By Richard / May 23, 2017

7 Exercises Every Swimmer Should Do

To help prevent injury it is important to do some exercises to help strengthen the rotator ruff, muscle controlling the shoulder blades and core muscles. Below are 7 good exercises that target these key muscle groups. Swimmers should try and do these exercises 2-3 times per week, they should only take around 15mins to complete and can all be done with a little bit of floor space and a theraband. It is best to perform these exercises after swimming as some of them target the small rotator cuff muscles which, if fatigued when swimming, could lead to shoulder pain and swimmers shoulder type symptoms.

External Shoulder Rotations with Band

Tuck your elbows into your sides, holding the band with palms facing upwards and elbows bent at 90 degrees
Keeping your elbows tucked in, slowly pull your hands away from each other as far as you can
Hold for 3 seconds
Return to start position slowly
Repeat 10-20 times

Internal Shoulder Rotations with Band

Have someone hold one end of the band behind you, level with your elbow or attach the band in this position
Tuck your elbow into your side holding the band palms facing upwards and elbows bent at 90 degrees
Pull your hand slowly forward until it is level with your naval
Hold for 3 seconds and slowly return to start position
Repeat 10-20 times

Shoulder Flexion with Band

Place band under your foot, holding onto the other end with your arm by your side
Make sure there is tension in the band at the start of the movement and lift your arm to the front
Stop and hold at just under 90 degrees of flexion
Return to start slowly and repeat 10-20 times

Band Pull Downs

Start with the band overhead, then pull down slowly behind you to the level of the top of your shoulder blades
Hold for 3 seconds and return slowly to the start position
As you pull down, think about pulling your shoulder blades down and in

Band Pull Across

Start with your hands out to the front, holding the band with your palms facing upwards
Pull the band out to the side, keeping your arms straight and hold for 3 seconds
Return to the start point slowly in a controlled manner
Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together

Push Ups

Start with your hands shoulder width apart, on your toes
Keeping your core tense, lower your body until your chest is a couple of centimetres off of the floor
Push back up with your arms, trying to keep your elbows tucked into your sides
Make sure throughout the movement you keep your head up in a neutral position and don’t let your chin tuck into your chest
To make the exercise easier, drop your knees to the floor
Do as many as you can until you can no longer maintain your form

2 Point Kneeling

Start with your knees on the floor, hips bent at 90 degrees and your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders
Slowly extend your right arm forward and your left leg backwards until they are both straight and level with your body
Slowly return to the start position and repeat this time with your left arm and right leg
When preforming the movements, try and keep as steady as you can, tense your core and try not to drop your hips to one side
Take your time, taking at least 3 seconds going up, 3 seconds pausing in the extended position and 3 seconds returning to the start position
Repeat 10 times on each side

Thanks to Molly for agreeing to demonstrate these exercises and as always please feel free to comment below.

Now that I’ve completed the Swimmers Shoulder section of the blog, let me know if there are any other topics you would like covered.