Keys to staying in swimming shape

High school swimmers practice conditioning and balance to stay consistent throughout the year

By Nathan Schumock Sports Editor

FERNDALE — Swimming is an ultimate sport of endurance that requires body care and adjustments to perform at the highest level.

Ferndale Head Coach Julia Landon explained all the steps it takes to stay healthy enough to swim consistently.

Landon started at Ferndale in 2010 as the swim coach and led the team for five years. She then went on a five-year hiatus before taking up the mantle as head coach again in 2021.

Landon said high school swimming is particularly challenging because the athletes need to stay at peak swimming performance for a quick 12-week season. She said it takes her swimmers about six weeks to fully submerge themselves back into swimming shape due to the lack of swimming in the offseason.

There are three main keys to staying in healthy swim shape, she said. The first component is strength and conditioning. In swim, an athlete is working the same muscles over and over again, so swimmers need to be in the gym working the rest of their muscles to prevent future injury.

“We have to look at it from a whole body approach because they are doing a lot of repetitive movements which can cause strain on those muscles,” Landon said.

The second key is dry workouts on land, such as doing squats but mimicking swimming movements while doing the squat. Landon said mimicking the motion of swimming on dry land can help create body awareness when you are in the water.

The third key is nutrition, but she said the diets from one athlete to the next change. It is about balance and that not every athlete has the same body, so there is not a set diet for everyone, Landon said. Every swimmer will need protein and car-