SURGE Strength is raising the standard of dryland training for swimming.
For the first time, swim coaches have the opportunity to work through a formal education process surrounding all aspects of dryland and strength training for their swimmers. After enrolling and passing the exam, swim coaches will be able to identify themselves as SURGE Strength Dryland Certified (SSDC).
The knowledge base gained will be evident to athletes, others involved in the program, and fellow coaches. Becoming SSDC will allow swim coaches to transform their dryland training into a strength of their program.
How to organize effective dryland sessions regardless of age, ability or equipment
What the most important injury prevention variables are in a dryland program
What the process of creating a season plan and writing dryland workouts should be
How to compliment dryland routines based on what type of training swimmers are doing in the water
What the different categories and progressions for exercises are so that you can tailor dryland to your swimmers’ abilities
What the best ways are to include mobility and flexibility programs into dryland and your overall program
What dryland equipment to buy that provides the best value and return on your investment
How to implement the assessment and testing process with your swimmers
The curriculum of the SURGE Strength Dryland Certification is designed to provide a foundational understanding of athletic development and strength training principles, as it specifically relates to swimmers and improved performance.
An individual that has successfully completed the curriculum and passed the exam will become SURGE Strength Dryland Certified (SSDC). This credential demonstrates to others that the individual who becomes SSDC understands the principles of a sound dryland program and can, therefore, lead their swimmers through a successful dryland training program.
Never before has such a thorough educational resource been made available to swim coaches and others interested in increasing their dryland training knowledge base.
Dryland doesn't need to be complicated. Through this process, you'll learn the principles for your swimmers' success.
Swim Coaches of any level or age
Masters Swimmers
Strength & Conditioning Coaches
Personal Trainers & Performance Coaches
Rehabilitation & Health Care Practitioners
Enroll NowDryland Overview
Get the basic questions about dryland answered: Why do it? What are the goals of dryland? How does it translate into improved swimming performance?
Movements & Exercises
Learn how to categorize and progress exercises for any level of athlete you coach. Discover the critical rules to follow when creating dryland programs and the best mobility movements for swimmers.
Principles of Strength & Conditioning
Understand the time trusted principles of training that won't disappear with the next fad. See how to structure a dryland program to build a "swimmer's body" and enable a stronger back half in races, all while enabling improvement over a career.
Periodization
Do you know all the variables you can alter throughout a season to allow your swimmers to improve? It's much more than just reps and weight. After this module you'll know that and more, including the different types of dryland workouts you should be cycling through and for how long in a season.
Assessment & Testing
Be able to implement simple and effective assessments for an athlete's movement and be able to test their athletic performance. Learn the general athletic standards you should hold your swimmers to and build towards, because how strong does a swimmer really need to be?
Creating a Dryland Program
Put your knowledge and what you've learned into action. Get guidance on how to create your dryland season plan and write daily dryland workouts for your swimmers. You'll get plenty of examples of each type to model your own after, including what to do once you get to taper time!
Training Specificity
How does dryland look different for 12-and-unders verses senior or collegiate level swimmers? You'll discover how to scale workouts for specific strokes, events and age groups from the little guys to the senior citizen swimmers and every age and ability in-between.
Equipment
What equipment do you really need? You'll get those answers along with what equipment is the best investment and how to adapt workouts based on what equipment you have access to. This is often the biggest variable across swim teams so you'll be prepared for any equipment situation you find yourself coaching in.
The SURGE Strength Dryland Certification is an on-demand, self-paced, video-based learning experience.
This isn't just another certification where you read through a binder and mail it in. We take great pride in raising the industry standard for dryland training, education, and now certification. This curriculum and exam standard will continue that tradition.
The curriculum is broken down into two sections, Foundations and Applications, with multiple modules and lessons within each section. The sections build off each other as do the lessons within each module.
Once certified (SSDC), you’ll retain access to the curriculum as well as opportunities to continue your dryland education through the Graduate Level of the SURGE Strength Academy (admission is only extended to those that are SURGE Strength Dryland Certified).
The SURGE Strength Dryland Certification is delivered, consumed, and tested 100% online, so coaches worldwide can learn more to help their swimmers through dryland training.
Understand and implement the principles of a sound dryland program
Assess and test your swimmers’ movement and performance abilities on land
Confidently develop a seasonal plan and daily dryland workouts
Lead dryland training sessions for a variety of ages and abilities
Unlock the potential dryland can have on your swimmers’ performance
After going through all the curriculum and passing the certification exam you'll become SURGE Strength Dryland Certified (SSDC).
