Swimming training
Improve your swimming training or swimming coaching with tips from these articles, which are here to help every angle of your swimming technique… To browse our library of free sports training articles, browse using the categories on the left or use the search box.
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Articles
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Children participating in swimming training exhibit increased oxidative stress
Oxidative stress in swimmers
Swimmers affected by body clock
Circadian rhythms affect swimming performance
Running and Swimming compared with Rowing exercise?
Power output and lean body mass – how do rowers compare with other athletes?
Sports News: Aquatic Plyometrics
The Benefits of Aquatic Plyometrics
Triathlon Swim: Swim slower for faster triathlon times
How To Train For A Triathlon : Your complete strength and conditioning programme
Sports psychology article: Beset by 'Olympic phobia' and lacking in focus and toughness: a sport psychologist's damning verdict on the underperforming GB swim team
Triathlon swimming techniques - Drafting for triathlon swimmers
How a spoonful of sugar helps keep your muscle protein from going down
Warm-ups: Fizzy bathing makes for great warm-ups
Age related training - To limit the effects of time,you must choose the right workouts.
Glycaemic Index: Things mother forgot to tell you about the glycaemic index of your food - and how it influences your training
Interval Training 2: How to strike and sustain VO2max gold, and other benefits of high-quality workouts
Swimmers - Is Fatter Faster?
Metabolising Gluttony: A prolonged workout beforehand can help to metabolise the occasional gluttony
swimming stroke technique training
Swimming Stroke Technique Training: Here's an overview of the basics of technique for all strokes (plus a bit extra) and specific training needs
Quantifying Intensity: How to use heart rate to quantify your fitness training intensity.
If you want to improve your performance times, turn up the intensity and turn down the volume.
Lactate Threshold: 2-2 T-20: Since I first started attaching a fairly specific intensity to lactate-threshold workouts about 10 years ago, the whole idea of threshold training seems to have gained in popularity.
Exercise And Immunity: Infection and swimming performance
Swim Training
Cross Training Workouts
Mood States: High-level college swimmers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the States were studied for a research project published in 1991.
Sequencing In Training 2: Get your training in order: how sequencing determines your overall fitness
training: how sequencing determines overall fitness 2
Get your training in order: how sequencing determines your overall fitness
Australian swimming | British winning
Australian swimming inspires five tips to help produce more British medalists at Sydney 2000
Personal best training program
Personal Best Training Program: Moderate starts, consistent pacing, and negative splits can carry you to new PBs.
Why 'the curse' is often lifted for female athletes
veronique billat | exercise research:
Veronique Billat - Exercise Research
Training Volume: Long workouts and fast twitch muscles - a nice combination
nervous system | muscle performance
How to improve your performance by optimizing the functioning of your nervous system
Fluid Replacement: Are sports drinks suitable for interval workouts as well?
Creatine Effects: A man who is showing athletes how to use advances in sports nutrition to produce dramatic improvements in their performances.
Blood Cholesterol Levels: Swimming sometimes gets a bad rap. Although the sport provides a fine cardiovascular workout and bolsters overall aerobic capacity, some studies have shown that regular swimming doesn't reduce - and may even increase - body fatness. Also, the effect of swimming on blood-cholesterol levels has been uncertain.
Nutrition: The latest wisdom on supplements: look, listen and think - before you eat (or drink)
emergency training | cycling training
If you need to get into competitive shape fast, follow the example of these South African cyclists.
Distance running & testosterone
Distance Running & Testosterone: Can distance running determine the sex of your children
tapering | the importance of tapering
TApering: What exactly happens inside your body when you taper - and why you should do it more often
Lateral knee pain | iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS)
Lateral knee pain: here's the syndrome that could be to blame
Hydration: Drink your way to winning performances: the seven secrets of hydration.
Neural Training
All work and no play makes Jack an underperforming athlete.
Longevity: Exercise helps you to live longer, but how important is intensity?
Exercise-induced Diarrhoea
Training with verve gives you extra nerve.
tapering training | endurance training
Tapering training - What exactly happens inside your body when you taper - and why you should do it more often
thoraric pain | shoulder injuries
Case study: a swimmer with left-sided thoracic pain and shoulder pain.
