EXSC 310 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Athletic Strength Plan _ESSAY_2024.pdf

Athletic Strength Plan

Devin A. Forman

School of Health Sciences, Liberty University

Program Overview

Swimming was first researched in 1538, and until 1970, very little research was

documented. Before the 1900s, swimming used to be implemented as a rehab tool by doctors, but

with the coming of the 20th century and the sports phenomenon, it became a sport. Improvement

was initially credited to the athlete’s experience within the sport. However, the first International

symposium on biomechanics and medicine in swimming introduced research on stroke

mesocycles. Each mesocycle is further divided into three to four microcycles. Collegiate

swimming potentially contains two peak times, conference championships and nationals. The

swimmer needs to perform their personal best at the conference championships in order to vie for

a spot at nationals. The program will be built around preparing the athlete for the conference

championships.

To improve the swimmer’s lower body strength and power, the core lifts chosen for this

program are the back squat, Bulgarian split squat, and single-leg deadlift. These lifts allow the

athlete to train the lower body components he will be utilizing during competition (Bishop et

al’s, 2013). The start and flip turn require explosive strength and power while in contact with

ground reactive forces. Emphasis is placed on unilateral compound lifts to reflect a swimmer’s

Upper body strength and power is important in swimming, but not as vital to

sprinter, he will spend less time in the pool than his teammates. Each week will include three to

four resistance training days and three pool workouts. The resistance training will gradually

increase until the final week. The last week is designed as a taper in preparation for the

conference championship.

Athlete Characteristics

The following program is designed for a male athlete competing in the 50 and 100 meter

freestyle races at the collegiate level. In a study done by Tanaka et al. (1993), male swimmers

who participate in both dry land and pool training were 19.17 +/- 0.32 years old at 181.17 +/-

1.47 centimeters tall and weighed 77.05 +/- 1.93 kilograms. The athletes had a lean body mass of

there stroke with. Bishop et al (2013) discovered strength training caused a mean reduction of

0.59 seconds and an increase in distance covered before the head enters the water. Similar to the

power generation, unilateral work, and injury prevention, this program will improve the

performance for the prescribed athlete.

Initial Assessment

The athlete for the following program is a 20 year old male at 6 feet tall. He weighs 175

pounds with a lean body mass of 149 pounds and a body fat percentage of 11 percent. The

athlete has over 14 years of experience swimming and no prior injuries. He prefers to utilize the

split stance for his starts.

Swimming involves overhead pulls, squat jumps, countermovement jumps, and flutter

kicking. To determine upper body strength, the athlete will perform a 1 rep max pull up and 1 rep

max bench press. West et al (2011) utilized the 1 rep max squat to determine the athlete’s lower

output.

6-week Program—In Season Training

The primary focus is to improve lower body power and strength while maintaining and

slightly increasing upper body strength. The athlete will continue increasing intensity until the

final week. As a sprinter, the athlete will spend the majority of his training in the weight room

while implementing two to three pool workouts each week to maintain stroke technique and

aerobic endurance. The pool workouts are completed in the morning, and the resistance training

is reserved for the afternoon. Active recovery days are introduced to allow for adequate recovery

and injury prevention. The last week of in-season training is scheduled as a taper. Workout

intensities and quantities are reduced to prepare him for the conference championship. His pool

Weighted Pull Up 5 4 60lbs (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Bench Press 5 4 150lbs (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Barbell Overhead Press 5 4 95lbs 3 minutes

Pendlay Row 5 4 135lbs 3 minutes

Face Pulls 3 10 25lbs 1 minute

Cool Down Upper Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Tuesday—Lower Body (High Intensity) Sets Reps Weight Rest

Warm-Up Lower Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Barbell Squat 5 4 230 (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Bulgarian Split Squat 5 4 45lbs each hand 3 minutes

