How to Increase Flexibility With Swimming

Most athletes agree it’s good to stretch before and after workouts, to help prevent injury and, in some cases, even to increase muscle power. But at least one sport, swimming, can help you stretch while you do it.

Things You'll Need

• Fins

Instructions

1. Think of swimming as as an invitation to stretch, or swim long.

2. In freestyle or backstroke, slow your cadence so you fully extend your lead arm for a moment. You’ll feel this primarily elongating your latissimus dorsi.

3. Fully extend your opposite arm, too. This will help open up your deltoids, rotator cuff and trapezius.

4. Allow the kicking motion in freestyle, backstroke or butterfly to build flexibility in your ankles, quadriceps and hip flexors. For added effect, wear fins.

Tips & Warnings

• For runners and triathletes, wearing fins will also strengthen the tendons and ligaments that provide ankle support.

• Like the other strokes, breaststroke can increase flexibility in the shoulders and back. Beware of stretching out in the breaststroke kick. While tempting, kicking with the knees too far apart can over-extend the knee joint.