DRY LAND MARCH 29-APRIL 3

As we get ready to start another week, lets hope for good weather to give us a chance to get outside and go through some of your dry land routines.  Last week I spent some time watching some dry land routines from Katie Hoff on a podcast and after doing some of these, I believe it fits in with our ability level.  As we have been discussing all season  your cores are vital for developing your strokes, turns and streamline.  Let’s really on focusing in on holding those tummy’s in and keep them tight.

MONDAY MARCH 30	Wednesday APRIL 1	FRIDAY APRIL3
WARM UP  8 INCH WORMS  8 GOOD MORNINGS  8 WORLDS GREATEST STRETCH EACH SIDE	WARM UP  8 INCH WORMS  8 KNEE HUGS  8 GOOD MORNINGS  8 WORLDS GREATEST STRETCH	WARM UP  8 INCH WORMS  8 KNEE HUGS  8 GOOD MORNINGS  8 WORLDS GREATEST STRETCH
FIRST SET 40SECONDS ON/ 20 SECONDS OFF  BODY SAW  PLANK TAP (KEEP COUNT)  MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS	FIRST SET 40/20  BODY SAW  PLANK TAP (KEEP COUNT)  MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS	FIRST SET40/20  BODY SAW  PLANK TAP (KEEP COUNT)  MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
MIXER  10 JUMPING JACKS  10 SQUATS	MIXER  12 JUMPING JACKS  10 SQUAT JUMPS	MIXER  15 JUMPING JACKS 12 SQUAT JUMPS
SECOND SET 40/20  PUSH UP WITH LEG LIFT  FLUTTER KICKS	SECOND SET 40/20  PUSH UP WITH LEG LIFT  FLUUTER KICK  RUSSIAN CRUNCH	SECOND SET 40/20  PUSH UP WITH LEG LIFT  FLUTTER KICK  V-UPS

As you see there are 4 set.  Move through each round with no more than the built in 20 seconds rest.  At the end of set 2 you are allowed a 3 minute water break than proceed with the next round.  Treat the rounds like your swimming 3x200. The first A3 the second round A4 and the last round a strong A4 to A5.   Keep your focus going through the exercises.

Tuesday and Thursday are for any cardio work you can get in such as shuttle runs, walk run, walks with your dogs (Anna and Rebecca). Bike rides are great, anything that gets you moving.

Don’t forget to keep to your schedule and routines.  As for myself I do these dryland routines with you along with bike rides and trying to get pools up and running so they get warm and I can get in.

Body Saw

Worlds greatest stretch

This is a stretch that can be placed in our warmup routine this week.

CONTROL and ADAPT

So now we are beginning to understand the obstacle that life and the world has thrown us.  No school or swimming for all of us for a while so what can you guys do to help yourselves stay in a regular routine during the next few weeks?  It's easy to become complacent and lazy when our routines are upended.  Yes it might be nice not to get up for a 5 AM practice, and then head to school, but after a while you probably start to feel that there is something missing in your routine and your personal lives.  This also involves your day after practice which includes your school work.

We have had those talks where it is important to have that mindset of controlling only the things that YOU can control in the pool and outside of the pool.  The controllable things in your life and in swimming are just a part of your every day world,  there are always those uncontrollable obstacles that life throws at you.

Many of you are disappointed and frustrated, all normal human emotions.  Your coaches would worry about you if you didn't experience those feelings, but now the time for your self-pity party are over, hope you enjoyed it.  Your not in this alone, it encompasses kindergarteners to high school seniors to college seniors, from 8 and under all the way to Olympians throughout the world and the way we move forward is as a team reaching out and supporting each other.

 In times like this you need to develop the ability to adapt to the situation in the best manner you can, and if you can do that you will come out of this a better person.  With the help of your parents and teachers I am sure you have already heard about having a routine set up.  The biggest mistake that one could make during this time, is to become complacent or a couch potato and do nothing.

The first step is that of setting up a daily routine a schedule and becoming consistent with that schedule every day. Remember when things were normal and you went to bed and woke up at the same time, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time.  Your day involved going to school, attending class at set times.  You participated in your sports, clubs and activities at a certain time throughout the day, and yes today your life has been turned upside down, but now is the time to get back to work and set up a normal schedule and routine in your life, be it at home. Below I will outline what a daily day might look like, but by no means is it set in stone.  This is just an illustration, a template to use or not use.

Wake Up:  Between 7 and 8
Breakfast:  20- 30 minutes
Shower and wash those hands 10-15 minutes (of course Adrian will need more time with his hair) Seriously man your not going anywhere 
School Time- 3 hours reading, projects, papers
Snack Time 5 minutes
Work Out Time- 60 to 90 minutes
Free Time- 10 minutes
Lunch Time- 30-45 minutes
Afternoon School Time-2-3 hours
Snack time-10 minutes-
Free time-
Dinner 20-40 minutes
Wind down for the evening- read a book, explore u tube for a topic that interests you
Bed Time

To help you in setting up your personal schedule, sit down and make a list of what you did Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and how much time you spent doing it.  After this is done you will get a true look at what you need to do to come out of  this a better you.

