Hand on heart: who of you specifically warms up and stretches before jumping into the pool? Probably only a few. But did you know that a good mobilization of the shoulder area helps you to implement the swimming technique better and thus to swim more efficiently in the long term?
Keywords: higher elbows, better extension, less torsion in the longitudinal axis of the body... Our expert Philip Peter shows you the ten best exercises for the pool edge and for at home.
Make sure you do all exercises correctly. You should also never work with momentum , but perform each stretch slowly with tense core muscles for stabilization . Also, warm up thoroughly beforehand and make sure not to intensify exercises any further if you are in pain.
Exercise 1 - Triceps Stretch
Bring one hand behind you, between your shoulder blades, and increase the stretch by gently pulling down on your elbow with your other hand. Hold this position for 3 x 20 seconds on each side .
Exercise 2 - Horizontal shoulder flexion
Bring one arm outstretched across your chest and press the outside of your elbow with your other hand for support. Hold the stretch for 3 x 20 seconds on each side.
Exercise 3 - Arm stretch backwards up
Extend both arms straight up and then bring them back up slightly. Keep your torso as stable as possible and stay in the stretch for 5 x 10 seconds
Exercise 4 - Arm extension backwards
Bend your torso forward at a 90° angle with your back straight. Now, with straight arms, bring your hands together behind your back and grasp your hands. You can control the intensity of the stretch by raising and lowering your straight, connected arms up and down. Hold the stretch for 3 x 20 seconds .
Exercise 5 - arm grip behind the back
Bring one arm behind your head from above and the other arm behind your back from below. Now try to bring your two hands as close together as possible so that you can ideally shake hands behind your back. Hold this stretch for 5 x 10 seconds each .
Exercise 6 - External Rotator Stretch
Stand up straight and raise your arms to shoulder height. Bend your elbows 90° down and roll your shoulders inward at the back. You then hold this stretch for 5 x 10 seconds .
Exercise 7 - Internal Rotator Stretch
As a counter-exercise to the previous one, raise your arms back to shoulder height and bend your elbows upwards by 90°. Roll your shoulders back and hold this position for 5 x 10 seconds .
Exercise 8 - stretching the chest muscles
For this exercise, stand with your upper body at a 90° angle against a wall, but keep a foot or two apart. Now stretch your arm backwards and fix it on the wall. This should feel a stretch in your pecs, which can be adjusted for different pecs by varying arm position (arm above, below, or level with the shoulder). Hold the stretch in each of these variations for 20 seconds .
Exercise 9 - Trunk side bends
Stand upright, stabilize your core and bring your hands together overhead with your arms extended. Now bend your torso to the side while keeping your body in one line. Stay in this position for 3 x 20 seconds each.
Exercise 10 - arm stretch
For the last exercise, stand directly in front of a wall and stretch your arm up. Now turn your torso slightly to the wall and stretch your shoulders up as much as possible. Since this stretch can quickly lead to cramps, only hold it for 3 seconds per arm, but 10 times .
