Bungee Cord Swim Workout

COVID-19 has forced us all to "think outside the box" for the past few months. We've had to get creative in how we communicate with each other, how we physically interact, and how we navigate our world, at least for the time being. With most of our public pools being closed, it's been a rough go for swimmers who are anxiously awaiting their return to the water. For me, I've been super fortunate that we actually have a small pool in our backyard with the deepest part being at about 5 feet. This is plenty deep for bungee cord swimming.

Bungee cord swim training is best explained in terms of swimming in place- kind of like running on a treadmill. The nice thing about the bungee cord is that it provides some nice resistance (depending on how hard you want to work). The belt is easy to put on and secure. I put a stake in the ground- I think I got it at PetSmart and it is actually for tethering a dog outside, but it works like a gem as it is about 8-10 inches into the ground. I think I paid under $100 for the stake and the bungee cord belt. If you want to get creative, you can use a few pieces of equipment such as pull buoy, paddles, and fins. I wear the pull buoy pretty much the entire time because your hips tend to sink more when wearing a bungee belt. I find that the pull buoy actually lifts your hips out of the water to a more level position. No, there isn't much kicking going on, but at least you can get an upper body swim workout.

It definitely helps to wear your Garmin or any other waterproof watch with a timer. I have actually put a clock on the deck a few times for timed efforts, but your watch will do just fine. It is helpful to know your stroke rate (the number of times you pull the water per 100 yards). Like I said, it's not perfect, but at least it gets you in the water using your swim muscles!

I created this short workout (you can add to it if you want or even do the entire thing twice) so that you would have a guideline for your first bungee cord swim. Take this and make it your own-change it up if you'd like. The important thing is to get in the water and get moving until our lap pools re-open in the following weeks.

Bungee Cord Swim Workout:

You will need to be wearing a watch with a timer and if you know your stroke count per 100 yards that is helpful! I am using 20 strokes per 100 yards as a guideline.

Warm up 5 minutes easy;

Drills:

40 strokes high elbow fingertip drag (about 50 yards)

40 strokes breathing every third stroke

40 strokes swim with fists

40 strokes swim with head out of water

40 strokes back stroke

40 strokes breast stroke

(~300 yards)

Main Set

80 strokes easy @15 sec rest

80 strokes moderate @15 sec rest