Freestyle swimming techniques: Only the development of swimming flumes in the 1970s allowed tests to be performed which compared to those being carried out on such activities as cycling and running.
How a spoonful of sugar helps keep your muscle protein from going down
Aerobic Capacity: What makes VO2max decline so rapidly as you age - and what can you do about it?
If you want to keep well as you get older, adopt the " use it or lose it" philosophy.
swimming pools medical hazards
A quick look at the medical hazards of swimming in pools.
Interval Training 1: How to strike and sustain VO2max gold, and other benefits of high-quality workouts
Post Workout Burn: After you've finished a workout, your body is not finished working.
Injury Rehab Programme: An injured sportsman is like a sick gorilla - no use and a lot of trouble. The coach has to deal with the mind as well as the body in maintaining the athlete's equilibrium.
Have carbs had their day? Here's another look at the controversial (not to say notorious) Zone Diet
rugby league training | strength | power
Rugby League Training - Strength And Power: Professional Rugby League is a demanding sport, combining raw aggression and subtle playing skill in equal measure.
Why MCTs alone don't work. It's important to bear in mind that the MCTs had to be ADDED to carbohydrate in order to shore up performance; the MCT-only drink produced terrible results.
swimming techniques | swimming training
Swimming Techniques - Training: Although super-high training volumes are the rule rather than the exception for swimmers, there' s solid evidence that these heavy loads may be counter-productive.
Strength Training Routines: Is strength training really beneflcial for endurance athletes? Here's a sport-by-sport review
The crucial importance of paying attention
The crucial importance of paying attention (part two)
Stored Elastic Energy: Imagine the athletes' muscles are like the rubbery part of a catapult...
Swim-benches: Another mechanical ergogenic aid to training is the swim-bench.
Sequencing In Training 1: Get your training in order: how sequencing determines your overall fitness
training: how sequencing determines overall fitness 1
Get your training in order: how sequencing determines your overall fitness
Sports Injury Avoidance: Like most athletes, you undoubtedly want to lower your chances of incurring an injury while participating in your favourite sport. Injuries decrease the amount of time you can spend in leisure activities, lower your fitness, downgrade competitive performances, and can lead to long-term health problems such as arthritis and/or joint stiffness.
periodisation training techniques
Periodisation Training Techniques 2: If you want to improve your performances, you can't train the same way all the time
Deep Water Running: When your training should land you in deep water
Eating Disorder Athletes
swimming related sports injuries
Swimming related sports injuries: You may think that swimmers never get hurt. If so, read on
stretching and the risk of injury 1
Stretching And The Risk Of Injury 1: Okay, but does stretching really lower the risk of injury? Here's what science says
Tapering And Performance: In order to be the best in whatever swimming discipline, competitive athletes and their coaches are constantly seeking new and effective methods to improve performance.
Stress Fracture: One in ten of all sports injuries is a stress fracture. Here's how to break the pattern..
Ginseng, which has been used as a tonic and restorative for over 5000 years in China, is one of the most popular new nutritional supplements for athletes, but research into ginseng's effects on athletic performance has yielded ambiguous results.
recovery | overtraining | swimming | norepinephrine
Swimming, overtraining, recovery and norepinephrine
British sports coaches | Australian sports coaches
Why blinkered British coaches have a lot to learn from Aussie champions
Female and male performance times
Female and male athletes seem to respond to training in a comparable manner. As the quantity or intensity of training increases, aerobic capacity (V02max) shoots upward, body fat tends to decrease, and performance improves, regardless of gender.
Conditioning: Next to cross-country skiing, running is the best type of fitness training for all sports.
Time-splitting and race results
Time-splitting And Race Results: If it makes sense to run the second half faster than the first, then why do the Kenyans go out so fast?
shoulder rotator-cuff muscles exercises
Shoulder Rotator-cuff Muscles Exercises: What is the best exercise to strengthen your shoulder rotator-cuff muscles?
triathlon training schedule | cross training
It can stop you getting injured and, who knows, might even help you to win
How Good is the ‘Bod Pod’?
