5 Dryland Exercises to Warm Up Before Swimming

All athletes need a dynamic warm-up before jumping into their workout. Most start with some dynamic movements and then go on to sport-specific drills. Masters swimmers should do this too.

But many don’t, opting instead to come directly from work or traffic and hop right into the pool. This means many Masters swimmers end up using the first 1,000 to 1,500 yards of that workout to get warmed up, which means you may not be using the best form during that time and you’re losing some high-quality water time. 

During that first portion of your practice, you might be operating with improper form or tension somewhere in your body that could be restricting you from getting the most out of your stroke. It can also create bad habits. 

One way you can avoid these bad habits is by engaging in a dynamic warm-up before you get in the water. Use the following exercises on deck to get your body better prepared for the workout ahead and get the most out of your limited pool time. Complete three rounds of each of these exercises before every workout. 

Thread the Needle 

Use a towel or yoga mat to protect your knees and kneel on all fours. Keep your knees stacked under your hips with hands stacked under your shoulders.

Set your head position like you would hold it in the water when swimming freestyle—keep your head down and neck in a straight line with your spine. 

Then, reach one hand to the side and up toward the sky. Straighten the arm all the way while rotating your upper body so that you’re looking at that raised hand. Then, drive your elbow back down toward the mat as you bring your hand across the chest and under the other armpit. 

It’s a complex motion intended to bring movement into the spin while keeping the hips relatively still.

Complete eight slow and steady repetitions on each side. 

Adductor Rock 

For the next exercise, get in the same position on all fours, then move your right leg out to the side from the hip with your leg straight. Keep your left knee under the left hip. Stretch your right leg out to the side and place your right foot flat on the floor—this requires some ankle mobility—so that your leg is angled like the top of a triangle into the hip. You’ll feel a little stretch along the inner thigh once you’re set up correctly. 

Then, simply rock back on that bent knee so that you feel a deepening of the stretch in the outstretched inner thigh muscles. Pause and hold for a few seconds and then come back up. Complete eight repetitions on each side, keeping the outstretched leg as straight as you can to feel that stretch. Keep your hips from shifting side to side—this is a gentle, slow, back-and-forth rocking motion.

This exercise is especially good for warming up the inner thighs and adductor muscles, which is helpful if you do a lot of breaststroke.

Quadruped Single-Arm Hold 

With the next exercise, get back into that all-fours position, with hands stacked under the shoulders and knees stacked under the hips, and with toes engaged with the floor. Keep your head in alignment with your spine as you would while swimming freestyle, and engage your core muscles.

Then, lift your right arm up so that it’s straight out from the front of your shoulder like you’re reaching for something on a table in front of you. Pause and hold for about 10 seconds while pulling your belly button into your spine. Avoid allowing your hips to move—try to keep everything still. 

Return your hand back to the matt and lift the other side and hold for 10 seconds while keeping the belly button into the spine and avoiding any side-to-side hip movement. 

As you lift your hand, you take away a base of support, and it challenges your core muscles to engage to keep from rotating. Complete four reps on each side.

Hamstring Pumps

For this exercise, which helps lengthen and loosen up the hamstrings, lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Take a couple of deep breaths, press your lower back firmly to the ground, and turn your core on. Focus on ab and glute engagement.  

While continuing to press your lower back into the ground, lift your left leg and bring the knee up toward the sky while keeping your lower leg parallel with the floor. Your left foot should be gently flexed as you bring both hands behind the upper left thigh over the hamstrings. 

Then, press your leg into your hands and straighten the leg up as much as you can so that your foot is reaching for the sky. Pause and hold for three seconds and then release. Complete eight reps on each side. Remember, keep that lower back anchored and core turned on the whole time. 

Single-Arm Floor Angel

For the last exercise, get into the same position as hamstring pumps, with your low back pressed into the floor, core turned on, and glutes engaged. Bring one hand onto your belly so you can feel your abs engaging. Place the other arm on the floor with your upper arm straight out from the shoulder and your elbow bent so that your forearm is running parallel to your head and neck. Keep the palm facing up toward the sky.  

Keep the elbow in contact with the floor and slowly slide your arm up as far as you can until your elbow is straight and your hand is reaching above your head in a straight line from the shoulder. Then, slowly slide the elbow back to the starting position. Keep your breathing nice and steady and drive that elbow down as far as you can. Don’t rush and keep the elbow in contact with the floor the whole time. 

Complete eight reps on each side. 

By doing these five dryland warm-up exercises, you allow your body to get into a little better position before you take a single stroke, which can help you maximize your time in the water while keeping pain and aches from ruining your workout.