Swim practice builds fitness in the water, but the strength, core stability, and body control that make a stroke efficient are built just as much on land. Dryland training — sometimes called dryland swimming or land drills for swimmers — is bodyweight and light-resistance exercise done outside the pool, and most of it takes zero equipment and fits in a living room or backyard.
This guide covers a complete, age-appropriate dryland program for young swimmers: what dryland training actually is, a full home routine, how the exercises should change from age 6 through the early teens, why shoulder and hip mobility matter as much as strength, how often to train, and the mistakes that trip up most families trying this at home for the first time.
Quick Answer
A good at-home dryland session for a young swimmer takes 15-20 minutes: a short warm-up, 2-3 rounds of core and bodyweight strength moves (planks, superman holds, squats, push-ups), a few minutes of balance and mobility work, and a streamline hold to finish. No equipment is required, and 2-3 sessions a week is plenty for most age-group swimmers, scaling up toward 3-4 sessions as swimmers move into their preteens and teens.
What Is Dryland Training? (Dryland Swimming Explained)
Dryland training — also called dryland swimming, dry land exercises, or land drills for swimmers — is any strength, mobility, or coordination work done outside the pool with the goal of improving how a swimmer moves in the water. It isn’t a substitute for pool time; it’s the land-based half of a swimmer’s training that builds the strength, core control, and joint stability that swimming alone doesn’t fully develop.
Some of what people call ‘dry swimming exercises’ — like swimmer planks that mimic a freestyle arm pull, or streamline holds against a wall — are land drills that copy the shape and muscle activation of a stroke without water resistance. Others, like squats, planks, and push-ups, are general strength moves that support swimming rather than imitate it directly. A well-rounded dryland program for a young swimmer usually includes both types, plus mobility work for the shoulders and hips.
Age-by-Age Dryland Guide
Dryland shouldn’t look the same for a 7-year-old and a 13-year-old. For swimmers around 6-8, the focus should be on fun, coordination, and simple movement patterns rather than strength: animal walks (bear crawls, crab walks), balance games like standing on one leg, jumping jacks, and short (10-20 second) plank and streamline holds. Keep exercises playful and short — this age group loses interest fast, and the goal is teaching movement, not building muscle.
Swimmers around 9-11 can handle a more structured routine: full core and strength circuits (planks, squats, lunges, push-ups, superman holds), longer holds, and the addition of light resistance bands or a jump rope if available. This is also a good age to start basic mobility work for the shoulders and hips, since training volume in the pool typically increases around this stage.
By 12-14, many swimmers are training with a club and can safely add more volume: 3-4 rounds per circuit, pull-ups or resistance-band rows for upper-body pulling strength, single-leg balance and stability work, and dedicated mobility sessions. Heavier external weights are still generally not recommended without direct coaching supervision — bodyweight and light resistance remain the right intensity for most swimmers through their early teens.
A Simple Home Dryland Workout, Step by Step
Start every session with 5 minutes of warm-up so muscles aren’t cold: jogging on the spot, arm circles, leg swings, and jumping jacks work well and double as a fun way to get younger kids moving before the ‘real’ exercises start. Next comes the core and strength block, done as 2-3 rounds for younger kids (under about 10) or 3-4 rounds for older age-group swimmers. Good staples include plank holds (start around 20-30 seconds and build up), superman holds (lying face-down, lifting arms, chest, and legs off the floor to work the back muscles used in every stroke), bodyweight squats and lunges (for kick and start power), push-ups or knee push-ups (for chest, shoulder, and triceps pushing strength), and mountain climbers or bicycle crunches for rotational core work.
Finish with a streamline hold: standing tall, arms squeezed overhead against the ears, core braced, and toes pointed, held for 20-30 seconds. This reinforces the tight, low-drag body position swimmers need off every wall and dive. If a jump rope, resistance band, or light medicine ball is available, they’re a nice add-on — jump rope for footwork and cardio, bands for shoulder and hip activation, and a light medicine ball for rotational throws — but none of it is required to get value from a dryland workout for swimmers at home.
Land Drills for Balance and Coordination
Balance and coordination work is easy to skip but genuinely useful for young swimmers, since good body awareness on land translates into a more controlled, efficient stroke in the water. Animal walks — bear crawls, crab walks, and inchworms — build full-body coordination and are a favorite with younger kids because they feel more like play than exercise.