Body Composition - Fat Measurement: How Good is the 'Bod Pod'?
Muscle building: Squats, leg press or knee extensions - which exercise is best for the quads?
Tapering For Competition 1: Why fast, exponential decay beats step reduction when preparing for a peak performance
swimming workouts | swimming strength training
Swimming workouts & swimming strength training
Wetsuits Triathlon: If you're a triathlete, you've got to like wetsuits. They keep frigid water from paralysing your arm and leg muscles and sinking your ship before you make it to shore, and they can improve swimming speed by 3 to 7 per cent, enough to give you a 50- to 100-metre edge over a suitless competitor in a 1500-metre swim.
Steph Cook: gold medallist. The inspiring tale of the rower who became a shooter-fencer-swimmer-rider-runner
Self-diagnosis: Your workouts can reveal what's wrong with your health.
Exercise | Pregnancy: Is it safe to exercise when you're pregnant? Here's what science has to say
Endorphins: Weight trainers miss out on the "runner's high"
Training Intensity: On the threshold of something big: how intensely must you train to obtain real benefit?
Just how good is exercise for you? Damn good. In addition to improving your fitness and giving you more energy to carry out your everyday activities, regular exercise can limit your chances of suffering from a number of deadly - and not-so-deadly - diseases.
Choline: Supplements of this essential compound have helped swimmers, basketball players and distance runners
Genetics And Performance: Now science is getting to the long and the short of how genes influence performance
These sizzling 'super sets' will have a dramatic effect on your performance
These sizzling 'super sets' will have a dramatic effect on your performance
Sport By Sport Diet Guide: Whatever your sport, nutrition should be an integral part of your training and competition strategy. Although the emphasis will vary according to the activity you're involved in, there is a consensus among sports scientists on guidelines that athletes should be aiming for.
Periodisation
fitness testing | critical swim speed
Critical Swim Speed: This reliable test of aerobic capacity is non-invasive and easy to do.
Marathon Carbohydrates: Which works best before and during a marathon: carbs in liquid or solid form?
Motivation: Here's how to design a self-determined training programme that will drive you to new heights
Strength Training Advice: Is strength training really beneficial for endurance athletes? Here's a sport-by-sport review
Cold weather training: what your mother forgot to tell you
Running injury: Pity the poor runner he'll have arthritis when he's older. Or will he?
Hand Paddles: Considerable attention has been paid to the possible advantages of using hand paddles during training.
shoulder excercises | shoulder injury prevention
Shoulder excercises and shoulder injury prevention
Alanine: Why you might expect to work out harder for longer with the help of the amino acid alanine
prehabilitation exercises | strength exercises | conditioning exercises
Prehabilitation exercises: these prehabilitation exercises will help reduce injury risk
Questions
What do you think of the Peak Performance Premium area? (!)
As the main provider of information in this area, I'd like to find out what you think about the videos and the articles in particular.
I injured my shoulder 10 weeks ago...more than a strain?
I injured my shoulder 10 weeks ago, reaching backward to pull open a stuck door. I didn't go to the doctor right away, because it seemed just sore/strained.
What does "Whey Protein" do for you?
I know people who out it in fruit smoothies or energy drinks, but wat is it and what does it do?
'm 25 yrs woman.. am I too Old to get into training?!
I am 25 yr old woman, have always been into sport since school.., always enjoyed it but being from India, never had very good resources for training(other than cricket of course) plus women and sport
Effect of gender stereotypes on sporting goals/achievements?
any thoughts towards this topic? do you know of any articles i can read up on? thanks so much for your time
As a teenager would they affect your hormones?
What is the latest training Fad and does it actually work. Im really interested in the ones that do.
How do I improve my fitness fast?
I need to improve my fitness asap......
Has anyone had experience of training to swim under water for distance? I heard it helps develop your cardiovascular system (If you don't black out).
How much can I swim with a Tennis Elbow?
Been swimming since age 7,Competitive - short & long distance swims, was on the National Swimming, diving & waterpolo team for most of my School and highschool years.Had to stop swimming after marriag
When should a triathlete travel before a sea level race?
