If you have been learning and practicing swimming in a recognized Richmond Swim Club, you must have realized the importance of exercising and workouts. A swimmer needs to stay fit and healthy and while practicing swimming ensures that one needs to exercise a lot to become a good swimmer in the very first place. Also, these exercises should be carefully chosen because it is only the right set of workouts that help you improve your strength, stamina and of course, performance as a swimmer. However, most swimmers make the mistake of exercising too much and often practice the wrong type of exercise that ends up causing more harm than benefits. The sad truth is that the workout trainers who recommend exercises are not necessarily swimmers and, therefore, have little idea about what suits a swimmer’s body. While it is always advisable to consult your swim expert before practicing any exercise right away, here is a list of some workouts that swimmers must avoid or at least, be aware of the alternate way of doing it.

  1. Deep Shoulder Stretches – Shoulder stretches help in loosening up your muscles, which is good provided that you know the right way of doing them. Deep shoulder stretches are, however, avoidable because stretching your arms beyond the normal range of motion causes arm injury. It is advisable not to pull your shoulders behind or above your head. While performing shoulder stretches, bend your elbow 90 degrees and press your forearm into a nearby wall or frame. Feel the stretch and hold it for 30 seconds. Now, explore different angles to let all the muscles stretch sufficiently.
  2. Bench Dip – A bench dip is typically performed by putting a bench directly behind the back and grabbing it with your both hands. Your feet are either on the floor or on the other bench. When you dip down, the bend occurs at the elbows and your triceps need to work on bringing your back to the original position. This particular exercise exerts unnecessary strain and pressure on the front part of your shoulders, especially when you thrust back up. The overall position can turn out to be dangerous for a swimmer.
  3. Leg Lifts – While there is nothing quite wrong in doing leg lifts, these are often practiced incorrectly, which increases the risk of injury. The idea that leg lifts activate the core muscles is just a misconception. On the contrary, it activates the hip flexors, which must be avoided by a swimmer.
  4. V-Ups – Like leg lifts, V-Ups are good only when they are performed properly. In most cases, too much V-Up can compel the form of the swimmer to drag while also making it difficult for him to improve the ability to control, which is so very important in swimming.

While these workouts must be avoided, it is best to consult both your swim expert as well as workout trainer to understand which exercises suit you best and then go about performing them in the desired manner.