Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.
The exercises mentioned in this article are a small sampling of the drills available to the strength and conditioning coach when using rope drills. By adding these movements to a swimmer’s dryside training, swimmers can gain muscular endurance that will complement wetside training.
This article is the third installment of a four-part series on stabilization in weight training. It covers how to train trunk stability and how to decrease the dominance of the extension/compression stabilizing strategy (ECSS) that is often perpetuated during training.