Single-leg balance drills (standing on one foot for 15-20 seconds, eyes open or closed) and walking lunges add a stability challenge that pays off in starts, turns, and dive-offs. These land drills fit naturally between the strength circuit and the streamline hold, and take only a couple of minutes to include.
Shoulder and Hip Mobility (Injury Prevention)
The shoulder does more repetitive rotational work in swimming than in almost any other youth sport, which is why shoulder pain is one of the most common overuse issues in age-group swimmers. Building shoulder health into dryland is just as important as building strength, and it doesn’t take long: a few rotator-cuff and scapular-stability moves (like band pull-aparts or wall slides), a doorway or wall chest stretch, and shoulder circles in both directions before and after the main workout.
Hip and thoracic spine (upper back) mobility matter too, since a stiff upper back forces the shoulders to compensate during the freestyle and butterfly pull. A simple hip flexor stretch (kneeling lunge position, gently pressing the hips forward) and a few slow torso rotations while lying on the back with knees bent are enough to keep young swimmers moving well without adding real time to a session. None of this replaces good stroke technique or sensible training loads — sudden jumps in swim volume are still one of the biggest drivers of overuse injury — but a few minutes of shoulder and hip mobility, done consistently, is one of the simplest ways families can help protect a young swimmer’s shoulders.
How Often Should Young Swimmers Do Dryland Training?
For swimmers around 6-8 years old, 2-3 short dryland sessions a week is a reasonable target, keeping each exercise to a couple of short sets so kids stay engaged without burning out. Swimmers around 9-12 can typically handle 2-4 sessions a week, often on the same days as pool practice, either before practice as an activation routine or on off days as a standalone session.
By the young-teen years (12-14), swimmers training with a club several days a week can move toward 3-5 dryland sessions, though this should scale with — not on top of — overall training load. If a swimmer is fatigued, sore, or dealing with growth-related aches, dryland volume should come down, not up. More is not automatically better; consistency at a moderate volume beats occasional long, exhausting dryland sessions.
Common Dryland Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is treating dryland like a full adult strength-training program: heavy weights, maximal reps, or exercises copied from a high-school or college team without adjusting for a younger swimmer’s size and training age. Bodyweight and light resistance are enough for most swimmers through their early teens.
Other frequent issues include skipping the warm-up (jumping straight into planks and squats with cold muscles), doing dryland immediately after an exhausting swim practice with poor form, ignoring pain rather than backing off, and making sessions too long for a young attention span. A short, consistent, well-formed routine beats a long, sloppy one every time.
dryland exercises for young swimmers FAQs
What is dryland swimming training?
Dryland training (also called dryland swimming or dry land exercises) is strength, mobility, and coordination work done outside the pool to improve how a swimmer moves in the water — things like planks, squats, superman holds, streamline holds, and shoulder mobility drills.
Do young swimmers actually need dryland training?
Yes, in an age-appropriate form. Dryland builds core stability, joint mobility, and general strength that swimming alone doesn’t fully develop, and it’s linked to better body position and lower overuse-injury risk when the volume and intensity match the swimmer’s age.
How long should a dryland workout be for a kid?
15-20 minutes is plenty for most age-group swimmers: a 5-minute warm-up, 2-4 rounds of core and bodyweight strength moves, a couple of minutes of balance or mobility work, and a streamline hold to finish.
What age can swimmers start dryland training?
Swimmers as young as 6-8 can start simple, playful dryland work like animal walks, short plank holds, and balance games. Structured strength circuits are more appropriate from around age 9-10 onward, with heavier training reserved for the young-teen years and beyond.
Can dryland exercises be done without any equipment?
Yes. A full dryland session — warm-up, core and strength circuit, balance work, and a streamline hold — can be done with bodyweight alone in a living room or backyard. Resistance bands, a jump rope, or a light medicine ball are useful add-ons but not required.
Is dryland training safe for young swimmers?
Bodyweight and light-resistance dryland training is generally safe when it’s age-appropriate, well-supervised, and includes a warm-up and mobility work. Heavier external weights are best left until swimmers are older and training under direct coaching supervision.
Level Up With SportsSteps
Track your athlete’s progress, connect with coaches and your team, and grow — get the SportsSteps app. Get the SportsSteps App.
Want youth sports news in your inbox? Subscribe to the free newsletter.