Streamline Line Walk: A Dryland Core Strength Game for Swimmers

Name

[Streamline] Line Walk

Core Skill

Dryland / Core Strength / Streamline

Who

Play this game with any group of swimmers that you work with. It will work with 5 year-olds through 18, and can be played with both beginners and advanced swimmers. The only skill they need to know beyond just seeing it once is a proper streamline.

Streamline Prerequisites:

• Lock your thumb.Squeeze your ears.Look down (or while walking straight ahead).Aim your arms directly up while walking, not in front of your face or tilted.

What

Streamline Line Walk works on three main areas: a) teamwork, b) streamline technique, and c) strength building. We generally use this as a streamline test to ensure that everyone participating in the Goose Walk knows how to perform a streamline correctly. If they get sloppy, or forget any one of the key parts of streamline, they must go back to the line and repeat the walk. This ensures participants take the streamline portion seriously, especially when holding a plank or crab stand for 20 seconds or more. It gets difficult when you want to move or switch, and someone messing up means more time spent struggling for the whole group.

How

1. **Setup:** Have everyone line up. It is best to use a line on the floor, but if not available, simply line up along a wall or in a rough single file line. Mark a clear start and a clear finish point (this could be an actual line on the ground or something like a shoe).

2. **Poses:** Pick two poses to hold while waiting for your turn in the line. Suggestions include Crab stand (pushing the belly up off the ground with feet and hands), forearm plank, chair pose, tree pose, side plank, or warrior poses.

3. **Execution:** The person at the head gets up, performs a streamline, and walks in streamline down the line to the tail (the end of the line). That person then joins the line in their chosen pose. Everyone shuffles down one spot, and the next person walks from the top of the line to the bottom. Continue until everyone has cycled through two times.

If someone does not streamline correctly or is sloppy, they must start over the walk.

Switch the pose the line is holding after every successful streamline walk, or after two successful streamline walks in a row.

Difficulties Instructors Might Face

Instructors must manage the group's energy and maintain focus on dryland form. It can be challenging to keep older, more advanced swimmers engaged while ensuring beginners are performing the plank and crab stand safely. Constant verbal cues are needed to reinforce the proper streamline body position.

Key Takeaways

This activity is highly versatile, serving as both a fun group game and a rigorous assessment tool for core strength and streamline technique. Remember to emphasize safety during all plank and static holds.

Have you played this game? Share in the comments below.

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