Dryland Training Programs

Although this book is not intended to give full program design details and guidelines, it does provide you with an understanding of how each exercise can directly benefit you as a swimmer, which in turn can help you make better decisions when choosing exercises for a specific program design. For example, if your program calls for an exercise that targets the triceps, you have many to choose from in chapter 2. We will, however, lay out some general principles and ideas for training programs here.

You should be aware of several considerations when designing a dryland program. The repetitive nature of swimming predisposes swimmers to developing muscle imbalances. Muscles such as the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major become overdeveloped in relation to the smaller muscles that make up the scapular stabilizers (particularly the middle and lower trapezius and the rhomboids). In the lower extremity the quadriceps and hip flexors often become dominant over weaker hamstrings and gluteal muscles. These muscle imbalances not only lead to strength imbalances but also may create flexibility and postural imbalances that can predispose you to injury and inhibit optimal performance. So when designing a dryland program you should include a flexibility component. Recent findings in the realm of flexibility training are that dynamic stretches and movement patterns are an effective way to prepare for an exercise session. Dynamic movements and stretches can be designed to incorporate whole-body movements that can serve as an effective low-intensity warm-up while also addressing areas of inflexibility. Further attention can be given to tight muscle groups through static stretching at the conclusion of the dryland program.

Careful consideration needs to be given to selecting the proper exercises. Two concepts that can help guide exercise choice are transference and isolation. Transference is the ability of an exercise to strengthen muscles in a manner that will benefit a certain skill or task, in this case swimming. Transference can be further divided into direct and indirect forms. Direct transference involves choosing an exercise because the associated movements are directly related to a certain component of one of the major strokes. An example would be using the physioball prone streamline exercise (see page 136), because it directly mimics the streamlined position that swimmers hold off their starts and walls. Indirect transference involves choosing a certain exercise because the targeted muscle groups are similar to those used during a phase of one of the major strokes or choosing a certain exercise because it can transfer to a certain stroke component. An example would be selecting the lat pull-down exercise (see page 120) because it targets the latissimus dorsi muscle, which is a prime mover of the arms in each of the major strokes. Isolation involves choosing an exercise that emphasizes a certain muscle or muscle group with the goal of strengthening an area that (1) may be underdeveloped because of muscle imbalances, (2) is important for injury prevention, or (3) has been identified as an area of weakness by something in the swimmer�s stroke profile.

Another choice concerns which model of dryland training to use�a traditional weight-training program or a circuit-based program. Traditional weight-training programs involve performing a certain number of sets and repetitions of one or two exercises at a time and then moving on to the next set of exercises. These programs are better reserved for swimmers near college age and older. In contrast, circuit-training programs involve a series of exercises performed one after another. After performing one set of an exercise, the person moves on to the next. Circuit programs are ideal when (1) the dryland program is being performed on a pool deck, (2) a large group of swimmers is participating in the program at the same time, or (3) a younger group of swimmers is training. An additional advantage of circuit programs is that they are time efficient, allowing a large number of exercises to be completed in a short time.

To maximize your gains when performing a traditional or circuit dryland program, give careful attention to the order in which you perform the exercises. All programs should begin with a 10-minute warm-up period consisting of dynamic flexibility exercises and low-intensity aerobics. Following the warm-up, you should incorporate several injury prevention and core stabilization exercises (choose from those in chapter 5). You should begin with total-body exercises that combine movements of the upper and lower extremities and progress to multijoint exercises and then isolation exercises. For example, when training the upper extremity and shoulder girdle, you could begin with a single-arm lawn mower (page 176), follow with a barbell flat bench press (page 70), and end with a dumbbell biceps curl (page 28). The underlying concept is to avoid performing the biceps curl first, which would fatigue the biceps brachii and decrease the overall weight that you could lift with the single-arm lawn mower exercise. A swimming analogy would be to avoid performing an exhaustive kick set before you perform your main quality freestyle set during a workout, because fatiguing your legs would limit your ability to get the full benefit from the freestyle set. Following completion of the main exercises, you can spend time on additional core stabilization exercises and static stretching and flexibility. Note that your final program should consist of more than three exercises; the limited number used in this case serve only as an example.

Another concept to consider is that of pushing and pulling exercises. Pushing exercises such as push-ups and bench presses primarily work the pectoral muscles and the triceps, whereas pulling exercises such as pull-ups and seated rows primarily work the lats and biceps. Because these types of exercises mirror each other in the muscle groups that they target, doing one after the other is often beneficial in a dryland program because the alternating nature of exercises allows one group to recover while the other is being exercised.

The next question to address is how many sets and repetitions of each exercise you should perform. The number of repetitions is dictated by the inverse relationship between volume and intensity. Exercise volume is equal to the total number of repetitions performed, and intensity is a measure of the effort being exerted when performing a given exercise. What this means is that as you increase the number of repetitions of a given exercise, the overall intensity at which you will be able to perform that exercise will decrease. For example, you may be able to perform 15 dumbbell kickbacks with 25 pounds (11 kg), but if you were to pick up a 40-pound (18 kg) dumbbell, you might be able to perform only 8 repetitions. This relationship becomes important, depending on your training goal. If you are trying to improve muscular endurance, you should choose a weight that allows you to perform 15 to 20 repetitions. If your goal is to build strength, you should use a weight that allows you to perform only 5 to 8 repetitions. Generally, when performing more repetitions (15 to 20) you should perform two sets, whereas when you are doing fewer repetitions (5 to 8) you should perform four or five sets. Your combination of sets and repetitions is probably appropriate for a given exercise if the targeted muscles feel fatigued during the last 2 to 3 repetitions of the final set. With circuit-training programs, the number of repetitions can be either predetermined or time dependent. For example, at one station you might perform 30 sit-ups (set number of reps) or as many sit-ups as you can in one minute (time dependent).

Your training goal in regard to endurance versus strength will depend on where you are in the season. The principle of periodization comes into play here. Periodization involves breaking the season into various phases, each with a different training goal. The underlying purpose is to prevent overtraining and maximize performance.