With the lockdown continuing many of us are going a bit stir crazy at not being able to get in the pool.

As a swimmer there's only so much running and cycling I can do; sea swimming is great, but often cannot provide the explosive training required for spiked heart rate and increased respiration. And there's a pandemic lockdown right now! Neither do I want to spend more money and more and more kit, which I will not need once lockdown restrictions are lifted .

I was at the stage where recurring adverts on Facebook had almost persuaded me to part with over £30 for what I realised could be done using my wife's existing dry land training gear.

By rigging up a simple chord to a post in the garden and looping the band through this, you can quite easily make your own swim resistance band for dry land swim training.

Et voila! A perfect dry land swim resistance training aid!

Stroke Practise and Muscle Strengthening

Simple repetitions, explosive pulls or slow and deliberate pull and holds, as well as replicating the complete stroke cycle are all possible; as well as practise of correct arm and elbow positioning for the all-important catch phase of the stroke.

Practising the catch phase on dry land allows you to see what you are doing and position that elbow correctly. Practise this over and over until muscle memory kicks in and take that into the water.

My first use showed it's not that natural using a flat hand on a handle that's designed to be gripped, but it is still usable; so I'm going to see if I can attach my my swim paddles somehow, to make hand positioning more realistic.

Injury Rehab

I am also suffering from a rotator cuff injury in my right shoulder. Strangely, this has got worse since the lockdown started and the pool closed! I think it is because of the reduced usage of the tendons and a general stiffening of the shoulder.

So far this has been a good way to keep the the shoulder moving without excess stress and my shoulder has not hurt during or after the initial exercises.

Watch this space for further dry land swim kit hacks!