Swimming is a whole-body exercise with a lower incidence of serious injuries. When problems do arise it is often due to over-stress of muscles during training or competition. Most injuries occur in the back, knees or shoulders. Pilates can help swimmers by using appropriate breathing patterns.
Areas Pilates can help swimmers
Breathing: Appropriate breathing patterns help swimmers concentrate on their body orientation and balance. Similar to running, swimming requires strength and endurance training.
Stability: Since Pilates focuses on core muscles, abdominals and back, this will help the swimmer maintain stability and allow them to connect better with arm muscles allowing for greater distance in each stroke.
Flexibility: Aside from breathing and muscle control, some of the other benefits of Pilates for swimmers are improved flexibility in the shoulders, arms, legs, hips and feet making it easier to kick and recover your arms for a better stroke; improved rotary flexibility of the hips important for proper breathing.
Balance and Strength: Pilates can help balance strength around the joints and muscles against water resistance; increased strength of core muscles creating better balance when swimming.
Muscles used in swimmning
- forearm extensors and flexors
- muscles in the upper arm, shoulders and rotator cuff
- muscles in your back such as the trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi; abdominals and obliques to aid in rotation throughout stroke
- lower body such as the gluteals both as stabilizers and to aid in external rotation of the leg
- hip extensors and flexors
- upper body such as the latissimus dorsi when returning the arm to the back of the stroke and deltoids take the arm to the front end of the stroke
When strengthening muscles the importance is balance. It is easy for imbalance to be developed between the front and back of the body and in particular the shoulders for swimmers when training. In most cases when athletes have an overuse injury in the shoulder it is due to overdeveloped pectorals and latissimus dorsi in relation to their trapezius, rhomboids, posterior deltoids and posterior rotator cuff muscles. Many athletes and weight trainers focus on developing “mirror muscles”, muscles at the front of the body, upper trapezius, anterior deltoid and pectorals. As a result “non mirror muscles” i.e. lower trapezius, rhomboids, latissiums dorsi and rear deltoids are underdeveloped. Most often in this case flexibility must be improved, scapular stability must be taught and exercises focused on the back rather than the front must be done. Many exercises in Pilates, both on the mat and reformer, allow for these additions and changes.
Certified Stott instructor. Experience with teching, instructing, owning a Pilates studio and meeting people and postures.