Quick Dip: What Should a Pre-Pool Warm-Up Include?

Sep 11

1 min read

A short read for the car journey

Category: Pre-Pool | Read time: Under 2 minutes

A pre-pool warm-up should leave you warmer and ready to swim, without wearing you out.

Your shoulders move your arms, your middle helps hold your body steady and your hips and ankles help with kicking and pushing off. Prepare more than just your arms.

Using familiar exercises from the Bluefins warm-up cards, your routine might include:

Gentle jogging on the spot to begin getting warmer.
Comfortable shoulder rotations and ankle movements to move your joints.
A bridge to practise control around your hips and middle.
A controlled squat to bring several parts of your body into one movement.

Choose your routine with your coach. These are examples, not a complete warm-up everyone must copy.

Notice the quality of each movement. During a squat, bend and straighten smoothly. If you drop down, bounce up or lose your balance, slow down and regain control.

Use a comfortable range of movement. Reaching further or moving faster is not an improvement if you cannot control it.

Choose a clear space with a secure surface, where you will not bump into anyone. Stop an exercise that hurts and tell your coach.

Once you know your routine, use the cards to help you remember it. You can take responsibility for doing familiar exercises well without needing a harder version or a resistance band.

Ask your coach: What should I look for to check that I’m doing this exercise well?

Created by Basingstoke Bluefins Coaching Team