Dryland Workouts

[Katelynn Young]

Hi all,

I have just recently joined the Maine Masters team, and I have been training for a triathlon that is coming up in August. We all know the importance of workouts in the pool, but dryland workouts may be just as important in order to build strength, speed, and power. Having been through multiple physical therapy sessions due to athletic injuries, one thing that has been stressed is strengthening out of the pool and off the road. I have my own plan worked out but I'm always looking for new things to try; any strength building exercises that shake up the normal routine and help build muscle for the coming road and pool sessions. Does anyone have any dryland favorites they'd be willing to share?

[smontanaro]

Out of the pool, I do a raise-and-rotate exercise for my rotator cuff (not sure what its proper name is - arms straight out to the side, thumbs up, rotate in small circles clockwise and/or counterclockwise 40-100x), and a few isometric exercises (just made 'em up, but ask if you're interested and I'll try to describe them). You might find these USA Swimming pages helpful:

Dryland Training Videos

Shoulder Injury Prevention

I do essentially nothing off the bike, though a fair amount of pedal technique work on the bike to increase engagement of my glutes. This page was helpful for me:

Pedal Stroke 101

FWIW, while I was out of the pool for an extended time, I did nothing but ride. When I hopped back in, besides taking it very (very) easy on my shoulders, I found my kick had improved. Well, at least I hated kicking a lot less.