Solid Shoulders Series: Part 1. Eccentric Strength
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Swimmers need strong, mobile and powerful shoulders, but that’s not new information… it’s pretty obvious. So how do we help ensure swimming athletes build these indestructible shoulders do they can stay in the water for longer and continue to get faster?
With a multi-step approach with shoulder training that works on a number of key areas such as eccentric force, dynamic movement, scapula movement, spine control etc.
The exercise below is a way of adding some much-needed eccentric (muscle gets longer) force development. This is needed to slow down the rotation of the shoulder during swimming, basically putting the brakes on. The ball in the video is 0.6kg which doesn’t sound like much but after 20-25 reps the burn is real.
Some things to consider:
Half kneeling position, lean over on the front leg, angling the torso.
High elbow and hand.
Elbow and shoulder at 90°.
Drop and catch the ball and return to the start position, with fast movements.
This is not a reaction exercise, athletes can look at the ball.