Building and maintaining a strong core is a must for any athlete.

A strong core aids in the strength of other muscle groups and extremities. This, of course, holds especially true for swimmers. A strong torso allows a swimmer to stabilize their motion and stroke patterns while in the water. Let’s take a look at some great exercises that will help build your core strength and are simple to perform.

Abdominal Crunch

Abdominal training is an obvious way to increase core strength. Some of the most common and fundamental abdominal workouts are great for increasing a swimmer’s performance. The first exercise mentioned will be the Abdominal Crunch. First start by lying down flat on your back. Then place your hands behind your head and raise both your head and your feet slightly off the ground. This will be your starting position. Then begin to move your upper body forward by crunching your abdominal muscles. While moving forward, pull your knees towards your core. You can also add a twisting variation to your crunch by implementing a quarter twist. This is achieved by touching your elbow with your opposite knee as you complete each crunch. Rotate the direction of the twist with each crunch you perform.

Abdominal Pike

Another simple abdominal exercise is the Abdominal Pike. Start by lying down flat on your back. Then extend your arms behind your head so that your fingertips are pointing in the opposite direction of your feet. During this full stretch position, lift both your arms and legs slightly off the ground. This will be the starting position. While keeping your arms and legs straight, raise them simultaneously until they are in a vertical position. Your legs and arms should be parallel with one another at the end position of this exercise. Perform 3–5 sets of both the Abdominal Crunch and Pike, execute each set until you reach exhaustion. Remember, you can exercise your abdominal muscles multiple times in a week, unlike most muscle groups.

Jump-Squat-Jump

Our third core exercise is a variation of a squat named the Jump-Squat-Jump. Start in a standing position, with your hands behind your head and knees slightly bent. Begin the exercise by jumping from that position. While doing so, make sure to spread your feet apart before you land. Upon landing, lower your body until you are in a squatting position. From a squatting position, jump up. While in the air, bring your feet back together. Repeat these steps from the beginning. You should perform 3-–5 sets, execute each set until exhaustion.

Medicine Ball Pass

An effective core exercise that can be performed with a partner is the Medicine Ball Pass. Start with both partners sitting back to back. The partner with the medicine ball in hand, will then twist and pass it to the other partner. The partner who just received the medicine ball, will then twist in the opposite direction and pass the medicine ball back. Make sure both partners are twisting simultaneously during this exercise. Continue this until one or both partners hits the point of exhaustion.

The Medicine Ball Pass can also be performed in a standing and kneeling position. Rotate between all three positions during your regimen. Again, perform 3–5 sets of this exercise.

Since all of these exercises mentioned will be using a light amount of weight or just your own body weight for resistance, you will be performing a higher number of reps during each set. By implementing all these exercises, you will be able to strengthen your core with minimal equipment, in almost any location.

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Tags: core strength, Swimming

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