Welcome the backstroke installment of the swim building blocks! Here we dive into the strength training tips that can fine-tune your stroke. Backstrokers can use stroke specific exercises to harness more power in their catch and greater efficiency in their hip rotation. Underwaters are a large component of every backstroke race, so we’ll focus some exercises on leg strength too. Let’s jump into a few training tips you can begin using now.

This month’s edition of Sports Psychology is for the coaches and individual athletes who want to plan for success and find ways to evaluate where to adjust if needed. This is the first article in a four part series.

Welcome to the freestyle installment of our BridgeAthletic swim building blocks. While every swimmer pumps out countless yards of freestyle, those who compete in freestyle events the most require stroke specific exercises. Sprinters and distance freestylers may have different tempos, distance per stroke, and breathing patterns, but the basic biomechanics of their stroke remains the same. Incorporate the following exercises into your dryland training to harness more power in your freestyle.

Outside the practice field, the weight room is a second home for football players. Strength training plays a significant role in the development of a football team. A successful strength and conditioning program can be the defining factor for harnessing raw young talent into true athleticism. In a sport that demands a capacity for both agility and power, a dynamic training plan to accommodate athletes’ needs should be well documented to track athletic development within multiple growth areas.

Building a Nationally Impactful Swim Club

Every day at BridgeAthletic headquarters, we hear tales from organizations across sports of coaches building better programs, athletes training smarter, and teams coming together to set new records. These are stories of championships won, obstacles overcome, and goals achieved. It’s what keeps us doing what we do every day, striving to build better athletes across sports and around the world. Instead of keeping these tales of glory and greatness to ourselves, we’d like to share them with you through our #BridgeBuilt series featuring a team or athlete that has achieved great results while using the BridgeAthletic platform. 

This month’s edition of Sports Psychology builds on the Plan stage of the Learn, Plan, Perform Model, discussing how mental training through the practice of imagery is a fundamental part of achieving long-term skill goals.

It’s that time of year again. The good vibes that accompany long summer days, offseason training, and vacations are replaced by excitement and fear as the imminent return to school approaches.

4 Steps to Better Championship Preparation

Championship season is the time of year when you put even more focus into swimming your fastest. As the physical demand of training lightens, how you manage the remaining hours in your day becomes more critical. Making your meets a priority doesn’t mean skirting other responsibilities—it just means planning ahead and practicing your best habits outside of the pool. Here are four ways to optimize your time as you prepare for a championship:

The BridgeAthletic Building Block Series is a set of 5 exercises that can be performed by swimmers of all levels on the pool deck.

Welcome to our series of swim building blocks. This edition will focus on breaststroke-specific exercises to fine-tune your body position and power in the water. Add these exercises to your power days in the pool and focus on them through the off-season to come back stronger and ready to push hard going into next season.