Swimming: Dryland Strength & Power

Overview

Swimming speed comes from two things: how much force you can apply to the water per stroke, and how efficiently you can maintain that force over your race distance. Dryland training improves both.

This 8-week program focuses on the pulling muscles (lats, rear delts, scapular stabilizers), the kick muscles (glutes, hamstrings, quads), and the core stability that keeps your body in a streamlined position. You will train 3 days per week on land. Schedule these on lighter swim days or rest days.

Most swimmers overtrain their shoulders in the pool and then do more overhead pressing in the gym. This program is intentionally low on overhead pressing and high on pulling and scapular work to keep your shoulders healthy.

Phase 1: Strength + Stability (Weeks 1-4)

Day 1 - Pull Dominant + Core

• •Lat Pulldown (wide grip): 4x8 (90s rest)
• •Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3x10 per side (60s rest)
• •Banded Pull-Apart: 3x20 (30s rest)
• •Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown: 3x12 (60s rest)
• •Pallof Press: 3x10 per side (45s rest)
• •Streamline Flutter Kick on Bench (face down, hold streamline): 3x30s (30s rest)
• •Dead Bug: 3x10 per side (30s rest)

Day 2 - Lower Body + Hip Drive

• •Barbell Back Squat: 4x6 (2min rest)
• •Romanian Deadlift: 4x8 (90s rest)
• •Step-Up with Dumbbells: 3x8 per leg (60s rest)
• •Glute Bridge with Band: 3x15 (45s rest)
• •Bodyweight Squat Jump: 3x8 (60s rest)
• •Standing Calf Raise: 3x15 (30s rest)
• •Ankle Dorsiflexion with Band: 2x15 per side (30s rest)

Day 3 - Full Body + Shoulder Health

• •Chin-Up: 3x8 (90s rest)
• •Push-Up with Plus (protract shoulders at top): 3x12 (45s rest)
• •Face Pulls: 3x15 (45s rest)
• •Y-T-W Raises (prone on bench): 2x8 each position (30s rest)
• •Cable Internal Rotation: 2x15 per side (30s rest)
• •Cable External Rotation: 2x15 per side (30s rest)
• •Plank: 3x45s (30s rest)
• •Side Plank: 3x30s per side (30s rest)

Phase 2: Power + Race-Specific Strength (Weeks 5-8)

Day 1 - Explosive Pull + Core Power

• •Weighted Pull-Up: 4x4 (2min rest)
• •Explosive Lat Pulldown (pull fast, control return): 3x8 (90s rest)
• •Band-Resisted Straight-Arm Pulldown (fast reps): 3x12 (45s rest)
• •Med Ball Overhead Slam: 3x8 (60s rest)
• •Cable Chop: 3x8 per side (45s rest)
• •Hollow Body Hold: 3x30s (30s rest)
• •Superman Hold: 3x20s (30s rest)

Day 2 - Lower Body Power

• •Box Squat: 4x4 (2min rest)
• •Trap Bar Deadlift: 4x4 (2min rest)
• •Jump Squat (bodyweight or light barbell): 3x6 (90s rest)
• •Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift: 3x8 per side (60s rest)
• •Glute Ham Raise: 3x8 (60s rest)
• •Seated Calf Raise: 3x12 (30s rest)

Day 3 - Swim-Specific Strength + Durability

• •Band-Resisted Swim Pull (mimic catch and pull phase): 3x12 per arm (45s rest)
• •Weighted Chin-Up: 3x5 (2min rest)
• •Single-Arm Cable Row (pull from extended position): 3x10 per side (60s rest)
• •Scapular Push-Up: 3x12 (30s rest)
• •Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Press (light): 3x8 per side (60s rest)
• •V-Up: 3x12 (30s rest)
• •Streamline Hold on Bench (prone, arms extended, hold tight line): 3x20s (30s rest)

Band Work for Swimmers (pre-swim warm-up)

Do this before every pool session:

• •Band Pull-Apart: 15 reps
• •Band External Rotation: 10 per side
• •Band Straight-Arm Pulldown: 10 reps
• •Band Y-Raise: 10 reps
• •Band Dislocates: 10 reps slow and controlled

Progression Guidelines

• •Increase pull-up and squat loads by 5 lbs per week in Phase 1
• •In Phase 2, focus on bar speed. If the weight moves slow, it is too heavy
• •Straight-arm pulldown mimics the catch phase of your stroke. This is the most swim-specific exercise in the gym. Prioritize it
• •Core work should focus on maintaining a rigid body position. Hollow body and plank variations directly improve streamline position
• •Ankle flexibility matters for your kick. If you cannot point your toes well, add ankle stretching daily

Notes on Programming with Swim Training

This program assumes you are swimming 4-6 times per week. If you are swimming twice a day, drop to 2 gym sessions. If you are in a taper phase before a meet, cut gym work to 2 sessions of maintenance volume (half the sets) and eliminate all plyometrics. You want to arrive at the meet fresh, not beaten up from the weight room.

Never do heavy pulling the day before a hard swim session. Your lats will be trashed and your catch will suffer.