1.3 Back Exercise Analysis
3 Back Exercises to Help you Swim Faster
1. 3 Point Y
This is an exercise I’ve taken from Swimming Science founder Dr. John Mullen, and it has found its way into my programs as a mainstay for warm ups and as a ‘filler’ exercise. The goal is to encourage humeral extension, and scapular upwards rotation in a less-than-optimal position. Although the athlete is placed in thoracic kyphosis (rounded upper back)--a position normally thought to be harmful, here, encourages more activation of the musculature surrounding the scapula, leading to better long-term health and mobility.
To perform this exercise, have the athlete start in a kneeling position, with the hips ‘sitting back’ onto the lower legs and the head resting on the ground, with the arms overhead. From here, the athlete lifts their arms off the ground, and then lowers it back to the starting position (note: athletes with severe mobility restrictions may not be able to complete this exercise).
This is great to add to a warm up to encourage motor control before getting into other exercises or swimming drills. It is also, as mentioned before, possible to program these between other more complex exercises to increase range of motion (ROM).
2. 90/90 External Rotation
While this is also a …show more content…
relatively ‘unsexy’ exercise in terms of use for packing on muscle mass, its usage in correcting poor shoulder position is paramount. Because of the position of the humerus in this exercise (parallel to the ground and horizontally abducted to the scapular plane), it serves to isolate the musculature of the rotator cuff, and pull the humerus into a more neutral resting posture.
To perform, first place the athlete in the proper position, the shoulder should be in the scapular plane (about 30 degrees from fully abducted). Then, ensure that the load is in front of and equal to or below the humerus and begin to use the shoulder to rotate the forearm around the humerus. It is very common in this exercise for an athlete to try to drop the elbow to gain a mechanical advantage, but ensuring the upper arm maintains its starting position is necessary to gaining the desired outcome. Once the athlete reaches their end ROM (without losing form), I suggest a 1-second hold, then returning to the starting position.
There are many variations of this, which makes it very easy to program, even in a swimming environment with very little equipment.
I almost always program this from a half kneeling position as a way to gain some unilateral glute activation and hip realignment, which doesn’t take anything away from the efficacy of the exercise. Using bands, light dumbbells, or cables all have varying benefits and drawbacks, but a cable tower is usually my go-to because the load is consistent throughout the movement (while bands and dumbbells have fluctuating tension based on the load angle). I enjoy programing this also as a ‘filler’ exercise to help balance the anterior pull on the shoulder common to most swimming (and pressing)
movements.
3. Cable/Heavy Band Face Pulls
The Face Pull is one of my favorite exercises, with at least one variation in all of my programs every single week. Of the exercises listed here, this can best be used to add muscle mass, while still serving as a means to create scapular control and fix humeral posturing. The set up on a cable tower can vary depending on the desired goals. If someone is very upper trap dominant, I will likely only program the exercise from a high cable setting to activate more lower-trap. For the rest of the swimming population, I enjoy switching the cable settings throughout the tower (low, medium, high), and even have some more advanced athletes do extended sets, where we change the cable position mid-set.
This is a pretty self-explanatory exercise, but a common problem in its set up is gripping the triceps rope with a supinated grip, which can possibly lead to impingement. Just as with the 90/90 External Rotations, there is a great deal of benefit with adding the half-kneeling position and a momentary pause at the end of the concentric phase of the exercise (when the hands are closest to the face).
Summary
Remember, proper exercise intensity is essential for elite swimming and injury prevention. Dr. John wrote the following for Swimming World Magazine:
1. 3 Point Y
This is an exercise I’ve taken from Swimming Science founder Dr. John Mullen, and it has found its way into my programs as a mainstay for warm ups and as a ‘filler’ exercise. The goal is to encourage humeral extension, and scapular upwards rotation in a less-than-optimal position. Although the athlete is placed in thoracic kyphosis (rounded upper back)--a position normally thought to be harmful, here, encourages more activation of the musculature surrounding the scapula, leading to better long-term health and mobility.
To perform this exercise, have the athlete start in a kneeling position, with the hips ‘sitting back’ onto the lower legs and the head resting on the ground, with the arms overhead. From here, the athlete lifts their arms off the ground, and then lowers it back to the starting position (note: athletes with severe mobility restrictions may not be able to complete this exercise).
This is great to add to a warm up to encourage motor control before getting into other exercises or swimming drills. It is also, as mentioned before, possible to program these between other more complex exercises to increase range of motion (ROM).
2. 90/90 External Rotation
While this is also a …show more content…
relatively ‘unsexy’ exercise in terms of use for packing on muscle mass, its usage in correcting poor shoulder position is paramount. Because of the position of the humerus in this exercise (parallel to the ground and horizontally abducted to the scapular plane), it serves to isolate the musculature of the rotator cuff, and pull the humerus into a more neutral resting posture.
To perform, first place the athlete in the proper position, the shoulder should be in the scapular plane (about 30 degrees from fully abducted). Then, ensure that the load is in front of and equal to or below the humerus and begin to use the shoulder to rotate the forearm around the humerus. It is very common in this exercise for an athlete to try to drop the elbow to gain a mechanical advantage, but ensuring the upper arm maintains its starting position is necessary to gaining the desired outcome. Once the athlete reaches their end ROM (without losing form), I suggest a 1-second hold, then returning to the starting position.
There are many variations of this, which makes it very easy to program, even in a swimming environment with very little equipment.
I almost always program this from a half kneeling position as a way to gain some unilateral glute activation and hip realignment, which doesn’t take anything away from the efficacy of the exercise. Using bands, light dumbbells, or cables all have varying benefits and drawbacks, but a cable tower is usually my go-to because the load is consistent throughout the movement (while bands and dumbbells have fluctuating tension based on the load angle). I enjoy programing this also as a ‘filler’ exercise to help balance the anterior pull on the shoulder common to most swimming (and pressing)
movements.
3. Cable/Heavy Band Face Pulls
The Face Pull is one of my favorite exercises, with at least one variation in all of my programs every single week. Of the exercises listed here, this can best be used to add muscle mass, while still serving as a means to create scapular control and fix humeral posturing. The set up on a cable tower can vary depending on the desired goals. If someone is very upper trap dominant, I will likely only program the exercise from a high cable setting to activate more lower-trap. For the rest of the swimming population, I enjoy switching the cable settings throughout the tower (low, medium, high), and even have some more advanced athletes do extended sets, where we change the cable position mid-set.
This is a pretty self-explanatory exercise, but a common problem in its set up is gripping the triceps rope with a supinated grip, which can possibly lead to impingement. Just as with the 90/90 External Rotations, there is a great deal of benefit with adding the half-kneeling position and a momentary pause at the end of the concentric phase of the exercise (when the hands are closest to the face).
Summary
Remember, proper exercise intensity is essential for elite swimming and injury prevention. Dr. John wrote the following for Swimming World Magazine: