You see, it’s not the same when you just lift a weight or when you first lower it before lifting it. For physical education teachers in schools, there’s no difference, but for a coach aiming for top-tier quality, this is extremely important.
The sooner you start with this logic, the better it is for the children. In my opinion, for children who decide to pursue swimming at a professional level, training like this should start by the age of 10. Every day lost by using different approaches to training reduces the chance of achieving top results.
Concentric, eccentric, and isometric muscle contractions applied correctly in training are the most important aspects of professional sports. If you mention this to someone who isn’t familiar with this, they’ll just look at you like you’re a weirdo. The essence is understanding training from all angles and comprehending the activities happening at the level of myofibrils, sarcoplasm, or the formation of the correct ligament angle, which is formed through training in relation to the muscle bundles most important in swimming.
In other words, if swimmers only do conventional exercises, they will primarily develop muscles that are auxiliary or stabilizing in swimming, while the main muscle bundles, which are crucial for swimming, will remain weak and untouched. The angle of the ligaments and the fascial matrix won’t even be touched, let alone adapted to swimming.
Those who understand will get it...
Nutrition and the creation of appropriate energy reserves for specific activities are of utmost importance, even though most coaches don’t take this into account. Every detail matters if you want to be a top athlete.
Now, more than ever, experimental work with various supplement combinations is being done, and it can be confidently said that this is the foundation for achieving top results in sports. Vitamins and minerals in nutrition must be adequately represented.
From a coach’s perspective, you have two options: One is to use information from a large number of experiments conducted on a sample of hundreds or even thousands of athletes, carried out by large companies in the booming field of sports medicine, and the other is to try everything personally on yourself. I use both, as the results generally align. Vitamins and minerals are the foundation of a healthy metabolism, and fruits and vegetables are accessible to everyone today.
Essential information for those who want to dedicate themselves to professional sports can be found on my blog in the article about achieving strong muscle response and hypertrophy:
Of course, I will always provide just a part of the picture with each article to help you piece together the full image through training.
Here, I’ve demonstrated an exercise for the biceps where you first lift the weight with complete control without prior lowering. This is raw strength. Then, I perform different variations by including diagonal and parallel kinetic chains of muscles, both from the back and front. I do explosive lifting after maximum biceps stretch. The force generated in this process allows me to perform maximum weight pulls in other exercises and movements with maximum efficiency.
If you are into swimming, this is an exercise you cannot skip. It should be done exactly the way I demonstrate here.
Of course, amateurs will ask why the biceps. The biceps are one of the most important muscles during the arm stroke. The arm stroke in every discipline, except for backstroke, cannot be performed correctly and efficiently if the biceps are weak. Concentric force is the foundation for isometric force – that’s the shortest answer.
This is just a small part that visually shows how significant a proper professional approach to training is for young swimmers dedicated to a professional career. I hope this article helps many who want to gain real insight into training.
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