Why is it necessary to have a fitness program for water polo? We all know that players of any sport, when they want to improve beyond a limit, need to have special bodybuilding exercises in addition to the main exercises of their field.
This is also true for you who play water polo. If you want to excel in competitions and have more success, you need to do bodybuilding and focus on certain muscles of your body in particular. In this article about vitamin, we will talk about the importance of bodybuilding for water polo and we will also introduce you to a sample bodybuilding program for water polo.
What is the importance of bodybuilding in water polo?
Water polo is a challenging and physically demanding sport. Water polo athletes are never idle in the pool and are constantly swimming, receiving the ball, shooting, passing and defending against the opposing team. The intensity of water polo is very high; Because it is a combination of swimming, basketball and handball. In order to have enough energy and strength until the end of the competition, water polo athletes must have endurance, agility and high physical strength. All these features cannot be obtained except through strength training and bodybuilding for water polo.
better swimming
A sport that is in water requires advanced swimming, water polo athletes must have both swimming skills and be able to swim continuously for long periods of time. It means to have a high level of cardiovascular endurance and to have the physical ability to swim for a long time.
Endurance
A water polo match is four sets of 8 minutes (6 minutes for women, of course), and that’s about 50 minutes of high-intensity exercise! Only an athlete with high endurance can last that long and still perform well until the end. .
Muscle strength
Water polo players must have high muscle strength to perform tasks such as catching the ball quickly, throwing the ball, defending and staying afloat. Strong leg muscles are important for fast swimming, strong shoulder and arm muscles are also important for working with the ball.
We also know that water polo is a contact sport, and sometimes it happens that two athletes have physical contact with the ball, and the player who catches the ball with more power is the winner. How can a water polo athlete build such muscle strength? Just with a strength and bodybuilding program for water polo!
Agility and speed
Water polo involves changing directions quickly, moving quickly in and out of the water, and turning quickly to escape the opponent’s defender; These features mean high agility that can be achieved with bodybuilding exercises for water polo. Your exercise program should be specific and targeted.
Injury prevention
Water polo is a challenging sport, and sometimes athletes in this field get injured. But a player who has strengthened the weak points of his body is less at risk of injury.
That’s why water polo players do regular training that includes swimming training, strength and conditioning training, and interval training.
Which muscles must be strengthened for water polo athletes?
Strengthening several different muscle groups is necessary for success in water polo, and you should work the following muscles well in your water polo fitness program.
1. Lower body muscles
Legs are very important in generating power for swimming and staying afloat. Strong leg muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, are the foundation of explosive movements in water polo. Therefore, these muscles should be specially trained in the bodybuilding program for water polo.
- leg muscles
- Quadriceps muscles
- Hamstrings and hips
2. mid-body muscles
Having a strong mid-body is necessary to maintain stability and balance in the water, and it allows athletes to quickly regain control and maintain their balance and change the direction of movement after quick movements in pursuit of the ball. In the mid-body area, you should focus on the following muscles:
- Abdominal oblique muscles
- Rectus abdominis muscles
- loin fillet
3. Shoulder muscles
The main work in water polo is done by the hands (that is, catching and throwing the ball); Therefore, strengthening the rotator cuff muscles around the shoulder joint is critical for stability and injury prevention. All of the following muscle groups must be well trained in water polo training sessions in order for the player to perform at their best.
- Rotator cuff muscles
- Deltoids
Bodybuilding exercises to increase concentration and speed of action in water polo
You may think that bodybuilding is only suitable for building muscle and physical strength, but this notion is not true! Bodybuilding and strength training have many positive effects on the athlete’s mind.
Training increases the strength of nerve and muscle coordination and the power of mental concentration in water polo players and makes the actions and reactions during the game become unconscious. The fact that the athlete spends less mental energy to make decisions during the game will even reduce his physical fatigue and the player can maintain his mental endurance during the match.
Also, let’s not forget that weight training releases happy hormones and endorphins that reduce stress and anxiety! This topic helps to focus mentally and increase the speed of action of the player!
Regular exercise increases blood flow to the brain and neural flexibility, and improves cognitive functions such as decision-making and reaction time, which are vital for a sport like water polo.
But these are all about the positive effects of bodybuilding for water polo on the athlete’s mind, we must not forget that strengthening the mid-body muscles will help improve stability and conscious breathing, and the player will have the opportunity to spend energy instead of maintaining balance. slow down, focus more on the game and perform better.
Which exercises should I do now to increase my concentration?
The exercises we mention below can help you focus in the form of circular sets in the bodybuilding program for water polo; Because doing a challenging sport like water polo requires maintaining balance and concentration, nerve and muscle coordination and mental toughness.
- deadlift
- Romanian single leg deadlift
- plank
- Turkish Get Up
- Farmer movement
- overhead squat
- Hitting the medicine ball
- Jump on the box
- Agility movements
- Yoga strength exercises
Bodybuilding exercises to control the ball with one hand
The skill of controlling the ball with one hand is one of the very key and important skills of water polo, and a player who masters this skill will be ahead of everyone. It is true that this “skill” must be learned and practiced, but without strength and power, it cannot be implemented and the ball will leave the player’s hand.
A water polo player needs to strengthen his forearm, shoulder and mid-body muscles. Below we introduce you some exercises as an example of a bodybuilding program to strengthen these muscles.
- Walking with dumbbells in hand
- Wrist exercises with dumbbells
- dumbbell forearm
- Swedish swimming with fists
- Forearm with dumbbells
- Overhead shoulder press
- Internal and external rotations of the shoulder
- Throwing a medicine ball
- Simple plank and sideways plank
- Russian turn
- crunch
Sample fitness program for water polo
As we said, water polo requires a high level of physical fitness, and a water polo athlete must work well on the strength and endurance of his mid-body, upper body and lower body muscles. In the following, we will introduce you a sample fitness program for water polo.
| exercise | Number of sets and repetitions |
|---|---|
| Squat with barbell | 3 sets of 15 |
| Deadlift with barbell | 3 sets of 15 |
| One arm standing shoulder press | 3 sets of 15 |
| Hip trust on the medicine ball | 3 sets of 15 |
| Russian twist with dumbbells | 3 sets of 15 |
final word
Water polo is a challenging sport that requires high physical and mental strength. In order for the water polo athlete to be able to perform at his best on the field and be successful in catching and controlling the ball, he must specifically do strength training and bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding exercises will increase the strength, endurance and agility of the athletes and help them maintain their balance and concentration on the field. In this article, we talked about the importance of bodybuilding for water polo and we also presented an example of a water polo bodybuilding program.
Resources: sportingbounce – usawaterpolo – sportivetricks
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