{"id":312255,"date":"2024-09-11T00:02:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T07:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=312255"},"modified":"2024-09-11T05:16:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T12:16:02","slug":"why-you-should-train-your-off-stroke-the-benefits-of-mixing-things-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/why-you-should-train-your-off-stroke-the-benefits-of-mixing-things-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Train Your Off Stroke: The Benefits of Mixing Things Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why You Should Train Your Off Stroke: The Benefits of Mixing Things Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

(From the Archive)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the hardest swimming event?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There are many answers to this question. Many would say the 400 IM<\/a>. Why? <\/span>You start off with a 100 fly, which can easily tire you out, followed by a 100 back. Next you have a 100 breast, which can either be spent catching up or getting passed by the field. Finally, you end your mini-nightmare with a 100 free with whatever energy you have left.<\/span><\/p>\n

From this, you can see why many swimmers would rather swim a freestyle event and push away their off-stroke.\u00a0<\/span>Swimming, as if you didn\u2019t know already, is a full-body workout<\/a> that uses just about all of your muscles from your fingertips down to your toes. While each stroke is taxing on the body, each emphasizes its own set of muscle groups that can complement and strengthen muscles used for a different stroke. <\/span><\/p>\n

In order to understand the benefits of training your off-strokes, we must first understand how the body works for each stroke as well as common injury patterns for swimmers.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Stroke Analysis<\/h3>\n