Dryland

Dryland is any exercise that a swimmer does outside of the pool to help strengthen themselves for swimming. For new and younger swimmers, our program recommends starting with small volumes with moderate intensity to learn correct technique and avoid injury due to overuse or incorrect form.

There should be rest days between dryland days to also allow for muscle recovery and development, though this does not necessarily mean taking a complete day off of exercise. Many athletes will have certain days dedicated to training a specific muscle group, and will avoid exercises that activate already recently used muscles. For instance, a pattern throughout a week may be:

• Monday:Leg day
• Tuesday: Upper Body
• Wednesday: Core
• Thursday: Leg Day
• Friday: Upper Body and Core
• Saturday: light cardio
• Sunday: complete rest day

This does not include specific cardio plans (which can and should be present each of these days, mostly in the form of swimming). Following a pattern and optimizing recovery and muscle focus can lead to greater athletic gains and lowers chances of injury. Depending on experience, plan to have a dryland workout last anywhere between 30 minutes to just a little over an hour. ALWAYS WARM UP followed by light stretching to help loosen muscles and avoid injury!

In the SVYA Swimmer's Library (document coming soon), our program gives some recommendations as to what exercises can/should be performed on a swimmer's own time. Consider it homework:)

Videos for example dryland exercises: