Olympic Swimmer Adam Peaty Shares His Full-Body Gym Workout
Adam Peaty’s physique is undoubtedly built for the pool. Those broad shoulders, long limbs and powerful arms offer an obvious competitive advantage. But that doesn’t mean the bulk of his workouts take place underwater.
To become Britain’s greatest male swimmer – and a three-time Olympic gold medalist – demands more than just technique. Peaty hits the gym hard and often in order to build the strength he needs to dominate on race day.
Ahead of the Paris Games, we asked Peaty to talk us through his training regimen. The workout below is inspired by one of his go-to gym sessions. Even if you have no ambitions to contest for a spot on the podium, it’s a well-rounded strength-builder that will deliver serious benefits on dry land, too. Let’s dive in.
01/ Back Squat to Box
4 sets of 5/4/3/2 reps
Squatting to a box will enable you to build up serious strength. Barbell on your back, stand, feet apart. Keep your chest up as you sink your hips and bend at the knees. Once you make contact with the box, pause, then drive back up to standing. Rest 2 to 4 mins between sets to recover. Add weight and drop reps with each set, aiming for the heaviest 2 reps you can safely manage in your final one.
02a/ Countermovement Jump
4 sets of 5 reps
Pairing jumps with an upper-body move allows you to get more work in, without either move compromising the other. ‘CMJs’ provide a good measure of an athlete’s explosive lower-body power. Begin standing with your hands above your head, throw your arms back, creating momentum, bend at the knees and explosively jump as high as possible. Land with soft knees, reset and repeat. Rest 1 to 2 mins before moving on.
02b/ Chin-Up
4 sets of 5/4/3/2 reps
Grab a pull-up bar, your palms facing you. Lift your feet off the ground and hang freely. Pull yourself up by flexing your elbows, as if driving them down into your pockets. As your chin passes the bar, pause, then lower slowly back to the start. Rest 2 to 3 mins after each set before returning to jumps. Add weight and reduce reps each set.
03/ Hang High Pull
4 sets of 5 reps
This explosive move derived from the Olympic lifts is perfect for building the dynamic upper-body pulling strength that propels you through water. Stand tall holding a barbell at hip height, hinge forwards with soft knees and lower the bar to mid-thigh. Explosively stand up on to your toes. Use the momentum to pull the bar to your chest. Control the bar to your hips and repeat.
04a/ Chest-Supported Row
4 sets of 8/6/4/2 reps
By supporting your chest during rows, you reduce stress on the lower back and isolate the lats and mid back. Paired with a lower-back builder, such as glute-ham raises, this is a recipe for a powerful posterior chain. Set an adjustable bench to 45 degrees or prop a flat bench up with a box. Lie face down, chest on the pad, holding a barbell. Tight to the bench, row the bar up to it, pause then slowly lower it. Add weight and reduce reps with each set.
04b/ Glute-Ham Raise
4 sets of 20
Anchor your feet into a Roman chair or glute-ham developer, facing the ground. Hinge at the hips, lowering your head towards the floor, before using your lower back and glutes to reverse the move, extending up until your torso is parallel to the ground. Reverse and repeat, keeping your torso tight. Rest 2 to 3 mins between rounds.
05a/ Straight-Arm Lat Pull-Down
3 sets of 20
Nothing says swimmer quite like a set of lats that look more like wings. Set yourself up at a cable station or with a resistance band anchored above your head. Standing or kneeling, grab the handle. Keeping your arms locked out, pull towards your hips in a smooth arc. Squeeze your back hard at the bottom before slowly reversing. Repeat. Rest 1 min before moving on to the squats.
05b/ Cossack Squat
3 sets of 20
Time to build quads worthy of an Olympic dive. Stand with a wide stance and shift all of your weight on to one leg and bend at the knee. Slowly lower your body until the leg is fully bent, the other trailing straight, to one side. Push the ground away with the working leg back to standing, then immediately lean to the other side and repeat on the opposite leg. Work back and forth for 20 total reps. Rest 2 to 3 mins between rounds.
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