Swimming Fast and Loose

Have you ever noticed swimmers compulsively shaking their muscles and fidgeting behind the blocks before a race? From Michael Phelps iconic arm swings to the, “dancing queen,” Sierra Schmidt, at last summers Olympic Trials, it turns out there is more to moving and staying loose, than just nervous energy.

Athleticism is a balance of tension and relaxation. Some of the best practices in sports performance come from research, and training anecdotes, developed in Eastern Block athletics. “Fast and loose” has long been a dynamic relaxation practice observed in the routines of some of the worlds best athletes, from kettlebell athletes to swimmers.

New evidence Voluntary Muscle Relaxation Can Mitigate Fatigue and Improve Countermovement Jump Performance by Pinto, Brendan L.; McGill, Stuart M. in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, suggests that not only can voluntary muscle relaxation exercises improve your performance in things like vertical jumping, but it can also delay the onset of fatigue, or reduction in power, in the same repetitive movements.

Subjects performed 10 maximal effort jumps with 30 seconds of rest between each jump. During the rest period, they either performed a dynamic relaxation technique, oscillating and loosely shaking their muscles, or just resting in stillness.

Over the course of the study the subjects using the dynamic relaxation technique between efforts not only jumped higher than the still control group, but they also increased their jump height by 2% when using the relaxation technique, versus when they just rested. Additionally, their decline in power was slower when shaking and moving between sets, versus just resting, indicating delayed fatigue.

How could this help you before your next race? What if you could increase reaction time off your start, jump further, sprint faster, and delay a decline in power and speed compared to your competitors who just sit and wait? Then you could be the one sitting and waiting at the finish lane, watching everyone else come in.

If an instant performance improvement intrigues you, remember to stay fast and loose before your next race, between sets, or your active rest and cool downs between events or sets.