You have the greatest power right now and that is the power of choice.

COMING OUT THE OTHER SIDE A BETTER YOU DRYLAND March 23-27

As we enter our second week from each other I am sure that the thought of do I really need to do this has crossed some of your minds.  It is important during this period that you have some kind of structure and physical challenge.

This is your chance to get a leg up on your competition and be ready to go when we get back to the pool, because without a doubt there will be those that sit around and do nothing for both their swimming and school.  It really is your choice to grab this opportunity to come back as the best YOU that you can be when that school 🔔 rings and the pools 🏊‍♀️ open.

Even though you practice with your friends, you are on your own after pushing off the wall not a whole lot different than doing dryland.  This is your personal time, a time set aside just for you.  A time to really focus on making yourself  better than you were yesterday.  If you want you can even get mom and dad involved with your dryland. Have them sit in a chair on the deck or lawn with a stop watch and guide you through the routine, or not.

It is important to have some kind of a schedule as we work through this setback.  Set a time aside to do some school work, work on school projects, and go through this dryland program and be consistent with the time.  If you get through with school work for the day pick up a book and learn something new.  Remember your going to come out a better you.  The more that you can stay on a daily routine right now the better prepared you will be when things start getting back to normal, and they will.  

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: jump room, stop watch, med ball, 2 cones or yard markers.

Now if you don’t have a jump rope no problem, any rope or just pretend you have one.  No med ball no problem grab an old friend like your kick board or pull buoy, soccer ball.  The movement is what we are looking for not the weight.  It is important that you do not rest between exercises, this will help with your cardio,  only rest where indicated.

As you see there is nothing planned for Tuesday and Thursday.  This is your chance to take some kind of physical activity and do it for a minimum of 30-40 minutes.  A bike ride or unicycle ride, a hike, kicking a soccer ball or shooting a basketball. Hitting a tennis ball yes it takes two but there is a lot of separation.  The key is to do some activity that gets you moving around for a period of time.

MONDAY 3/23	WEDNESDAY 3/25	FRIDAY 3/27
Warmup                                                      3x jog walk back 15 yards  3x run skip back 15 yards  Frankenstein/run back 15 yards  4x 2each side (right leg/ left arm)  4x 15 jumping jacks +7 shoulder squeezes	Warmup  3x jog walk back 20 yards  3x run and skip back 20 yards  Frankenstein/run back 20 yards  4 rounds 2 each side  4x 20 jumping jacks + 7 push ups	Warmup  3x jog walk back 25 yards  3x run skip back 25 yards  Frankenstein/ run back 25 yards  4 rounds 2 each side   4 x 25 jumping jacks 7 push ups 7 shoulder squeezes
CIRCUIT #1 2 Rounds	CIRCUIT #1. 2 Rounds	CIRCUIT # 1 2 Rounds
2x Smooth jump rope :45  2x Plank :30  Rest 10 seconds and repeat	2x Smooth jump rope :45  2x Plank :30  2x flutter kicks :30  Rest 10 seconds and repeat	2x Smooth jump rope :45   2x 15 Leg lifts   2xMountain climbers :45   2xSide climbers :45   Rest 10 seconds and repeat
REST 3:00	REST 3:00	REST 3:00
Circuit #2	Circuit #2	Circuit #2
2x Jump rope fast. :30   2x toe touch ceiling reach :30   2x 10 squats holding med ball @ chest  REST 30 seconds repeat	2x Jump rope fast :45   2x toe touch ceiling reach :30 / 10 inch worms   2x wall sit :30 REST 30 seconds repeat	2x Jump rope fast 1:00   2x 12 inch worms   12 Squats   Wall sit :45   15 Squats   Wall sit :45 REST 30 seconds and repeat

Here are some explanations of some of our movements. As always slow controlled movement is important.

Keep head up and get knees up

Notice the straight body. Line

FRANKENSTEIN WALK

Hold movement at top for 1-2 seconds

NOTICE THE STRAIGHT BODY LINE

PALMS ON GROUND LEGS STRAIGHT 

AGAIN BODY POSITION 

BACK IS IN STRAIGHT LINE

Stay on balls of your feet

FOCUS ON YOUR CORE

AGAIN FOCUS ON CORE

HANDS FLAT AGAINST WALL 

THOR

FRIDAY ROUTINE “THOR”

Who is the Asgardian god of thunder?  Of course if your a Marvel comic reader or a fan of the. Super hero Thor possesses the enchanted enchanted hammer🔨 which grants him the ability to fly and manipulate the weather among other things.

Today let’s change it up a little and focus a little more on ourmid section or the core.  You may ask why core stability is vital for a swimmer.  A little anatomy lesson here, a strong core is important for any swimmer looking to increase speed and improve technique.  When you develop a strong core you will minimize drag resistance through the water, and plays a important part in keeping the body in a stable streamline position.

