G. John Mullen - (Author)

10 Hidden Benefits of Swimming Everyone wants to be an Olympic swimmer. But luckily, you don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer to benefit from the sport. People of all ages, from all backgrounds, and with various levels of experience can benefit from swimming. Swimming is one of the few sports you can...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS - President COR - Sports Training and Physical Therapy A few years back, I had the opportunity to compete at Masters Nationals in Santa Clara, CA. I had been training, a blistering 3 hours a week split up into ~3-4 practices. I was ready for a great Masters race, hop...

15 Weird Swimmer Facts By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor Swimmers are fascinating. Not to be biased or anything, but they are. Swimmers have superhuman-like capabilities. They can make their bodies do weird things. And they have some rather strange rituals. These 15 weird facts about...

5 Tips for Overcoming A Poor Performance You trained, you cleared your head, you pushed yourself, and then you fell flat in the pool. Your confidence is shaken and you can’t stop yourself from replaying the swim over and over in your head. Give yourself a break. A bad swim isn’t the end of your ca.....

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor. A swimmer’s propulsion relies a great deal on ankle mobility and flexibility. Unfortunately, the very same swimmers have limited mobility in their stiff ankles. Strength, mobility, and stability are key to effective form in the pool, so give your an...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS - President COR - Sports Training and Physical Therapy. https://youtu.be/TI_Kkauha4Y Most swimmers have performed lat pulldown exercises. Many will do the lat pulldown with a wide grip, but is the wide grip the best position? Does it activate the most appropriate mus...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS - President COR - Sports Training and Physical Therapy Many colleges and some high school strength programs utilize the clean, a popular Olympic Lifting technique. The clean is a complex movement requiring proper training and biomechanics. Due to the complexity of th...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS - President COR - Sports Training and Physical Therapy One of the most common questions I receive regards dryland training with little or no equipment. Many coaches face the challenge of finding hard exercises without equipment and with limited space. Luckily, the si...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS - President COR - Sports Training and Physical Therapy Clearly shoulder injuries are the main injury in swimmers due to the volume of revolutions at the shoulder joint for training. If you’ve been following my articles on various websites, you’re well aware I write a...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor. You aren’t the typical gym-goer. You’re a swimmer, and that matters when you go to the gym. If you just want to do a little yoga, take a class with a friend, or try out a new machine, it’s not that easy. Your body has needs, and many popular exercis...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor. We have all heard the core is essential for swimming. Some debate the amount of necessary core work for elite swimming performance. Others argue the lack of specificity of traditional core exercises with swimming. No matter your belief, everyone in ...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor. The swimming “off-season” or spring break is around the corner for many in the swimming community. Although, not everyone is having a break (sorry high school swimmers whose swim season has just started), this period is a great opportunity to improv...

Most sports are re-evaluating the notion of performing year-round. This is particularly true in sports where routines and precise “moves” are not involved. Swimming is unique, as it doesn’t involve a routine, but more dependent on biomechanics and “feel”. Nonetheless, the notion of breaking the idea...

By Michael Vaandering, Swimming World Contributor. "OUT!", my coach yelled as I was coming around to the second flip on a front double somersault tuck. I heard him loud and clear but delayed the kick-out just a split second too long. The momentum from the flipping with the late kick-out set me up fo...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor I often discuss shoulder health, in fact many of you are probably sick of me laboring about shoulder injuries and injury prevention. Unfortunately, I feel like I'm not getting my point across, as thousands of swimmers enter our clinic each year with ...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor A common issue from coaches is not being able to find hard core exercises which challenge the body, especially where the body is maintaining a streamline position. Some have heard of the spinal flexion theory, the idea that doing too many spinal flex...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor Swimmer's Shoulder is all too common on the pool deck. Many shrug it off (pun intended), saying shoulder pain is normal or it is simply shoulder soreness. Unfortunately, pain is pain, which reduces strength and enjoyment within the sport of swimmi...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS Keeping the body moving forward during butterfly maintains efficiency and velocity. Many poor swimmers raise their head up too high for a breath, setting the brakes for each gasp of air. The TRX pike and shift, helps teach the swimmer how to connect their core with t...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor Transferring energy from the lower body, through the core, and into the upper body is essential for elite swimming. Often, swimmers will exhibit energy leaks while swimming, poorly transferring energy and slowing the swimmer. A while back, I posted t...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor If you followed the Olympics, you probably saw many Olympians receiving soft tissue (massage) and self soft tissue (self-myofascial releases; SMR) on the pool deck. The increase in use of these techniques has been recommended by many in the sporting ...