What Makes a Good Pre-Pool Warm-Up?

A good pre-pool warm-up should have a purpose.

It is not simply a collection of exercises completed before getting in the water. There should be some progression in what the swimmer is doing and why they are doing it.

Warm-up frameworks used across sport often follow a similar progression, although the terminology can differ. The original RAMP model uses Raise, Activate and Mobilise, then Potentiate. Within swimming, Prime is the recognised term used within the RMAP sequence.

The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck follows that swimming-specific sequence and adds an optional Explode stage.

Raise. Mobilise. Activate. Prime. Explode.

The stages give young swimmers a structure to follow, but they are not five completely separate boxes. There will naturally be some overlap between movements. What changes is the main purpose of the exercise and where it sits in the warm-up.

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Raise

Raise is about getting moving.

The aim is to gradually increase general activity and body temperature before asking the swimmer to do more targeted work.

For a young swimmer, this does not need to be complicated. The important thing is that the warm-up starts by moving the body rather than jumping straight into more demanding exercises.

Mobilise

Mobilise starts to focus more on movement through useful ranges.

For swimmers, that can include areas such as the shoulders, upper back, hips and ankles.

Mobility is not simply about trying to become more flexible. In a warm-up, the aim is to move joints through ranges that are useful for the activity ahead while keeping the swimmer moving.

A mobilisation exercise will still involve muscles working, so the stages will sometimes overlap. The main purpose here is movement and range.

Activate

Activate shifts the emphasis towards controlled muscle action.

The swimmer may be working around the shoulders, trunk, hips or other areas that will contribute to the session ahead.

This is where the difference between Mobilise and Activate can sometimes become blurred.

A movement can improve range while also asking muscles to work. The useful question is not whether an exercise fits perfectly into one label, but what the main reason is for using it at that point in the warm-up.

If the emphasis is primarily on moving through range, it is more likely to sit within Mobilise. If the emphasis shifts towards control and purposeful muscle action, it may sit within Activate.

Prime

Prime moves the swimmer closer to what they are about to do in the water.

Movements can become sharper, quicker or more coordinated, with greater intent than earlier in the warm-up.

Prime is the recognised term used within the swimming-specific RMAP sequence. In the wider RAMP model, the equivalent stage is generally described as Potentiate. The terminology differs, but both move the warm-up towards the speed, coordination and intent of the activity ahead.

For young swimmers, that does not mean every warm-up needs to become highly intense. The exercise still needs to suit the swimmer and what they are preparing for.

Explode

Explode is an optional stage within the Deck.

These movements use greater speed and explosive intent and will not be appropriate or necessary in every warm-up.

Their use depends on the swimmer, their experience and what they are preparing to do.

That is why Explode sits at the end of the sequence rather than being something every swimmer has to complete.

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The sequence matters more than the label

There is no need to become too fixed on terminology.

Different coaches, sports and warm-up models may organise or describe preparation slightly differently.

The important part is the progression.

Start by getting the swimmer moving, introduce useful movement ranges, bring in more controlled muscle action and then move closer to the speed and intent of the activity ahead.

The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck gives coaches and young swimmers one visual way of following that progression while still allowing different movements to be selected within each stage.

It is a structure, not one prescribed warm-up.

Prepare. Move. Perform.

Spencer Turner

Creator, The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck

Related: The Swimmer’s Warm Up Deck | Behind the Deck | Case Study | Explore The Decks

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