How should I get in shape for water polo out of the pool

Question

I played water polo in high school but I stopped for a year and now I want to get back into it. I'm out of shape by water polo standards and I want to get back in shape and improve my performance but I can't really go through a training regimen in the pool just yet.

Are there any drills or exercises that I can do on land that will help me out. My biggest weakness is that I'm not a very fast swimmer(by competitive swimming/water polo) standards and I'd like to improve my speed and endurance but anything that will improve my game would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Well anything that helps with cardio is good... cycling and jogging. It will help your heart prepare for the strain. The best thing you can do though is gym, focusing on those areas that you use in swimming. With this I mean especially the upper body, strengthening your chest and your sholders for a better pull. Legs (any exercise) are important as well.

At the end all gym exercise is good since w-polo is a physical sport. All these together should help you overcome your weeknesses!

Answer 2

Run Run Run, lift weights, push ups, sit ups, bicycles, bleachers, and ball handling against the wall(if you aren't doing anythin IMPORTANT you should have the ball IN YOUR HANDS workin on skils) EVERYDAY!!!!!........... also swim as much as you can and set realistic short-term goals (like lowering swim time by 2 sec) and long-term goals (like swimming a 100 free in 1 min)........ sprint until you feel like you are gonna die, then push and sprint just a little more...... after awhile you will notice it gets easier and easier and your times are dropping like CRAZY........... btw get a waterproof digital sports watch with a stopwatch in it so you can keep track of your times easier AND keep records of how your time is dropping b/c it will serve as inspiration to continue