Build Your Own Dryland Workout: An Exercise Menu for Swimmers

Most dryland plans prescribe the exact same session every time. This page works differently: it is an exercise menu, not a fixed workout. Pick a balanced subset depending on the day, how you feel, and what equipment is available. You get variety and autonomy without losing structure — and a complete session takes about 35–45 minutes.

BUILD YOUR WORKOUT — PICK 1 WARM-UP + 2 POWER + 4 STRENGTH + 2 CORE

The pick rule keeps every session balanced: it stops you from accidentally building a workout with five pulling exercises and no legs. When choosing your 4 strength exercises, mix upper and lower body. New to dryland? Start with our article on why dryland training matters for swimmers.

Warm-up — pick 1

A warm-up raises your heart rate and core temperature, and prepares your joints and muscles to move fast. Going straight into jumps or heavy lifts with cold muscles is how injuries happen. Five minutes is enough.

Power — pick 2

Power (explosive) work trains your muscles to produce force fast. In swimming, that is the start off the blocks, every turn, and the underwater push-off. Do these early in the session while you are fresh: quality and full effort matter more than quantity.

Strength — pick 4 (mix upper and lower)

Strength work builds the engine. A stronger pull moves more water per stroke, and stronger legs mean faster starts, turns, and a stronger kick. Because swimming is pull-dominant, the upper-body menu is built around pulling movements — pulldowns, pull-ups, and rows — which train the lats and upper back, the prime movers of every stroke.

Upper body

*The behind-the-neck pulldown requires good shoulder mobility. Keep it light and controlled, and treat it as a swap for the regular lat pulldown — do not select both in the same session.

Lower body

Arms — optional finishers

Swimming already gives the biceps and triceps substantial work, and the pulldowns, pull-ups, and rows above train the arms indirectly. So keep direct arm work secondary: these two are optional extras to finish the session, not part of your “pick 4 strength”. If you enjoy them, they are a perfectly reasonable way to end.

Core — pick 2

The core connects your pull to your kick. A stable core holds your streamline, keeps your hips high in the water, and transfers power from arms to legs without energy leaking away as wobble. These are holds and controlled movements — quality of position beats duration.

A sample session

Here is what a typical day built from the menu looks like:

Jump rope → Box jumps → Med-ball slam → Pull-ups → Single-arm dumbbell row → Bulgarian split squat → Romanian deadlift → Hollow-body hold → Side plank

That is roughly 35–45 minutes and an excellent dryland session for a swimmer. Next time, swap in different choices from each section — that is the whole point of the menu.

Happy swimming!