When talking about swimmers, club and high-school swimming programs typically neglect the weight room aspect of training, focusing purely on accumulating yards in the pool. Swimmers require no physical contact between their opponents when racing, thus switching the emphasis from stress on bone structure to stress on muscles. Here are a few reasons why swimmers should be lifting weights.
- Improved Thoracic Spine Mobility
Backstroke and Freestyle are the two unilateral strokes that require full rotation at the chest (trunk/torso) and shoulders. If a swimmer lacks range of motion in their spine when turning left and right, the torque the athlete can create at the shoulder joint decreases, ultimately impacting the catch and throw motion of the pull. Greater rotation at the spine and shoulder = better catch and pull in the water.
- Improved Unilateral and Bilateral Strength
As mentioned earlier, backstroke and freestyle are the two strokes that rely strongly on single arm strength, while breaststroke and butterfly are the two strokes that rely strongly on double arm strength. While being bilaterally strong is an important concentration for a swimmer, focusing on single arm and single leg movements creates a more symmetrical balance between muscles. Power and force generation will increase equally in every stroke.
- Stronger Core Stability
In a full body workout, like swimming, there is a constant stress placed on the core musculature with each pull and kick. While anatomically we have lots of deep and superficial muscles that play a role in core stability, there are two core muscles that are key to strengthening in order to have stronger kicks and stronger pulls: The Glutes and The Lats. The Lats (Latissimus Dorsi) are the main movers in each stroke, while the glutes are the main stabilizers that provide a steady streamline and straight line of movement. Stronger Glutes + Lats = More Powerful Kicks + Pulls.
While it may seem like swimming is a sport where improving overall strength and musculature via resistance training isn’t needed, there are many reasons why they should be. Want to start dropping time?
Alex Forrand BSc, NSCA-CPT
