Swim Tip

Presented by Nick Baker, Founder
Nike Peak Performance Summer Swim Camp Chicago, IL

Peak Performance Swim Camp Tip: Why Yoga?

Yoga found its way into the Peak Performance Swim Camp curriculum in 2005. That was the year I began taking yoga at a local studio. Among the many things that surprised me about yoga was the correlation between specific yoga poses and specific competitive swimming postures. It occurred to me that if swimmers had the opportunity to perform select yoga poses on land, it would be much easier for them to achieve the relative swimming posture in the water. For example, performing the yoga pose Downward Dog significantly improves swimmers’ understanding of the all-important chest-pressing action in butterfly. Frequent repetition of the pose also develops the essential physical qualities necessary to perform the posture repeatedly when swimming. Other examples include the Cobra Pose and the breaststroke breathing action, the Bridge Pose and the backstroke starting action, the Yoga Plank Pose and freestyle body position, and the Warrior 3 Pose and streamlining.

Other yoga benefits include improved joint mobility, enhanced strength, injury prevention, heightened muscle recovery, and stress reduction.

About Peak Performance Swim Camp

Unlike most swim camps, Peak Performance Swim Camp is a year-round camp operation; offering weekend clinics and full week camps in the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Over 30 camps and clinics are conducted annually across the USA and internationally. Both day camp packages and overnight (at select locations) are available. Our swim camp and swim clinic schedule is listed below. MORE dates and locations will be added soon at the start of the new year!