Surgical Tubing

What is it?  For those of you that don't know, surgical tubing is just that, rubber tubing that hospitals and doctors use.  It is very strong and very flexible. It is essentially like a giant rubber band.  It comes in various colors (although usually black and yellow), sizes, and grades (thickness).  The higher the grade the stronger it is and the most resistance you will get from it.  Often times they are used with built in paddles, but they can also be used with just loops tied in the ends for hand placement--these are much cheaper.

How to use.  The beauty of surgical tubing is that it is lightweight and compact, and, as a result, can be taken anywhere.  Additionally, it can be used in various ways to help work your swimming muscles.  These characteristics make it a must for those of us who travel, or who cannot afford the fancy equipment, or who don't have room for bulky machines.  When using surgical tubing, it is important that you use standard weight training and exercise precautions and methods.  Always pay attention to the condition of the tubing and never overstretch it, since they do snap.  Try to mimic the motion of your stroke as much as possible and/or isolate certain movements of your stroke during separate sets.  Make sure not to put too much resistance on your smaller muscles.  The flexibility and the varying resistance should help you customize your workouts whenever you want.

Below we have included some illustrations of the various exercises you can do using surgical tubing, but feel free to experiment and try to simulate your own stroke style as much as possible when trying to work out.

Illustrations

Surgical Tubing  1.9 Kb