by Coach Emmett Hines

This article is a continuation of the "How to Spend the Off- Season" article in the November issue of Runner Triathlete News. For complete details on improving your swimming, please pick up a copy of the November 2001 edition of Runner Triathlete News.

Stretching is a bit like broccoli - everyone knows its good for you but few have a passion for it. But if you ignore flexibility as you train you will eventually pay for it with aches, pains, reduced performance and injuries. While there are many stretches that are potentially beneficial to swimmers I've narrowed down the field to what I consider the two indisputably necessary stretches for swimming. If you do no other stretches, do these. They are shown as you might do them in a pool because you should do them every time you get wet. They can also be done on land.

Pectoralis Stretch
Stand in armpit deep water with your chest against the lane rope. Raise your left arm so that your upper arm is parallel with and along side of the lane rope, 90-degree bend at the elbow so your fingertips are pointing straight up. Now rotate your body to the right. The lane rope keeps the arm from moving. As your body rotates to the right you should feel a stretch diagonally from the shoulder across your left pec to the sternum (breast bone). If you just feel the stretch in the shoulder area you need to raise your elbow a bit higher until you feel the stretch across to the sternum. Otherwise, you aren't stretching the pec muscle; you are just pulling the shoulder out of place. Repeat this stretch several times alternating sides for 20-30 seconds each.

Streamline Stretch
This stretch improves the flexibility needed, not only to maintain maximum speed off each push-off, but also in reaching full extension on every stroke, thus improving distance per stroke.

Stand up straight with both hands extended overhead as high as possible. Place your right hand over top of the left, locking your right thumb around the edge of your left hand. All your fingers should be pointing straight up. Your right wrist should be directly on top of your left wrist (imagine you are wearing a watch and you are trying to cover that whole left hand and the watch with your right hand and wrist). Squeeze the back half of your head firmly with your upper arms. The back of your head should be flush with the backs of your arms; your ears should be pinned against your head. Don't tip your head forward or back and don't arch your back. Try to keep your spine-line as straight as possible. Stand up on your toes. Squeeze your butt cheeks together. Finally, contract your abdominal muscles as though you are trying to press the small of your back against an imaginary wall. Do this stretch several times for 20-30 seconds each time.

Emmett Hines is Head Coac of H2Ouston Swims. He has coached competitive Masters swimming in Houston since 1982 and is a Senior Coach for Total Immersion Swim Camps. His book, Fitness Swimming (Human Kinetics, publishers), is in its second English language printing and has been released in Spanish, French, and Chinese. Currently he coaches the H2O Masters group in the River Oaks area, works privately with many clients and offers video stroke analysis by mail (Project VDO). You can find more of his articles at www.H2OustonSwims.org and he can be reached for questions or comments at (713) 748-SWIM or [email protected].