Offseason Training

With nationals and all the other big meets behind most of us, many swimmers will be taking a few weeks off before they hit the pool again for the summer season. This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week was submitted by retired coach Edward Fraser, who offers some advice on what swimmers can do during the offseason to help them make a smoother transition once they hit the water again.

Fraser’s Tip:
I always believed that the better conditioned an athlete was going into the season, the less chance of injuries in the water and you could accomplish so much more in the water right from the start. Therefore, I always started my season out with my senior swimmers with three weeks of land work where we worked on flexibility, core body strength, connective tissue around the joints and plyometrics and limited water time. (Note: Fraser's plan also included some running to maintain cardiovascular endurance. The runs increased in length and intensity over the course of the three weeks).