How to Swim Like an Olympian: Top 5 Stretches to Make You Swim Faster

Swimming is a fun sport when it comes to pool floats but in the professional life, it is not that much fun. There is a lot that you as a professional swimmer need to consider such as stretching exercises. Stretching exercises are very important for sportsmen and women. As an athlete, you need to invest some of your time in stretching exercises in order to make sure that you don’t damage your muscle in the process of working out.

Most swimmers don’t stretch before the swim and all of them are wrong not to do because you can strain your body easily during swimming if you don’t stretch before the actual swim. During swimming, you tend to bring almost all your muscles in action and not stretching will only damage them.

When it comes to swimming people consider that they should only stretch before the swim but in case of swimming, it is also important to stretch after the swim because your body transitions between water and land thus it needs time to adjust to the change. Lactic acid builds up in your muscles after the swim thus it is important that turn it into energy if you don’t want to get stiff muscles and that is where stretching plays its role.

Professional swimmers stretch for almost an hour before and after the swim thus you should too. If you want to swim like an Olympian you also need to behave like one. So, always stretch before and after your swim to not stain your muscles.

In this article, we are going to look at some of the stretches that will help you swim faster and better so that you don’t strain your muscles. So let us go ahead and see what these professional stretches are and how they can help you.

1.    Arms on chest

This is one of the most important stretches because it allows you to stretch your triceps and your deltoid muscles before using them for the propulsion force. If you perform this stretch properly, you will also stretch the gap behind your shoulder blades and your spinal vertebrae. Stretching this area helps you loosen up a bit while helping with the elbow lifts during the stroke.

In order to perform this stretch, keep your head and spinal cord straight. Now, bring one arm over your chest at your shoulder’s height and stretch it using the other arm while you rotate your body in the non-stretching arm’s direction. This will stretch your back as well.

2.    Hands behind the back holding the wall

This stretch covers your anterior deltoid, chest muscles and biceps along with your shoulder blades. It also helps you practice the elbow lift in the water painlessly. So, in order to carry out this stretch, go to the side of the pool with your back facing the wall. Now, place your palms against the wall from and push your body further in the water and you will feel the stretch in your triceps. Now lift your legs upwards in the water and hold the position for 10 seconds.

3.    Standing with arms behind the back

Since you are going to be using your arms a lot thus you need to properly stretch them as well in all different angles. This stretch also focuses on your anterior deltoid, chest muscles, biceps and shoulder blades. Simply place both your hands behind your back in an interlocking position and lift them perpendicular to the body as far as possible. Hold the position for 10 seconds, relax and repeat.

4.    Fin stretch

This stretch focuses on your leg muscles. It allows you to swim for a longer time period without straining your muscles. Simply lean against the pool wall and bring your leg perpendicular to the body. Now, grab the edge of your fin and pull it towards your body to feel the stretch.

5.    Toes on the wall

Since you need to extend your legs and keep your toes pointed thus it is important to stretch those ankles of yours as well. Place your heel almost 10 cm away from the pool wall while touching the wall with your toe and keeping your leg as straight as possible. You will feel the stretch in your twin muscles. Lean in a bit to feel the stretch even more.