From Bodybuilding to Water Polo

DEcision:
i made a decision to switch from bodybuilding to water polo but it seems that my thigh muscles keeps getting very tight and cramp.
note:
from my sch team mate==thigh is to0 big(for water polo) to perform certain movement
from my ex coach== switching from anerobic to aerobic, basically different muscle groups

anyway my question is, is there anyway to relieve myself from this situation? is there anything i can do to strengthen my egg-beater?

water polo? are you serious?

*imagines ronnie coleman playing water polo

I’m guessing it’s your inner thigh muscles, right? Foam roll them.

Get a 5 gallon water jug and hold it over your head while you egg beater. Get your friend to try to push you underwater while you hold him up. My friend could get out to his upper thighs, but his upper body looked skeletal. He was a goalie.

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
water polo? are you serious?

*imagines ronnie coleman playing water polo[/quote]

I picture him sinking to the bottom of the pool.

PR - foam roll and stretch. You will also need to have a totally new regiment for conditioning. Treading water sucks without powerful, and efficent ad/abductors. I will not say you are out of shape but you are not in water polo shape. You have also added a bunch of dudes who thought underwater rugby to be a good idea to beat on you for an hour.

Watch your fingers because if you play long enough you will break them all at least once and dislocate them twice that often.

Not to mention your legs will start to look like Spiccoli’s over there.

It’s a huge change from being a bodybuilder to being a water polo player. I would reccomend you to try other sports first so your muscles get used to aerobic training. You could start with training croquet, mini golf or even curling for a few months and then start playing water polo. Your muscles will by then be adapted to that type of training.

[quote]ironduck wrote:
It’s a huge change from being a bodybuilder to being a water polo player. I would reccomend you to try other sports first so your muscles get used to aerobic training. You could start with training croquet, mini golf or even curling for a few months and then start playing water polo. Your muscles will by then be adapted to that type of training.[/quote]

Not really. I haven’t swam in months and could jump in the pool and put down a pretty fast (for me) 100 free or 100 fly. Squatting and deadlifting are great exercise and make you more athletic all around. Swimming is all technique anyway.

[quote]PRCalDude wrote:
ironduck wrote:
It’s a huge change from being a bodybuilder to being a water polo player. I would reccomend you to try other sports first so your muscles get used to aerobic training. You could start with training croquet, mini golf or even curling for a few months and then start playing water polo. Your muscles will by then be adapted to that type of training.

Not really. I haven’t swam in months and could jump in the pool and put down a pretty fast (for me) 100 free or 100 fly. Squatting and deadlifting are great exercise and make you more athletic all around. Swimming is all technique anyway.[/quote]
true true… but my leg only cramp when i do the front crawl, and water polo is played front crawl.

to others, thanks for ur input!! greatly appreciated!!

[quote]kianlee863 wrote:
PRCalDude wrote:
ironduck wrote:
It’s a huge change from being a bodybuilder to being a water polo player. I would reccomend you to try other sports first so your muscles get used to aerobic training. You could start with training croquet, mini golf or even curling for a few months and then start playing water polo. Your muscles will by then be adapted to that type of training.

Not really. I haven’t swam in months and could jump in the pool and put down a pretty fast (for me) 100 free or 100 fly. Squatting and deadlifting are great exercise and make you more athletic all around. Swimming is all technique anyway.
true true… but my leg only cramp when i do the front crawl, and water polo is played front crawl.

to others, thanks for ur input!! greatly appreciated!!

[/quote]

Just kinda confused…are you getting cramps when swimming or treading in wopo. I remember the first two weeks back i would always cramp , after that it gets alot easier, you just have to get used to it. GO With it! in polo big guys are usually wanted plus if ur strong thats good u can move and turn other people easier, just focus on getting swimming and treading down and dont worry the cramping goes away, stretch during practice whenever you have the chance and youll be fine dont worry. its very very normal.

i get cramp from both, but mostly from swimming freestyle(front crawl)

yeah, they did tell me that my size and the fact that me being left handed is plus plus for water polo. but my body is just too stiff… lol. and i dun get it. they say, feel ur hand as if its rubber band… haha
anyway to all the water polo players out there. kudos to you. the game is really tought… must be the toughest, if not, one of the toughest i tried

argh…
the team is training on monday, wed, thurs, fri and sat.
monday is mainly endurance swim, 4km

the rest of the days are basically sprint training followed by game.

the thing now is, the more i train, i shorter time i can last… is there something i can do?? i feel really shitty after every training!! lol!

Leg cramps are very common when first learning the style. I used to play water polo back in highschool. Always got cramps in my legs/calves. You have to learn how to kick your legs without keeping them too tensed…sounds weird I know. But calve cramps are VERY common if you are pointing your toes “too” much.

Water polo, like all other sports is very much a HIIT style cardio training. Its not some slow jogging bs, the difference with polo though is its usually much faster paced. The breaks or pauses in sprinting are much shorter than most other sports. Use your strength as an advantage for all the under-water foul play. Dont think you arent going to do it, everyone will be doing it to you, prepare yourself.

So am I the only one who doesn’t know what water polo is? Haha, anyone want to explain how it’s played?

Its like soccer and rugby and football and basketball all combined, but in the water. Its a very difficult sport.

there’s a good video I found with a quick youtube search.

here’s another - YouTube

Wow, looks intense!

Foam roll + stretch your muscles everyday, and make sure your hydrated. In addition, some hiit training might be needed to get your body prepared for the demands of this sport.