Tim is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Montverde Academy in Montverde, FL. Over the past five years, Tim has been responsible for training and conditioning all varsity and academy sports teams, leading them to nine National Championships and numerous state titles. He has coached athletes who have gone on to compete in the NBA, Major League Soccer, and European Pro Soccer. Tim is a graduate of Springfield College in Athletic Training, and is a 2008 Olympic Triathlon coach. Under his guidance, athletes have achieved World Championships, Ironman Championships, and an abundance of National Championships. Tim is a frequent presenter at clinics and conferences, such as NSCA and USA Triathlon, and has had articles published in major sports publications such as Training and Conditioning, Inside Triathlon, Triathlete Magazine, Triathlon Europe, and Master Skier. He was honored as the 2009 USA Triathlon Elite Coach of the Year and 2007 USA Triathlon Development Coach of the Year. He holds Elite coaching licenses with USA Triathlon and USA Cycling, as well as certifications with National Strength and Conditioning, American Swim Coaches Association, and National Academy of Sports Medicine.
I'd do three exercises: a dumbbell chest press, pull up and trap bar deadlift- each for 8 reps. Resting 30 seconds inbetween, I would do 3 rounds of these exercises - known as a three by three- which is an effective way to train even with short periods of time. Doing this 3 times a week can be very effective. Transcript: "I love these type of questions. I actually think about these type of things all the time. So what I would do is, if I had 10 minutes, I'd actually say, I'd do it nine minutes. So what I'd do is take three exercises. So let's say we're going to do an upper body push, an upper body pull, and some sort of a squat. So I'm going to say, I'm going to do a dumbbell chest press. I'm going to do a pull up and then into a trap bar deadlift. I would do each exercise for about eight reps, which is going to take me approximately 30 seconds. I'm going to get 30 seconds rest, and I'm going to do three rounds. So typically, we'll call this a three by three. It's actually a very effective way of training in season, and especially if you have short periods of time. If you could do that three times a week, I think that can be really effective and give you a really big bang for your 10 minutes."
To demonstrate the best type of plank for overall core strength, try a 60-second plank which consists of 15 seconds in regular plank position, followed by 15 seconds with one foot raised two to three inches off the floor, and then another 15 seconds with the other foot raised off the floor. To increase difficulty, add weight using a sandbag, weight vest, or plate on the back. Transcript: "Adriana asks, can you demonstrate the best type of plank for overall core strength? One of the variations that I like to use is not just a straight plank, but what's called a 60-second plank. And what you do is you want to go for 15 seconds in our regular plank position. And then for 15 seconds, I'm going to raise one foot two to three inches off the floor. I then will raise the other foot two or three inches off the floor with no extra movement. And then finally coming back for 15 seconds in all four points. This changes the loading pattern diagonally from side to side, and it's kind of like we see a lot of time in sports. We can add extra load on there by using a sandbag or putting on a weight vest. We can also do it by taking a plate and then placing it on our back and adding weight from that to increase the amount of weight, the amount of load that we can do for these planks. A lot of variations here, a lot of ways that we can progress this exercise."
The main difference between an overhead press with a barbell and a dumbbell is that the barbell restricts movement, while the dumbbell allows for greater freedom of movement and less stress on the shoulder. Transcript: "What are the differences between an overhead press with a barbell versus a dumbbell? Simplest reason is freedom of motion less stress on the shoulder. So if I'm doing a overhead press of the barbell, my hands are in a fixed position. I've got a push in front and then over my head. Versus a dumbbell where I can take my dumbbell. Again, I can move my elbow wherever. It can rotate as I'm pressing. I can do one arm versus two arms. And I don't have to worry about pushing in front and then over my head because I can push it straight up overhead. And for overhead press it's a great advantage using dumbbells for overhead type athletes, swimmers, triathletes, baseball, softball, volleyball, and swimming. So that's biggest difference between the barbell, freedom of movement, and less stress on the shoulder."
