I don’t know about you…but I’ve been glued to the tv the last few days watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics! There are so many great events, but swimming has been getting the most attention lately. This is mostly due to the dolphin-like qualities of Michael Phelps and his teammates! Also, Natalie Coughlin is amazing and is known for having the most “natural” swimming talent of all the athletes, including Phelps. She trains by doing 2 swimming workouts a day (2 hours each!) plus weight training and other cardio each week. Coughlin is the first woman to win repeat gold medals in the backstroke event.
Swimming is great exercise and if you have access to a pool..give this workout a try and you’ll feel like you are training like an Olympian! Natalie recommends doing the one-arm drill to improve the backstroke, which is a great basic swim style:
One-Arm Backstroke Drill
1. Perform three back strokes with your right arm, keeping your left arm down by your side.
2. Using both arms, do three backstrokes.
3. Perform three back strokes with your left arm, keeping your right arm down by your side.
4. Repeat three strokes with both arms then repeat the entire drill from the beginning.
**YOU CAN CHECK OUT THIS WORKOUT WITH NATALIE PLUS OTHER ATHELETES’ WORKOUTS AND TIPS HERE
Cari’s Tip: Make sure you warm-up before this routine..either in the pool (light free-style swimming) or with jumprope, walking or jogging. Also, make sure you cool down (or “warm down” as swimmers call it) and stretch when you are done, particularly your lats and shoulders.
