Yoga is all the rage these days. You can’t go anywhere without hear someone talk about how amazing yoga is and all the benefits that come along with it. While it’s 100% true there are many health benefits that yoga provides, did you know it can actually improve and enhance your swimming techniques and workouts? Let’s look at a few of the different ways you can use Yoga to enhance swimming.
MOBILITY
Swimming is one of the few exercises that require you to use every fiber in your body. Yoga also happens to be the same. As a swimmer it’s important to be incredibly flexible and loose. By doing yoga, even just once a week, you can notice a major change in your body and flexibility.
When focusing on mobility in a yoga session it will increase your range of motion and lengthen muscle tissue while stabilizing a joint forming greater integrity and strength. This brings us to the next benefit, which is strength
STRENGTH
Any swimmer will tell you it requires an incredible amount of strength when doing any swim related activity, especially when swimming laps, training for a marathon or the Olympics. Your body must be in tip top shape.
Core strength is used in any dynamic pose and is part of many static poses. The choice of poses and sequences can also develop both upper body and lower body strength, once again both in a dynamic and static manner. As long as proper movement patterns are followed it is functional strength that is being developed. A yoga program can be designed to use specific movement that is applicable to the sport of swimming.
SHOULDER, FEET AND ANKLE FLEXIBILITY
As a swimmer you use your entire body. But there are certain parts that you rely on much more than others. In the case of yoga this means your shoulders, feet and ankles.
Strong, flexible feet and ankles are a critical tool for any swimmer. They allow the body to drive forward with a strong kick. If the ankles and feet are tight, the kick is compromised and can literally pull you backward. These stretches will create strength and flexibility in your swimmers’ feet and ankles, which will help them streamline into the water effectively and propel themselves with an efficient kick.
Yoga plays a big part in helping you gain strength and flexibility in all three of these areas.
These are just a few benefits of doing yoga and swimming to enhance your technique. There are so many different types and ways yoga for swimmers can help improve and strengthen the body.
TELL US!
What other ways has yoga helped improve your swimming techniques? Tell us in the comment section below!