Foam rolling and stretching should be used on a daily basis as part of your warm-up or recovery routine. Massage can be used on a semi-regular basis, such as once a week, for injury prevention and recovery. Consistency and spending a few minutes using these tools can be very beneficial over the long run. Transcript: "How important our foam rolling stretching? Massage for injury prevention? How often should you use them? Well, I think some of the simple tools like foam rolling or using a stick and stretching should be used on a regular basis, hopefully on a daily basis. As part of your normal, you know, daily routine for warming up or recovery massage can be used on a, you know, semi-regular basis depending on on costin and budgetary restraints. But if you At that once a week that would often be beneficial, every couple weeks to really get in there work that. But I think it's also good, not only from an injury prevention standpoint but also from a recovery standpoint on a daily basis. So build this into your regular routines as part of your warm up before workouts or strength workouts or part of your post workout routine. So consistency and spending a few minutes using these tools can be very beneficial over the Long Haul. Hope this helps"
Trap bar squats are an underutilized exercise for swimmers due to its safety and efficiency. It can be done with a two-thirds of one's vertical jump weight, with a quick one second pause to simulate pushing off the wall. Transcript: "What is one of the most underutilized lifts or exercises in your opinion, for swimmers? This is a tough one. Had a couple in my head that I thought could both be very good, possible options, but I'm gonna have to go with the trap bar squat. Jump on the reason. I like this is because it's a relatively safe exercise, because the trap bar you're holding the weight through the center of the body. So, it's really pretty safe in that regard and to do it with a pause. We're using a load of two-thirds of one's. Vertical, jump on the bar, which is in a lot of cases letting young swimmers would probably looking at less than 45 pounds when empty bar, maybe even dumbbells, but the idea is when they when they're coming down the not just rebounding up, you know slapping the ground. There's a quick one second pause and this really starts to simulate exactly what happens more pushing Off the Wall kids like it to Great exercise that packs. A lot of value pretty easy to learn and very efficient. So trap bar squat. Jump would be my one exercise that probably isn't used enough."
To help with shoulder injury in a swimmer, it is recommended to do thoracic mobility exercises, rotator cuff exercises with crossover symmetry and stretch cords, minimize overhead lifts, perform horizontal pulls such as inverted rows and cable rows and chest presses using floor presses. Transcript: "Hey Lars, what strength training exercises? Do you recommend for a swimmer with a shoulder injury? Well, the first thing you need to do is figure out is what kind of an injury. It is where it is. We're getting a good medical evaluation or from a physical therapist or physio to find out exactly what's going on most cases and I don't assume it's an overuse injury because overuse injuries due to the excessive internal rotation. And the number of Strokes are swimmers, taking is very Hate. The the the statistic is about 85% of competitive swimmers Miss some practice throughout the course of a year due to an overuse injury of the shoulder. So if we're going to go with that, as our premise, and let's assume that we are that we want to do is we store muscle balance and shoulder Mobility. So some of the exercises I recommend which become things that we do as part of our normal training to help be proactive in this way, is doing thoracic Mobility work, either foam rolling on the upper thoracic spine, to get some Mobility. You as well as and doing some thoracic rotational type exercises, those would be really good. The other things we do is we should be part of the warm-up would be doing some sort of rotator cuff. A big fan of crossover symmetry type exercises with stretch cords and then be doing like T's wise, external rotation, all the things to start to restore, you know, muscle bounces up between the external rotators and the internal rotators. And then, on top of that, in terms of loading, a string stuff, I would minimize or eliminate for it. While the injury is still present, any overhead type of lifts, either overhead pressing or overhead pulling and in return, making sure we're doing stuff. A lot of you know, horizontal horizontal type pulling, whether that is with inverted rows, and it could be some isometric holds in there, the, for the scat scapula the rear delts on that is really good. Any type of like one arm, cable rows or one arm. Dumbbell rows would be good to. You can include some chest exercises as long as it's not causing. Any tarp type of shoulder press if we're doing any type of shoulder press, I would say, chest, press, I would say doing floor presses were relying on the floor. So the elbows Cannot drop below the level the shoulder which may cause some irritation. So I hope these exercises help"