We live and train in Mexico city at 2300 meters above sea level. I have received conflicting evidence regarding travelling to sea level races.
I have dificulty shaping the lower part of my stomach. What exercise can I do to reach that area.
What can you do in an overtrained state to remedy the position?!
I am 27 and compete in many sports and train with weights additonally and have done from a young age. I do have an addictive requirement to exercise hard and compete, often 'pushing through'.
How do you tell if you have shin splints. I have a pain in my left leg above my ankle, but I don't know what it is.
How do I loosen my hamstrings?
I have really tight ham strings and it affects me physically. What is a good stretch or exercise that will help me to loosen them.
Why in distance/swimming training do swimmers work on breath holding?
I am relatively new to swimming and have stumbled on workouts that include breath holding.
Masters training near Rugby....
Does anyone know of a masters training group around Rugby? I know that there is a tri club in Rugby but I am more interested ina pecific group for those near to, or over, 50 specifically. Grumpy
Incorporating swimming into weekly triathlon training....
Help!!! I hate indoor pools and it is too cold to do any open water training at the moment. Does anyone have a more interesting swim training plan other than up and down, up and down.....?
Are the eas myplex drinks good?
is eas myoplex good for your body does it have any side effects any one tried it yet?
Strength training for Swimmers
My son 14 and his peer group are all top Swimmers and Surf Life Savers. I want to help them with a simple resistance and strength training program that will improve their performance.
Im a 13 boy and im 13st and 5"7. Is there A way to lose weight without dieting?
How long and what yardage should a high school swimmer taper?
The high school swim team averages 4000 - 5000 per day six days a week. The end of the season consists of sectional, district and state competitions. There is one week between meets.
Des resting heart rate affect your performance?
i am a 22 year old male having played soccer my whole life, my resting heart rate is about 68 beats per minute, this is quite high compared to other elite athletes, would this affect my performance, c
What should I do if my nose-clips keep falling off?
I've recently brought a new nose-clip to help my underwater dolphin kicking - what should I do if it is too big and it keeps on falling off. I checked and there isn't much to do with sizes.
uses the the entire lower body, to what extent does it work the hamstrings and calves?
What is the right diet and exercises for swimming
I am asking this question on behalf of my 9 year old son. He has won regional level championships in Maharashtra, India. He wants to improve his performance. We are vegetarian, but take egg.
Should I weight train to lose weight?
I run, swim and cycle (doing at least one or a combination of the three each day for at least 1 hour per day). I also do weight training 1-2 times per week.
How do you condition fast twitch fibres?
I hear that is what makes you faster. This is because I am looking to get a faster time in my 100m and 200m
Opinion. If you could only do one aerobic exercise, which would it be?
Facts are lovely. Which one provides the best overall benefits?
I am a 39 year old 800m / 1500m runner. I took up running in my early 30`s and have settled on running middle distance for the Veterans (Masters) team for my local club.
Has anyone dealt with vocal fold dysfunction in a swimmer
My daughter, a competitive swimmer, has developed vocal fold dysfunction.
How to increase performance in your sport?
Pre & post regimes.
Comparison charts for 1 minute of sit ups, push ups and press-ups?
Does anyone have charts for adults performing 1 minute of sit-ups, push-ups and press-ups?
What is the best diet for a football player before and after a match?
I am an amateur footballer but try my hardest and want to achieve what i can at this level and need to do whatever i can for optimum performance eg best training best diet best lifestyle.
How can I reduce chronic hard muscle after exercise?
I am 43 year old male, 150lbs, and 5'11".
what do you do to heal hip flexor injury?
I am a very serious competitive swimmer. I injured my left hip flexor six weeks ago and i keep aggravating it in small ways and its not going away.
Do you have a question for our community?
PP Online has over 10,000 registered users, all of them keen sportsmen and women, including many coaches, personal trainers and sports scientists.
Blogs
Learn to move better with internet video technology
Learning styles theory implies that individuals learn more when the educational experience is geared toward their preferred style of learning.
