Swimming training for fighters (Part 1)
Swimming for conditioning is underutilized, poorly understood, or misused by most wrestlers and coaches. It’s not that coaches don’t have a plan or a goal, but a lot of coaches take standard gym work into the pool and stay at one extreme, doing partner carries and jump squats, all great things, but if they really understood the benefits of swimming could put together a specific swimming program from circuits to aerobic, anaerobic and resistance series.
Swimming is great exercise and will increase lung capacity if a fighter uses it correctly which obviously has benefits in the ring in regards to hydrogen conditioning swimming also puts 25lbs of pressure on the entire body when swimming and also It is a form of physical conditioning without weight.
Obviously the benefits can only be gained if the fighter can swim and is comfortable in a pool environment. The exercises below can be changed at any time and are only a suggestion.
There are many swimming aids, from paddles to buoys, and all can be used, however one of the easiest and cheapest is to wear an extra swim shirt and shorts during training to increase resistance, however, you should exercise caution and only use this extra drag every few weeks. If you don’t, your body will adapt and you’ll need more and more clothes to drag.
Pool circuits are probably the easiest to understand and get started with, so below are some circuits to get you started.
Route 1
You will need access to swim widths (deep end) for this circuit and you will need two mats, one on each side for certain exercises, be sure to warm up before the start.
Swim 10 wide front crawls as fast as you can.
Get out of the pool and do twenty push-ups, slide into the pool, swim a width underwater on the opposite side, do nineteen push-ups, then repeat until you’ve completed the set.
At the end, swim 10 wide front crawls again, then perform double-leg V-squats as above. At the end, repeat the process and perform double squat thrusts.
Circuit
10 wide sprint crawl
Press ups 20 -1 swimming a width below taking 1 press up on each side
10 wide sprint crawl
Double leg sit v 20-1 swimming a width under taking 1 sit v from each side
10 wide sprint crawl
Double leg squat thrusts 20-1- swim one width under taking one squat thrust from each width
Rest is up to an individual between sets, but no more than one minute.
Route 2
As above but run between widths this can be done in the shallow end or the deep end if you wear the deep end wear an aqua jogger which is a blue support belt that sits around the waist and is normally worn for rehabilitation work in the pool. .
Route 3
As above, but swim lengths and only one sprint crawl length are required between exercises
Route 4
Make sure you have a partner for this set.
They both run from the shallow end until the deep end starts and then back up ten times.
Partner 1 piggybacks number two for ten sprints up and then switches
Partner 1 sprint the same distance back for 4
Partner 2 jumps into a squat until Partner 1 finishes (head underwater, back straight, butt touching heels, then explode up)
To exchange
1 minute rest repeat one more time
Route 5
Partner Jump Squat 30 seconds with 15 rests for 3 minutes
To exchange
Underwater shoulder standing band strikes partner 2 holding band at rear for extra tension
30 seconds on 15 rest for three minutes (no bands use water dumbbells)
To exchange
Freestyle sprints* 30 seconds straight and 15 rest for 3 minutes
Partner holds your ankles as you power swim for 30 seconds front crawl
To exchange
Rest 1 minute repeat
Again, the above are a suggestion, however, I think these are the best exercises a fighter should use in the pool to condition, as the lungs must be overloaded to increase oxygen uptake.
The last circuit should only be used with fighters who are proficient in water and can swim at a reasonable level.
Deep access will be required
The wrestler treads the water with his hands for two minutes, then his feet for two minutes with his hands in the air.
The wrestler then has his hands clasped behind his back with a rubber band, then sinks to the bottom of the pool as soon as his feet hit the bottom, explodes on the surface, sucks in a puff of air, and dives again, complete this. for five repetitions.
If the band breaks, the wrestler starts over, for more advanced training, also tie the legs with an elastic band.
This exercise develops the CV system and allows the fighter to become hypoxic as hydrogen will begin to fly through the body.
Give them a try and see how it goes, we have tried to minimize the amount of equipment needed, if you don’t have bands or dumbbells to pull the buoys it will be enough to start with.
Next time we will see swimming sets to develop the fighter and add additional training to his arsenal.
If you try them, please contact us and leave a comment.