It is important to stretch out most of your body, targeting
mostly your neck, arms, shoulders, chest, side, legs, hips, and back. Each one
of these areas are influential in your swimming and you want to make sure that
they are well stretched and ready for any hard work out. We learn in “Swimming
for Exercise” by Greg Whyte that; “Flexibility [stretching] should be part of
your warm-up and cool-down for each of your swimming sessions.” (Whyte 98)
although all of those areas are very important to stretch, I’m going to show
you just a few stretches that will help you before or after your workout specifically
for the upper body.
Neck
Stretch your neck forwards, backwards, and to each side;
holding for about 20-30 seconds. Make sure to do this gently but still enough
to feel a stretch. (Whyte 99) In doing this I noticed that it is easier to sit
down while you stretch, either standing or sitting works but for me sitting on
my knees (as pictured below) helps me stretch out the best.
Arms and shoulders
There are many different ways to target different parts of
your arms and shoulders. These are a few stretches to get you started. My go-to
arm and shoulder stretches include the triceps, biceps, and two shoulder
stretches.
Biceps
This stretch works best standing with a wall or pole to rest
your arm on. First, put your palm against the wall and then turn away from the
wall, keeping your hand there until you feel a stretch. As before, hold for
20-30 seconds. (Whyte 102)
Triceps
Lift one arm above your head and place your hand down your
back, then use the opposite hand to gently grab and pull your elbow towards you
head until you feel a stretch. (Whyte 100) Make sure to be very cautions with
this stretch as to not injure your arm or shoulder, be sure to keep your head
looking up even though your arm may not go as far back, it is best to prevent
injury.
Shoulders
- Place arm across your chest and use the other hand to grab and gently pull your elbow towards you until you feel a stretch. (Whyte 100)
- Grab your hands and stretch your arms out in front of you, push out your shoulder blades and round your shoulders. (Whyte 100) This stretch is weird in the way that you feel the stretch, so be very careful on this one since shoulders are very important in swimming and shoulder injuries are very common.
What are your favorite stretches to do before or after your workout?
Citation
Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.
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