Symmetry – Asymmetry: Problem Solving a Repetitive Use Injury
Searching for the reason that repetitive use injuries occur can be difficult and frustrating.
Have shoulder pains? You came to the right place.
I have been doing exercises for my abs but they are just now showing what can I do? I even have little fat.
I started training two months ago and I have really noticed a boost in my fitness,all you need is time and dedication.
“The 7 Deadly Sins of Lifting” this is another installment from A. Jay of a series of motivational articles.
Most people would agree the hardest muscle to get into shape is the one 'between the ears.'
next NLP Sports Practitioner Course that we run here at Mindtree Ltd.
Drug testing what's out there a physiotherapists view point
Testing Athletes for Drug Use Why do some “athletes” try to enhance their performances on the track and field by taking drugs?
Here is the first and not the last instalment of Nick Mitchell’s long awaited All Strength Q&A.
I just got bac and I think I am now getting a cold and feel horrible
I want to build muscles and reduce body fats
Are you making these mistakes as an Athlete?
Don’t get me wrong nobody’s perfect, especially me, many of these ideas came from my “Stupidity”, a rollercoaster of discovery, injuries and re-injury, does that sound about right?
A day, or days, in the life of a middle aged triathlete (that may be a bit of a stretch...;-) )
Okay...first effort at a blog on this site. Not had much luck in the past with other sites.
It's been so long since my knee injury. You'd think I'd have got over it and be back on my bike as it were! . . But alas It's taking me a while to build my fitness up again.
Sports Medicine Foot and Ankle Rehabilitation
This article was a long time coming. After writing and then scraping and re-writing it is a good way to describe this.
The Insider’s Secrets to a Flat Stomach
Hey regular blog readers myself and Nick sat down and and had a conversation, long story short this article was born.
Rotational Carbohydrates "RO-CHO" ?
Rotational Carbohydrates "RO-CHO" Article by Steve Blades. It is all about carbohydrate rotation for ultimate performance.
Another great read by Steve Blades aka "Marmite". If you are not making gains in the gym or the track this will change everything completely.
You are a Beginner, READ THIS!
A great,long article about everything on general bodybuilding ,training, nutrition and supplementation as a beginner.
A great new update to hit Rawgrip.com, a great article for all of the new found health freaks this year.
Squat Rx Video Creator Interview
If you are a serious lifter you must have heard of the “Squat Rx” video series all over the net. The Videos are available on YouTube.
How Focused Are You at the Gym?
Sean discusses The Top 10 Reasons why you are slacking in the Gym and How to prevent this. He exposes some great Tips how to make your training sessions more productive for better end results.
Finally an article created for all you serious weight shifters. C Pikey discuses the truth about A massive Bench Press and gives some tips How To Improve your Weak Bench.
Glycemic Index in Athletes and Weight management
An article about the glycemic index of carbohydrates pertains directly to athletes and their performance.
A new article by Michael Nystrom discussing the protein intake amounts in athletes. Athlete Protein intake article
America's growing health crisis.
A good article about fish oils and the recommended intake in an athlete, a great read. Fish oil article Or
I finally finished a nutrition article which will help any athlete to peak performance. It covers everything from protein intake for an athlete and how to loose some extra pounds.
Training Methods for the Development of Power
The other day I came across a presentation a friend and I did at university. Thought I'd share it with you all.
It's a very exciting day for us today, because we've had our first major relaunch in 7 years.
When we set up the new PP Online site, one of our biggest aims was to create a place where anyone with a passion for sport could share their opinions and experiences.
Who drinks red bull or other caffeine beverages before they compete?
Steroids are banned, dangerous drugs. DON’T TAKE THEM.
he athletes coming to my gym eat breakfast everyday. It’s almost a mandatory thing if they want to lift heavy for the entire fifty minutes.
A Very Special Service for the Over 35s
Here’s the best way to find fitness, health, speed, staying power and personal confidence for those who’ve arrived at man’s estate (women’s included, as ever).
Videos
Women's dumbbell military press
The dumbbell military press is a fine exercise for women who desire strong triceps.
