The art of warming up: how to properly prepare for your next hard swim

We get it—warming up is never fun, no matter the sport. It can be especially tedious in the pool, because if the water is cold, all you want to do is swim fast so you can shed that chill you’re feeling. Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of warming up you need to be doing when you first get in the pool. Instead, you need to dedicate a good amount of time to easy, light laps that will help your body prepare for the hard workout ahead. Here are some things you should do before every swim.

Swim easy

Start your pool sessions off with at least 200 metres of easy swimming. Focus on easing your shoulders into the workout, taking light and slow strokes. You can toss some backstroke or breaststroke into the mix for this section, just as long as you keep things nice and easy.

Kick

Next up is some kicking. Your legs take next to no impact in swimming compared to what they experience on the run, but that doesn’t mean you should hop in the pool and go hard without giving them a chance to warm up. Grab a board and do 100 or 200 metres of kicking. This should be done with purpose—not too hard, but not easy.

Pull

Now it’s time to isolate your upper-body. Toss a pull buoy between your legs and get to work, focusing on lengthening your stroke and pulling as much water as you can while still maintaining smooth, fluid movements. Once again, do 100 or 200 metres of pull before moving on to the next phase of your warmup.

Drills

Find some drills that work for you and mix them into your daily warmup. No matter the drills you choose, remind yourself that the point of doing them is not to get to the wall quickly. Instead, focus on executing each drill properly. This will help prepare you for the hard swimming to come. Try to fit in at least 100 metres of drills before each workout.

Build

Do 4 x 25 metres or 2 to 4 x 50 metres of freestyle, building through each length or lap. This means you’ll start relatively easily, but as you work your way toward the wall, you’ll pick up the pace. You shouldn’t be at an all-out sprint by the end of the rep, but you’ll want to build to a good effort. With each new length or lap, start from zero.

Time to swim

After you’ve completed a warmup like this, your body will be ready to swim hard and fast. Once again, we know this isn’t necessarily a fun way to start your workout, but it will go a long way to prevent injuries, so it is definitely worth it in the long run.