4 Best Exercises for Swimmers at Home

As the current pandemic continues, many of us are self-isolating and social distancing to ensure the safety of not only ourselves but for others too.

While we’re slowly adjusting to the fact this is our new normal for the time being, it can come with it’s challenges and struggles. It can be difficult to maintain a steady, balanced workout routine when we don’t have access to leisure centres and gyms. We know that home work outs raise the question of whether or not they’re effective, and the answer is simply, yes. People tend to find home training more comfortable, and you save money as you don’t have to pay for monthly gym fees.

Home work outs can be just as effective a gym workouts, providing you put the time and effort into it. We know how essential water based workouts are to swimmers, which is why we’ve put a list of the top 5 exercises for swimmers at home, to ensure you’re on top of the right dry land exercises ready for when you can get yourself into a pool.

What Home Gym Equipment Do I Need?

Exercise Mat
Slide Dryland Trainer
Resistance Bands
Skipping Rope

Dryland Exercises for Swimmers

Flutter Kicks

Flutter kicks are designed to work the muscles of your core, more specifically, the lower abdominal wall. You can perform this exercise either lying on your back, or lying on your front. The most popular way is to perform flutter kicks when lying on your back.

How To Perform Flutter Kicks?

Lie down flat on your back, with your arms placed comfortably along your sides. Place your hands underneath your bottom, palms facing down. Lift your head, neck and shoulders slightly off the ground, and while keeping your legs straight, lift one leg so it hovers a few inches off the floor. Repeat the same action with the other leg, this essentially makes a flutter kick motion and mimics leg movements used in backstroke and freestyle swimming.

How To Make Flutter Kicks More Challenging?

Place your hands under your glutes rather than at your sides
Perform the criss cross flutter kick

Lunges

Lunges work the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes which is great for swimmers. There are multiple variations of lunges, all of which are effective in improving leg strength and development. You can master the forward lunge, walking lunge, lateral lunge and split lunge jump to name a few.

How To Perform Lunges?

For a simple forward lunge, start by standing tall with feet part. Take a big step forward with your right leg. You should shift your weight forward so your heel hits the floor first and lower your body until the right thigh is parallel to the floor. Use the right heel in order to get back to your original starting position. Repeat with your left leg.

How To Make Lunges More Challenging?

Try the curtsy lunge
Try the clock lunge

Jumping Rope

The skipping rope is an old, but classic exercise technique that works. It improves heart health and circulation, while building stamina and developing your calf muscles and reflexes. It’s one of the most effective cardio exercises, especially for swimmers. A study was conducted that showed how 10 minutes a day with a jump rope was comparable to 30 minutes of jogging.

How To Make Jump Rope Exercises More Challenging?

Check out the perfect beginner jump rope workout routine here.

Overhead Resistance Band Tricep Extensions

Resistance bands provide external resistance which your muscles have to work against. It’s used in order to obtain full muscle fibre recruitment. They increase muscular and bone strength, and essentially offer strength training without having to use heavy equipment.

Working on strength in the triceps is needed for every swimmer as they play a crucial role in pulling movement. While you can use resistance bands for a variety of exercises, overhead resistance band tricep extensions develops your strength and increases muscle.

How To Perform Resistance Band Tricep Extensions?

Step into the resistance band with your right foot. Take the band and push the handles overhead while keeping a slight bend in the elbow. Slowly lower your hands behind your head using only your forearms. Push the handles back up and focus on the tension in the triceps. You can also use the Slide Dryland trainer which is designed to provide swimmers with exercises that mimic the entire swim stroke cycle with consistent resistance.

Exercises To Do With Resistance Bands

Leg extensions
Glute bridge
Front squats
Concentration curl
Triceps kickback
Reverse crunch
Russian twist