Kelli Saunders
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa water polo team dove into a new dry land workout routine this season designed by trainer Franklin Ortiz, to help with their performance in games and to prevent injuries.
Ortiz came in on the first day of school to customize a strength-building and flexibility-enhancing workout. He focused the workout on strengthening muscles that are normally not used in the pool to balance the body and avoid repetitive motion injuries of the muscles, such as the shoulders and legs, that are always being used.
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“In water polo games and practice the team is constantly working the same muscles, and eventually those breakdown from overuse,” Ortiz said. “However, if you do strength exercises for other muscles, you can counter the effects that the repetitive motions of water polo have on the body.”
In order to understand what common water polo injuries are and what specific exercises can aid in preventing those, Ortiz did research on the USA Water polo team and exercise physiology. He then created a total body workout that incorporates stretching and strengthening to minimize injuries during the team’s season.
“This has decreased the amount of injured players because they are maintaining and building up the muscles they need for swimming, shooting and endurance during the games,” Costa water polo coach Jon Reichardt said. “We aren’t getting the major shoulder injuries we used to get in previous years.”
The workout is a circuit with four stations, each targeting a different muscle group. The first station consists of leg exercises such as lunges and burpees, and the second station strengthens the abdominal muscles with various styles of plank. In the third station they work on flexibility of the shoulders using resistance bands, and in the fourth station they strengthen their arms, which are used mostly for shooting and swimming.
“Doing these dry land workouts has helped us stretch out our bodies so that we do not get hurt as often and build up strength,” senior varsity water polo player Lucas Brannan said. “By doing these we are able to play in more games because they keep us stretched out and in shape throughout our long season.”
The team practices six days a week with morning and afternoon practices four of the days. The circuit is done on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at a rapid pace for an hour each time.
“Even though we have a very rigorous practice schedule I think it is very beneficial to our team in the long run,” Brannan said. “This year we have been very well conditioned to endure our long water polo season.”
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