A few favorite strength moves from Dara Torres' coach

IN THE GYM


Once Torres is through with the pool and back on terra firma, Strength and conditioning coach Andy O'Brien takes over, using Bosu balls to strengthen stabilizing muscles throughout her body. Here are seven of their favorite exercises.



Shoulders

1External Cable Rotation

Using a cable machine with the cable at waist level and elbows at hips; rotates arms in and out to opposite sides-Begin with your right arm and rotate it to the left side, keeping the left arm still and then switch to the left arm, rotating it to the right side.

Do 10-15 reps on each side; 3 sets



2 Swiss Balance Ball Letters

Lie on stomach on a Swiss balance ball with three-pound weights in each hand and while balancing on the ball put your body in the position of the letters T, Y, Z, W and V. Do each letter 15 times; 3 sets.



Core

3 Twist Balance Cable Rotation

Using the cable machine, hold a small sized balance ball in left arm at stomach and reach around the ball with right hand to grab the cable then rotate from the middle to the right and the left, working the obliques. 15 reps each side; 2 sets



4 Floor Crunches

Low-Do the first set flat on your back with an eight-pound medicine ball between the knees. Knees are bent and feet are on the floor. 30 reps

High-Do the second set of crunches flat on your back with the ball between your feet and feet up in the air. Reach up and try and touch the ball. 30 reps

Elbow and Knee Touch a.k.a your traditional bicycle crunches-Lie on your back and bring your knee to the opposite elbow. 30 reps



Do 3 sets.



Upper Body

5 Weighted Pull-Ups

Traditional weighted pull-ups (Torres adds 15 pound weights to each ankle to her 130-pound frame) 15 reps



6 Bosu Push-Ups

Flip a Bosu ball upside down-with the flat part facing up-and do a push-up. 15 reps; 2 sets.



Lower Body

7 Weighted Bosu Ball Squats

Flip the Bosu ball upside down and stand on the flat part and with your legs shoulder width apart and a 40-pound weights in each hand do a squat. 10-15 reps; 2 sets





ON THE STRETCHING MAT

Torre's secret weapon is resistance stretching: a trainer positions a muscle in the shortest possible position and continuously contracts it through the entire range of motion for that muscle, while Torres provides resistance. She typically stretches for two hours three times a week, and will do shorter sessions up to four times a day when she's racing. She mostly works with two stretching trainers, Steven Sierra and Anne Tierney of Innovative Body Solutions. They compiled this breakdown of a typical stretching session.



1 "Mashing" to loosen her up-45 minutes

*Mashing is deep tissue massage using the trainers' feet! One trainer works Dara's legs while the other simultaneously works the upper body. Mashing can be very intense and goes deep into her muscles to release knots and adhesions quickly-this allows her muscle to contract better and flushes toxins.



2 Lower body-30 minutes

*The leg is divided into 8 major muscle groups and stretched in this order: Calves

Quadriceps, central, medial and lateral hamstrings, glutes, iliacus (adductors), tensor fascia lata, and abductors.



Note: All Resistance Stretching stretches are using Dara's resistance-very different from other forms of stretching where the leg is lengthened and then held in position in order to "stretch."



* The same routine is repeated on the each leg. If imbalances are found, then problem-solving is used (balancing muscle groups). i.e. if the lateral quadriceps is not stretching, Anne and Steve would target the medial hamstring first, and then return to the lateral quad).



*After both legs have been worked along the 8 major muscle groups, Dara does double leg stretches (one of the benefits of having a 2-person stretching team-another reason why Dara's training is like no other)



3 Upper body-30 minutes

*Dara prefers to have both trainers work her arms at the same time and do deep rotational stretches while she is on her back and elevated on a massage table (so the arms can go past the plane of the "floor.") All major muscle groups are addressed, chest, back, lats, traps, biceps, triceps.



* The arms are stretched together in X and Y formations and across various planes and angles. Not only is Dara resisting during these exercises, but by "rotating" her arm, the trainers are essentially "wringing out" the arms-allowing them to stretch tendons, fascia, more muscle, and the joint capsule. (Picture it like wringing out a wet towel- it gets a lot dryer a lot faster, the more you twist and grab more and more fibers).



4 Core Strength and Flexibility-20 minutes

* After Dara's arms and legs have been stretched individually, trainers begin stretches and massage techniques to address the core and rotation of the core.



5 Finishing Touches -palpation, more mashing, and lung pumping -5-20 minutes

* Finally, trainers finish up the 2 hours by palpating the diaphragm and mashing out the lats. Both of these allow more range of motion (ROM) in her shoulder girdle.

* To palpate the diaphragm, Dara lies on her back in a sports bra to expose her ribs and abdominals. The trainers essentially "dig" under her ribs to access the rectus abdominals and diaphragm. This form of "massage" allows her rib cage to expand and open up more.

* Finally, Dara lies on her side on the floor in order for her lats and infra/supraspinatus to get mashed out. This provides relief for shoulder impingements.