written by Coach Andy
How many times have you come to swim meet
and saw total chaos in the pool with well over a hundred swimmers attempting to swim?
For as much chaos that you see, almost every single swimmer is doing something specific to warm-up for the meet. If they swim backstroke, they might focus
on a turn and knowing the feel of the wall or how to place their feet on the
wall for a start.
Warm-ups also serve the purpose for getting the body ready to swim fast. The body's muscles need to be warmed up in a specific way in order for the swimmer to be successful. Coaches cannot tell their swimmers to sprint a 100 free without the proper preparation, i.e., the proper warm up. It takes a significant distance for any swimmer to be completely warmed up for a meet and swim their events safely to prevent injuries.
Warm-ups conclude with at least 1 start off
the blocks. This is done with a super high intensity sprint to a specific point
in the pool. This warms up the fast twitch muscle fibers for the sprinting
ability to be started. After the warm up has concluded a swimmer should dry off
and put on clothing to stay warm until their event. Don't worry if your swimmer
is tired after a warm up. An athlete should feel slightly fatigued after a warming up because they have caused a significant change from a "sedentary state" to
being ready to race.
The second warm-up is used to help flush
the lactic acid from the muscles of the previous swims and to get the athlete
ready for their up-coming races. Sometimes athletes will not have raced until
after the second warm-up but they should still get in both times since the
second warm-up is significantly shorter in time and would not allow for a
complete warm-up.
So, remember: Get warm, stay warm, and SWIM
FAST!
