Three Dryland Drills for Controlling Body Rotation

Swimming is all about controlling body rotation. When you rotate with control and power, you glide through the water, achieve full extension and are able to keep good body position. 

Use these three dryland drills to improve your level of control over your body rotation. 

Plank Toe Tap 

Start on all fours with your knees directly under the hips and hands straight under the shoulders. Engage the core, straighten your knees, and push up into a plank position. Engage your glutes and drop the shoulders just a bit to mimic the good head position you’d use in the water. Then, move one foot and tap your toe to the ground out to the side and bring it back in line with the other foot. 

While you’re moving your foot in and out, keep your back still and straight. Visualize balancing a glass of water on the small of your back. This means that if you’re rotating your hips or wobbling, the water will spill. Tighten everything up and keep that glass in place and full on your back. 

Repeat three round of 10 reps on each side keeping the hips as still as you can. 

Isometric Bear Crawl Shoulder Tap 

Next, get back on all fours in the original starting position with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. 

Breathe in and think about your head position. Mimic the head position you want in the water. Then, lift your knees just an inch or two off the ground – don’t straighten the legs like you would for a plank, just raise the hips so the knees come straight up away from the mat an inch or so. 

While you’re balancing on your toes and hands, move one hand across your body to touch the opposite shoulder. Put your hand back in the starting position and repeat the same motion on the other side. Your body will want to tip to the side as you move the arm, but keep it as still as you can. Avoid dropping your head and avoid moving your hips from side to side. Alternate hand touches – 10 times on each side – while holding that knees-up position. Complete three sets.

Side-to-Side Rocks 

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Raise your arms straight up above your head, as though you’re pulling into a backstroke streamline, but keep your hands about shoulder width apart. Then, straighten the legs and lift them up off the mat so they’re floating a few inches above the floor.

Then, tighten the core and slowly roll to one side and then the other in a controlled manner. Keep your hips in line with your shoulders and rotate your whole body as one complete unit, as though you were rotating around a spit like a rotisserie chicken. Keep your movements slow and steady. Complete three rounds of 10 reps on each side. 

Using these exercises, you can learn how to fight for control over your rotation on land so you’ll be better able to maintain that control in the water.