Dynamic warm-up for swimmers (knee to chest)

Today I'm going to describe another dynamic stretching exercise, which is called knee to chest, thar is great for a swimmer's dynamic warm-up. Knee to chest warms up and builds dynamic flexibility in the hamstrings and lower back. It also challenges balance and core stability.

Procedure

1. From a standing position, lift tha right knee and pull it to the chest. Simultaneously raise yourself up on the toes of your left foot.
2. Hold this position for a count of two before returning to the standing position.
3. Pull the left knee to your chest while rising up on your right foot.
4. Continue alternating right and left sides until you perform 10 to 12 repetitions on each side.

Intermediate level: For a more challenging exercise (mainly for core stability and balance) you can do the knee to chest and walk exercise, where you follow the previous procedure but instead of returning to the starting position you take a step forward and you continue with the other leg. Do this exercise for approximately 10 m.

Advanced level: The most challenging version of this exercise is the knee to chest into lunge exercise, where you do a forward lunge after each repetition of this exercise. This version will also build lower body strength and it's even more challenging for the core and your balance.