SSPC: Arno Kamminga on Never Swimming Warmup Before Races

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.

We sat down with newly minted Olympian Arno Kamminga, who was kind enough to talk with us after his qualification meet. Arno spoke candidly about experiencing loss, starting with losing his mother at the tender age of 15. Arno used swimming as a way to cope with the loss, but also started getting more serious about it. He then failed to qualify for any international meet, try as he may, be it Jr or Sr, until the 2017 World Championships.

Arno also gives an interesting bit of trivia in the middle of the interview: he never gets into the pool before he races. The physical warm-up that he takes himself through is solely on land. I’m flabbergasted at this and ask him no less than 10 questions about how he came to develop this system.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

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Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.

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sven
3 years ago

If you’re doing what you need to do physiologically (raise body temp, raise breathing, post-activation potentiation if that’s your thing, etc.), then really all you need to do is get ready in terms of priming movement patterns (motor neurons, mind-muscle connection, whatever). Obviously one way to sharpen up movement patterns for swimming is to get in the water and do those movements, but I feel like if you did nothing but jumping jacks and visualization you’d be just fine. The way certain movement patterns will fire in the brain during visualization even if the movement isn’t actually being performed makes a huge difference in sharpening skills and accumulating reps without actually fatiguing the body.

TL;DR In the event of a… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by sven
Need4Speed
3 years ago

Might up to show my coach this to get out of warmup

The Original Tim
3 years ago

There’ve been a number of meets as a Masters swimmer where I’ve raced dry, though not by choice. For some of them I’ve been able to do some sort of basic dryland routine and dynamic stretching beforehand so I’m not going in cold, but others I’ve raced dry and cold…which is definitely not recommended!

Interestingly enough, the first time I raced dry I also raced cold, and went a then-Masters PR in the 50 back leading off a relay. On the flip side, I did a 200 breast dry and cold several years ago and had an expectedly pretty horrific race. For the meets where I’ve gone in dry, I think my races (ranging from the 50s to the 400… Read more »

FluidG
3 years ago

We just assume that swimming is the best way to warm up for swimming: it is not! A pool warmup is a very inefficient and, in many ways, ineffective way to prepare the body to train or race in the water.

Last edited 3 years ago by FluidG
Kitajima Fan
3 years ago

WHAAAAAAAAAT?? that’s insane

JP input is too short
3 years ago

Didn’t Andriy Govorov detail a sort of similar thing arond the time he broke the 50 LCM fly world record, too?

Ghost
3 years ago

I think the European activation/dryland is more serious than Americans. I can see where it might not be needed for every situation! Plus have you ever seen how hectic their warmups are? It is crazy crowded!

Olympian
3 years ago

Wow, I’ve seen many sprinters not swimming warm up or either warm down…

But a 200 guy, that’s a first

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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