Think of the core as the center of your body where you derive all of you’re explosive power from.  A stronger core will also keep you from developing back problems.

So here we go
Equipment needed chair or bench for dips sturdy box or bench or step for step ups 




1) WARM UP- Jumping jacks 1minute x3 

2) BACK-  10  Good Morning (keep your body in a straight line and exhale as you lift up) 

3) CORE-  Plank  3 rounds hold  for 20 seconds/25 seconds/30 seconds (don’t let hips sag and don’t raise too high looking for straight line) 

4) CARDIO- Step ups 15 reps starting with left foot 15 reps starting with right foot (keep head up, shoulders back, and chest up) 

5) CORE- Leg Pull In 3 rounds 15/12/10 (when you pull knees in to chest hold for a second and exhale) 

6) UPPER BODY-   10 Tricep Dip.  ( exhale as you push up) 

7) CORE-  Russian Twist. 15 each side (exhale as you twist) 

Have some water, rest for 5 minutes and repeat and as always do all movements in a slow controlled movement.

Have fun with it as we all keep moving forward. 

THE DRY SIDE

As all of us work through this bump in the road, it looks like we have one of two choices.  The first is  we can choose to stay inside and do nothing or we can choose to do something that will help us when we get back in the pool.  For the time being I will start posting some dry land routines that you can do    in your backyards, maybe even a park.  The benefits of a dry land program is that it’s portable and can be done anywhere, it improves flexibility, coordination, and improves breathing efficiency.

We don’t want to do the same routine in consecutive days and let’s see if we can do a routine 5 days in a row.  My challenge to you all is to see how many dry land sessions you are able to complete until we get back into the pool.  I have made up a chart with all your names on it and am working on a way so that you can get it to me.  It would be great if you can share your pictures with the group, just send them and I’ll get them posted.

THURSDAY ROUTINE

THE AVENGER

1)WARM UP- Shuttle Run- 8 laps easy jog down walk back (set up 2 cones 10 yards apart 1 lap is up and back) 

2) LOWER BODY- 10 squats

3)UPPER BODY- 10 pike push ups

4) CARDIO- shuttle run- 6 laps run down walk back

5)LOWER BODY- side lunge 10 each side

6)BACK- swimmer 30 secondsd

7)CARDIO- shuttle run 4 laps run both ways rest 15 second between laps

8)CORE- 10 V-ups

9)CORE- 10 reverse crunches 

10) TOTAL BODY- Spider-Man 10 each side 

Rest 4 minutes and repeat

As always remember what we say to you, slow controlled movements where you focus on the body part your using is extremely important.

Friday posting new dry land and some mental training

WHERE WE ARE

Hey kiddos 👶 I know that some of you who were going to be swimming at JO’s or the spring champs have been riding a roller coaster with it’s ups and downs all week.  With every sunrise 🌄 it seems like there are new developments which can sometimes seem like a lot, but always remember what we tell each other, slow down take a deep breath and move forward.  

As young athletes, the disappointment that you have felt can seem enormous through your eyes and that’s okay, even natural.  Your coaches are dealing with that same disappointment but also have that life experience to understand that things will get better and life will get better. Because of the precautions being taken now, that normalcy will arrive sooner than later.  

For those of you who were swimming JO’s, the feeling is one of something being yanked away which is a far cry from having that last swim of the season, but your safety, the safety of your family, your coaches, officials and facilities staff who support you is far more important than a race. It is also important to understand that people had to take the emotions out of it and make a decision that might not be popular but was the hard decision. Understand that not only are your disappointments real but all the athletes across the country are going through the same process in different degrees.

The disappointment will affect each of you differently perhaps from the 14 year old swimming their last JO meet to the swimmer who has made their first cut ever.  All you can do now is listen to your teammates when they talk to you and understand their feelings may differ from your own.  Listen, talk and support each other like you have all season and this will all pass.  

For those of you who might question if all your work and sacrifice was worth it, I am sure all the coaches will tell you yes it was.  As coaches we have all watched the Mako swimmers work really hard up to now and we were also looking forward to the next two weeks of racing.  All the coaches believed that we were going to see some incredible races from the Mako swimmers and that is a testimony to each and everyone of you for all your sacrifices and hard work throughout the year.

Now that we know we’re out of the water for a while there are some things that you can do.  First off, if by chance there is a pool that remains open I will post a couple of go to workouts that you can use.  I will also put some dry land exercises up there after talking to a few trainers I know this weekend.  It is important that you not sit around doing nothing during this period.  Everyone needs some type of exercise daily to help relieve anxiety and stress, so please stay active.  I will get those up early next week.

In closing, I would say that for most of you, your living through your very first historical moment.  Your parents have experienced these from the 80’s with the nuclear threat, 9/11 and maybe the beltway sniper, all events that altered people’s daily life. Overtime things got under control and life got back to some kind of normalcy, and this will be the case in your world too.

Again, thanks for all your hard work up to this point in our season.
Here is something to read and just maybe it has a little more impact on you in today’s world.