Shoulder Flexibility in Swimming

This past week, I was working with some of the athletes at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center when I was perplexed at what seems to be a common theme among some athletes who are learning to swim for the first time. In particular, two of these athletes were having a hard time with their shoulder movement. It seemed that something about their flexibility was preventing them from getting a full extension of the arm from the shoulder. Upon further inspection, neither athlete was able to lift his arms straight above his head into a standard streamline position.

I find that this is something rarely touched upon in triathlon swimming: streamline. Yes, it's true that athletes do no ever have to push off of a wall when swimming in open water. However, as I stress in my discussions with athletes and coaches alike, the making of an athlete comes before the making of a triathlete. This means that all of the aspects that are important to pool swimming are also important to triathletes learning to swim, included in which is streamline.

First, let me talk about what a good streamline is and then I will explain what this means for these aforementioned elite athletes. A good streamline puts the athlete's body in as narrow and straight of a line as possible. This will create the least drag in the water and thus allow the athlete to move more efficiently through it. This requires that the arms be straight overhead with one hand on top of the other; the head is held tightly and slightly in front of the biceps; the athlete's core is tight and there is no flexion or extension in the joints that would cause excess drag. When pushing off of the wall, this positioning should be obtained as soon as is possible. In fact, the upper body should be postured in streamline as the legs are in a squat, prepared for the explosion off of the wall into the swim.

Why does this matter to triathletes? Well, when an athlete gains a complete kinematic understanding of a streamline, he or she will hold the core rigidly such that the body is more hydrodynamic. The rigid core of the athlete actually should never be broken except during flip turns. Only the arms and legs should ever be outside of the same streamline. However, when the shoulders and back (particularly the latissimus dorsi) are inflexible, that musculature prevents the full extension of the arm from the shoulder. These athletes who were still relative novice swimmers (elite runners and cyclists, however) were finding other ways to compensate: the athlete's spine will curve to give the athlete the ability to reach further, but simultaneously forcing the core out of the streamline position.

To identify this problem, have someone watch you swim. Send your videos to me at karl@v-tri.com, if you prefer. Once you have determined that you or an athlete you coach is compensating in this way, release of the shoulder, pectorals, and latissimus is a good place to start. Then, a re-learning of proper positioning in the water will be necessary.

Strength Training: Let's Try and Simplify It a Bit

You as a coach may say "alright, so I know that my athletes should be doing strength work, I just don't know how to program it. Help!" Believe me: I was there. It is all too easy to get overwhelmed with the information out there while trying to fit it in to what is working for you.

To keep it short and simple, there are a few basic rules that coaches should use when implementing strength training. Oddly enough, they are remarkably similar to the rules we use when we build endurance training plans. Here, I will outline a few of the basics.

Start by building capacity

Just like when we build endurance in the base phase and work on biomechanics, we should do the same with strength training. What is our capacity for strength? Though some may argue (big surprise in the exercise science world!), our capacity for strength is determined at least partially by muscle cross-sectional area. This means hypertrophy. Now before all of the triathletes and distance runners stop reading because they "do not want to get bigger", let me remind you that it is not the objective to training for bodybuilding or strongman competitions. The purpose of the hypertrophy phase is also to work out any size imbalances in the body.

Lean out

Now this is another point where some exercise scientists differ: when to lean out. For me, there are at least two appropriate times in the training to work on this. First, after you have built capacity (hypertrophy). The reason I put it at this point in the plan is so that the lean muscle tissue you have built can now go to work for you by increasing your overall metabolism. Second, this is done by many elites and sub-elites just before a major race. Of course, always use caution with this sort of timing as these are the times you are wanting to tax your body the most. I usually recommend involving a nutritionist or dietitian in this part of the process. Leaning out is best done with high-intensity interval and strength training.

Build strength

Awesome. You now have capacity and are lean. You are feeling good, but you need to use that capacity to maximize your power-to-weight ratio. This is the time when you reduce the overall number of repetitions you are doing in the gym, but increase the weight you are lifting. This comes during the building phases of your annual training plan where you are doing similar strength-building in the pool and on the road.

Translate it

It's really wonderful that you can squat 500+ pounds. No, really, it is. But does it mean anything for swimming, cycling, or running? Who knows? Exercises in the weight room are built to be non-specific so that most people can take advantage of them. Remember, most people who go to the gym are not training for anything in particular (which is not necessarily a bad thing!), but you are! Therefore, make those movements functional and mimic what you do in the water and on the road. Turn lat pull-downs into bent-over cable pulls practicing a "perfect" catch. Do fun sets such as single-leg squats directly into sprints to get the most out of that 500+ pound squat!

Let your body take advantage

The final part of strength training planning is just before the race. Here is where that strength that you have turned into great movements need to become explosive. Plyometrics are the best way to do this. That single-leg squat can now become a single-leg squat into a bound from side to side or front to back. Believe me, this will matter when you want to make that final surge for the finish line!