Foam Rolling 20:00 minutes

Thursday Morning—Pool Practice with Coach

Thursday—Plyometric Circuit Sets Time Rest

Warm-Up Lower Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Jumping Lunges 3 60 sec 30 sec

Burpees 3 60 sec 30 sec

Reverse Lunge to

Knee-up Jump

3 60 sec 30 sec

Jump Rope 3 60 sec 30 sec

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Single Leg Extension 3 12 60lbs 1 minute

Leg Curl 3 12 90lbs 1 minute

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Saturday—Rest Day

Sunday—Rest Day

Week 2

Monday Morning—Pool Practice with Coach

Monday—Upper Body (High Intensity) Sets Reps Weight Rest

Warm-Up Upper Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Weighted Pull Up 6 4 60lbs (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Warm-Up Lower Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Barbell Squat 6 4 230 (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Bulgarian Split Squat 6 4 45lbs each hand 3 minutes

Single Leg DB Deadlifts 4 10 45lbs 1 minute

Single Leg Extension 4 10 60lbs 1 minute

Leg Curl 4 10 90lbs 1 minute

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Wednesday Morning—Active Recovery Duration

Walk 20:00 minutes

Full Body Mobility Routine 20:00 minutes

Reverse Lunge to

Knee-up Jump

3 60 sec 30 sec

Jump Rope 3 60 sec 30 sec

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Friday—Lower Body (Low Intensity) Sets Reps Weight Rest

Warm-Up Lower Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Barbell Squat 6 2 230 (80% 1RM) 3 minutes

Bulgarian Split Squat 6 2 45lbs each hand 3 minutes

Single Leg DB Deadlifts 4 12 45lbs 1 minute

Single Leg Extension 4 12 60lbs 1 minute

Jump Rope 3 60 sec 30 sec

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Friday—Lower Body (Low Intensity) Sets Reps Weight Rest

Warm-Up Lower Body Warm-Up (Found Below)

Barbell Squat 6 2 255 (90% 1RM) 3 minutes

Bulgarian Split Squat 6 2 70lbs each hand 3 minutes

Single Leg Extension 3 12 70lbs 1 minute

Leg Curl 3 12 100lbs 1 minute

Cool Down Lower Body Cool-Down (Found Below)

Saturday—Rest Day

Sunday—Rest Day

Full Body Mobility Routine 20:00 minutes

Foam Rolling 20:00 minutes

Thursday Morning—Pool Practice with Coach

Thursday—Taper Sets Reps Weight Rest

Perform Upper and Lower Body Warm-Ups and 20min Foam Rolling

Saturday—Conference Championships

Sunday—Rest Day

Warm-up and Cool Down Protocols

Upper Body Warm-Up

Resistance Bands Pull Apart Cat Cows

Doorway Chest Stretch Cross-body Shoulder Stretch

Overhead Triceps Stretch Child’s Pose

Pigeon Pose Bench Quad Stretch

Hip Flexor Stretch Seated Single Leg Hamstring Stretch

Child’s Pose

References

Bishop, C., Cree, J., Read, P., Chavda, S., Edwards, M., & Turner, A. (2013). Strength and

conditioning for Sprint Swimming. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 35(6), 1–6.

Training Intensity Distribution, training volume, and Periodization models in elite

land resistance training for competitive swimming. Medicine & Science in Sports

& Exercise, 25(8), 952–959. https://doi.org/10.1249/00005768-199308000-00011

West, D. J., Owen, N. J., Cunningham, D. J., Cook, C. J., & Kilduff, L. P. (2011). Strength and

power predictors of swimming starts in international sprint swimmers. Journal of

Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(4), 950–955.

https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181c8656f

Wirth, K., Keiner, M., Fuhrmann, S., Nimmerichter, A., & Haff, G. G. (2022, April 28). Strength

training in swimming. International journal of environmental research and public health.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9100337/

Wolf, B. R., Ebinger, A. E., Lawler, M. P., & Britton, C. L. (2009). Injury patterns in division I