The Best Dryland Activity For Swimming
Photo Credit: Helen Cogan Photography
Over the years I have experimented with many different dry land routines to help supplement my swimming and triathlon endeavors. I have found one particular form of exercise that has produced more favorable results than any of the others. This exercise provides me with core strength, flexibility, shoulder maintenance and injury prevention.
I am no medical professional and much of the basis of my recommendation is rooted in anecdotal evidence. I do have some other data points in the success of some of my other triathlete and marathon swimmers that have been following this method as well. One more note before we get into the reason you are here! Please make sure you check with a medical professional before starting a new physical fitness routine! With that being said, the best dryland activity for swimming and triathlon that I have found in my many years of swimming and triathlon is…PILATES!
What Is Pilates?
Pilates is an exercise system that helps to improve overall fitness by focusing on core strength and improving posture and balance. Similar to yoga poses, pilates stresses proper posture, balance and flexibility. Due to the low impact nature and controlled movements of pilates, the chance of injury is much lower than with other more strenuous forms of exercise. Whether you are a triathlete or swimmer, your body takes a beating so it is important that supplemental strength activities help make you stronger without increasing your risk of injury.
Why I like Pilates for swimming?
Much like you, I am busy with work, training and finding some type of work life balance. It is important that I use my training time wisely. I do not find doing yoga for flexibility and traditional weight lifting for strength training to be sustainable given the time commitments to both. I prefer activities that can tackle more than one objective. I have found pilates to do just that.
Pilates works on all the main muscles groups necessary for fast swimming with a large emphasis on core strength. An added benefit is that you can do it in the comfort of your home which isn’t always possible with some of these other activities. It is an all in one exercise program that you can squeeze in while watching your favorite show or during a lunch hour while working from home. The right pilates program will give you strength, flexibility, mobility and cardiovascular needs all in one 30-45 minute session.
How I Use Pilates & My Favorite Online Resource!
I credit much of my success in my English Channel training to the addition of pilates into my training program. For most of my collegiate swim career and my training for the Catalina Channel and 20 Bridges, I supplemented my swimming with Yoga, Crossover Symmetry and traditional strength training. I was plagued with severe shoulder injuries and none of these really helped make me faster or significantly stronger. Perhaps it was “user error” but I don’t believe that was the case. For my English Channel training, I kept doing yoga once a week and replaced everything else with pilates.
By doing this, I had significantly more “me” time but I also had no shoulder injuries despite the significantly higher and more intense training volume. I was stronger, felt better and was injury free! I found that pilates gave me everything I needed. I am now seeing this with all of the marathon swimmers and triathletes that I am currently coaching that have taken my advice and added pilates to their training regimes.
An additional benefit I have observed occurs when I am out of the water for 5 to 14 days. I continue to practice pilates for 30-45 minutes on most days and when I make it back to the pool I swim as though I haven’t missed a single day of swimming. It has helped me to maintain my feel for the water and my strength. It works all the muscle groups properly and helps with the proprioception. When I return to the water, I don’t feel as though I am flailing all over the place.
My recommendation is for you to try adding in pilates on days you do not swim or days you have time if you are a triathlete. I try to do pilates a minimum of 3 times per week for 30 to 45 minutes. Once your body has adjusted to the new motions, you can add light to moderate weights to the movements for additional strength training and stimulation.
It is preferable to find a pilates class that has low impact cardiovascular components as well. My favorite classes can be found by Inferno Hot Pilates! They have a bunch of free videos on Facebook that you can try or just repeat. If you like it, you can sign up for their Inferno On Demand site.
I am sure you found this helpful and are excited to start adding pilates into your training program. If you do add it into your training routine, please let me know in the comments how it has helped you!