Quick Dip: How Can My Pre-Pool Routine Develop?
A short read for the car journey
Category: Pre-Pool | Read time: Under 2 minutes
In your first squads, you might learn three or four pre-pool exercises. As you progress, you will build a wider choice of movements and learn how to put them together before swimming.
Start by learning a few exercises well. Know how to do each movement and what it helps you prepare. Repeating them helps you remember the routine and get started without waiting for every instruction.
At Bluefins, our Foundation Warm Up follows Raise, Mobilise, Activate and Prime:
Raise: Gradually get warmer with whole-body movement.
Mobilise: Move your joints through a controlled, comfortable range.
Activate: Use exercises that practise muscle control, such as keeping your trunk steady.
Prime: Build towards the quicker or more specific movements needed for swimming.
As you gain experience, learn alternatives within these stages. The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck can help you choose exercises and follow their instructions.
By the Performance squads, aim for around 10 minutes of varied warm-up and mobility exercises. You should know your routine, understand its purpose and allow enough time to complete it before getting in.
You can keep familiar exercises while adding others that suit your training. Variety might mean including movements for your shoulders, trunk, hips and ankles, without choosing a completely new routine every day.
Work carefully through each exercise. Adding more is only useful if you still perform them well and finish with energy left for swimming.
Ask your coach: Which part of my warm-up would benefit from another exercise?
Created by Basingstoke Bluefins Coaching Team
