breathing exercises. then Yuga's gonna cry in his chest while Iida strokes his back and tells him everthing's okay. even when that doesn't completely work (bc Yuga's anxious for a hidden reason), even when it kinda makes him feel worse (the closer the more guilty), it does help him a lot.

contradictory, isn't it?

[saskia-mae]

reasons to work out that aren't for the way you look🌷🎧🧘🏽‍♀️🎀

working out has so many benefits, but can quickly become unhealthy if you don’t have the right mindset about moving your body. here’s some reasons to work out that aren’t about changing your body:

to improve your self-discipline

to help your mental health

to make yourself stronger

to sleep better

to feel good

to improve your heart health

to improve your consistency

your body does so much for you, and it deserves to be treated well! you most likely will have heart the phrase “your body is a temple”, but it’s true! move your body in different ways, whether it be walking, pilates, home workouts, running, gym workouts or dance, it will do you good!

if you don’t like exercising, my biggest piece of advice is to try new things! for example, i’ve always been good at 100m sprint, so last summer i decided to try running longer distances. i found it really hard and i didn’t enjoy it, so i was unmotivated to do it. so instead of forcing myself to continue, i found other ways to do my cardio, my favourite being dance, whether it’s a just dance workout or dancing in my room to my favourite songs.

finding something you enjoy doing makes it easier to start exercising and to be consistent! hope this helps <3

[la-galaxie-langblr]

Maybe I should try couch to 5k again (<- guy currently Going Through It)

[remembertheplunge]

March 20, 1996 Wednesday 10:40am Deva’s.

The above entry was written at Deva’s Restaurant while I was on a break from court. I was a deputy Public Defender in Modesto California. The 3 strikes law had been effect since March 1994. With the right prior convictions, a person could get life for a minor current offense. I handled many of the office's 3 strikes cases It was a continual horror show.

I learned as a volunteer when working with men with aids helping them through their illness and death to keep one foot outside of the story so as not to fall in. The same rule applys to criminal law practice. If you are consumed by their story, you lose your perspective.

Life was tough and tried hard to make me feel wrong about myself. That’s the nature of criminal law practice.

But now, as then, I work out, write, and now also swim in the ocean to turn those arrows out for even for a brief time. (I still practice criminal law)

[mxwhore]

Woah you go to the gym? Honestly I'd love to go as well as a first-timer but I got a lot of anxiety about it, not to mention I wouldn't know where to start. How'd you start going?

I went a few years doing calisthenics at home and when i reached my perceived peak, i started going to the gym last year to build mass 3 times a week max

The first month was a struggle because i was figuring out which were the better times to go without triggering my social anxiety and i made the effort to go really early (7 am onwards). From my experience, both gymrats and normal people go super early and usually theyre kind. I got my routines from my own research so if you want to go, think first of what your objective is and if you can reach it within your own means first.

If you are struggling with anxiety, my advice would be to getting used to exercising in front of other people. Sign up for a dance class or start running outside. Which is very hellish but it gets you out of the house!

Know your limits and good luck xoxo

[orrnament]

i swam laps this morning which made the whole day about that. to be at work thinking wow no one knows i was swimming this morning.. that’s living the dream..