Want to swim like Phelps? Well good luck.
In the meantime, use this workout to gain
some swim power. Photo: AP.
Triathlete Magazine recently wrote about a workout that could be done once a week to add power to your swimming. This is not a replacement for swimming. But it is a way to give the primary "swim muscles" a good workout. This is something to try over the off season, and hopefully it will end up giving you more power in your swim stroke once the triathlon season kicks off.
1. Chin-up with bent knees. (4 sets of as many reps as possible.) With palms facing you, grasp a chin-up bar about shoulder-width apart. Lift your legs so they are out in front of you, with a natural bend in your knees. Hold your legs there as you do your chin-ups.
2. Medicine ball dips. (4 sets of 10-15 reps.) These are your traditional parallel bar dips. You can make them a little more difficult by squeezing a medicine ball between your feet for some added weight.
3. Close grip lat pulldowns. (3 sets of 8-12 reps.) Lat pulldowns are what most people consider to be a good "swimming exercise." Replace the long bent bar with the close-grip hand-holds (where your palms will be facing towards each other), and pull down to the top of your chest.
4. Reverse push up. (3 sets of as many reps as possible.) Go to a smith press machine (free weight squat rack that travels up and down in a track) and lock the bar just lower than your hips. Lay on your back under the bar, and pull your chest up to the bar while keeping your body as straight as a board.
5. Swiss ball push up and knee tuck. (4 sets of as many reps as possible.) Turn a bosu ball upside down, and get ready to do push ups with your hands on the far left and right of the upside down bosu. Balance the top of your feet on top of a balance ball. With hands on the back of the bosu ball, do a normal push up (down then up), pause, then roll your feet forward towards your chest (butt up, knees tucked to chest). Then slowly roll your feet back down into plank position, and start all over again. That's 1 rep.
Note from Steve: I did this workout 2 days ago with about 60-70 seconds between all the exercises. I did them in this order, and it took me about 35 minutes. It was TOUGH but a great workout! I didn't realize this workout would work my core so much. And as I finished my 2nd or 3rd set of chin-ups, a gray haired grandma stopped me to tell me how impressed she was with what I was doing. So if you're looking to pick up an older lover, try this workout....
Follow Steve on Twitter (http://twitter.com/steveinaspeedo) or on his blog.
Comments