When hearing the words “swim practice”, you might imagine endless laps, and the sound of water splashing against lane lines. For the boys swim team, the work they put in outside of pool matters just as much as inside.
Out of water, or “Dryland”, training plays a major role in preparing swimmers for competitions. They go through numerous exercises that help build strength and endurance. Strong legs and core muscles improve starts and turns, while shoulder and back strength help swimmers maintain power throughout a race.
“We do weights on the mornings of Tuesdays and Thursdays,” says junior Jagger Chan, “we usually do clean or trap bar deadlift, back squat, or shoulder press, barbell bench or single arm dumbbell bench with a mixture of back and core exercises.”
Strength training is especially important in sprint event, where explosive power can determine the outcome of a race.
“Strength training is important because you want your starts and turns to be explosive,” Chan says, “weights definitely impact the way I race because the stronger you are the more water you can push harder, especially in sprint races like the 50 free.”
Beyond physical strength, dryland training plays a key role in injury prevention. Swimming puts repetitive strain on should and joints, which can lead to overuse injuries over the course of a long season. Stretching and mobility exercises are built into dryland sessions to keep swimmers healthy and consistent.
“Mobility is important to prevent injuries, a common one being shoulder injuries.” Chan explained.
While dryland focuses on strength, the mental demands of swimming are just as intense. In the pool, swimmers regularly compete threshold sets- long, fast paced workouts with little to no rest- which push them physically and mentally.
“Threshold sets are the hardest sets physically and mentally for swimmers because of how long and draining it is,” Chan said, “The volume and consistency of morning practices get to people because it’s just a lot.”
Although fans only see swimmers race on meet days, the boys swim team’s success is built through countless hours of preparation on land and in the water. Dryland training strengthens not only their bodies, but also their mindset and commitment to the sport.
