Swimming Warm Up Stretches

Keep in mind that the best warm up exercises for swimmers should be done outside of slippery areas i e.

Swimming warm up stretches. As with running it s important to adequately warm your body up before you hop in the water. Raise your heart rate by performing the following pairs of exercises. Just stretching your arms isn t going to cut it. Warm up exercises and stretching for open water swimming.

These swimmer specific stretches work those hard to reach muscles that are key to great swimming. The best warm up exercises for swimmers will increase blood flow to your muscles and raise your body temperature. The warm up exercises suggested here will give you a good starting point but feel free to develop your own routine. The warm ups should be performed in the order.

Do stretches like arm swings and leg swings jumping jacks etc. Climb out of the pool and do 5 minutes of dynamic stretching. Here are some swim specific prep exercises that you should do before you swim to make sure your body has the mobility it needs to get through any stroke efficiently. Dynamic swimming warm up exercises prepares you for the activity and lowers your risk of injuries.

Back into the pool and swim another 5 minutes. Swim for 5 10 minutes at an easy effort. It should also incorporate dynamic stretches which requires your body to move as you stretch. A dynamic swimming warm up pushes more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles.

Preparation for additional muscular and metabolic loads. Repeat the two exercises again for 30 seconds then move on. Do 6 10 lengths of stroke technique drills with 10 20 seconds rest in between each. If you ve only got limited time focus on the arm swimming exercises as these tap into a wide range of swimming muscles.

Great warm up stretches loosen up the muscles and get the blood flowing throughout the body. Each stretch is designed to increase flexibility and mobility in your shoulders hips chest and legs. What is a dynamic warm up. A dynamic warm up is 5 10 minutes of gentle cardio exercises.

Band exercises need space and something to fix the band to. You may not know it but you may be lacking flexibility in certain key areas that can effect your swim performa. For example a warm up should be longer if swim sprints are planned. Swimming is a sport where flexibility is huge.

Anywhere near the swimming pool and should be done wearing proper athletic shoes. Swimming is an energy consuming activity that could leave you out of breath and result in sore muscles. The amount of warm up time depends on the intensity of the swim session. Watch videos of land warm up exercises for competitive swimmers aged 12 14 and swimmers aged 15 and over.