It only takes a fraction of a second to lose a race in swimming, especially in short distance sprints. Resistance bands have been used to improve a swimmer's sprinting capacity. Resistance is used to force a swimmer to work harder or assist a swimmer in making her movements more rapidly. Sprint-training techniques have shown promise comparable to strength-training in improving swimming performance.
Resistance and Swimming
Water causes the majority of resistance that swimmers experience. Although suits and other tools can be used to increase drag, the effect is usually slight. Elastic tube or bands are attached to a belt around the swimmer's waist and tied to the starting block or held by a coach. Working with or against this resistance can develop a swimmer's speed and strength.
Assisted Swimming
Assisted-resistance swimming works with the swimmers to decrease resistance. This has the effect of faster swimming to develop faster and more effective swimming strokes. Assisted swimming can also have a positive psychological effect for swimmers. Similar effects can be experienced with the use of swim fins to increase stroke efficiency.
Resisted Swimming
By working against a resistance band, a swimmer must exert more power faster. Resisted swimming can increase the overall strength, endurance and power needed for sprinting. Because bands are typically anchored on the side of the pool, a swimmer will swim against the bands and try to maintain a specific position in which the stretch of the bands is constant for the period of time comparable to the event being trained.
Effectiveness and Alternatives
Assisted or resisted swimming can have negative effect on stroke mechanics. A 2007 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning research found that assisted and resisted sprints improved sprinting performance over normal swimming methods. However, the effects were comparable to dry-land strength training. Because of potential effects on stroke mechanics, assisted or resisted swimming should only make up a minor part of your training program. Other methods such as drag suits or water chutes to increase drag might be viable alternatives to increasing resistance.
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