With this distinction, you'll demonstrate to your swimmers, other coaches, parents, the administration involved in your program, and even potential employers that you have a solid understanding of dryland and can be a valuable asset in this area.
In recognition of your achievement of completion you'll receive your certificate and be able to add the distinction of "SSDC" to your credentials, displaying your accomplishment to everyone.
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SURGE Strength is recognized by the Athletics and Fitness Association of America and the National Academy of Sports Medicine as an Approved Continuing Education Provider. This course is approved for 1.9 CEUs with NASM and 15.0 CEUs with AFAA.
For information on our refund policy, click here.
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How long does it take to complete and how do I access the certification?
The course is self-paced, online and on-demand for you to access anytime, working through the modules and lessons linearly. There may be opportunities for interactive study sessions and you’ll be made aware of those opportunities as they come up. You can login to your account in the SURGE Strength Academy to access the certification course anywhere you have internet access and you can start the course at any time. The average coach will take about a month to get through all the curriculum, which totals more than 20 hours. There will be a comprehensive final exam you need to pass in order to earn your SSDC credentials. Once you’ve passed the final exam you’ll retain access to the curriculum for future reference.
What's special about this certification?
We are the ONLY swim-specific, dryland-focused certification out there. Before we created the SSDC, swim coaches would have to take personal training certifications or get an entire degree in exercise science just to learn about the body. And most of the time they still weren't taught how to directly apply the information to swimming. We take the important information about movement, strength training, and periodization and apply it directly to how to improve swimming performance. This makes it easy to translate valuable information to your team immediately. Becoming SSDC has helped teams prevent injury and make great progress in the water despite the challenges that COVID has presented keeping teams out of the water for long periods of time. We've also had physical therapists, personal trainers, and others in the health and medical fields become SSDC in order to better understand what the swimmers that come to them for help may need. We are proud to be serving a community that has needed something like our certification for a very long time.
Are there any CEUs associated with this certification?
Yes! You'll currently earn CEUs for AFAA, NASM, ISSA, and USA Triathlon. We are still working with other organizations and will update you (and this page) as new ones are announced.
Besides the knowledge I get from the course, will I receive tangible blueprints of programs and assessments that I can use right away?
Yes! Besides the 22+ hours of video footage, you'll have access to checklists, past programs for every age group, example templates of each stage of dryland planning (season, week, day) for every level (college, senior, age-group), and our 3 favorite assessment worksheets. You can start implementing these right away. And, it's easy to tweak the blueprints that we give you to work with the team, the time, and the equipment that you have.
How does becoming SSDC help me? Is it recognized globally?
By becoming SURGE Strength Dryland Certified (SSDC), you’re demonstrating to all that you have a clear understanding of dryland. No matter where you live or what time zone you're in, earning the ONLY dryland certification for swimming will demonstrate to athletes, employers, potential employers, and stakeholders that you are a forward-thinking and evolving coach who has been proactive in their own coaching development and has a dryland knowledge-base that can provide an immediate positive impact. We have coaches from all over the world that are becoming SSDC, proving that they have a firm grasp on the principles of successful dryland training and the quality associated with RITTER Sports Performance.
What happens after I’ve passed? What if I don’t pass?
You get to put your dryland knowledge to use! You’ll also have the opportunity to continue your dryland education by joining the Graduate Level of the SURGE Strength Academy. Instead of a linear-type curriculum in the certification, the Graduate Level will have a plethora of mini-courses on various dryland topics, case studies, and other deep dives to strengthen your dryland knowledge. If you don’t pass the final exam (80% required to pass) on your first attempt, you’re allowed one re-try. After that, you’ll be charged a $100 re-take fee for each subsequent re-take of the exam. When you get to the end of the course and once you become SSDC you'll be able to access the entire curriculum for future reference.
Is there a discount for multiple coaches being certified from the same team?
Yes! If you have 5 or more coaches on your staff that you’d like to become SSDC, you'll receive a 20% discount. Just select the "Enrolling Multiple Coaches at Once?" option below to get the discount. You don't need to know who's getting access or have their email when you check out. Go ahead and enroll the number of coaches you'll need and you can email them access later.
Can I still have my team doing a SURGE Strength Program after I’ve achieved my SSDC?
Yes! While becoming SSDC will certainly provide you with the tools to create your own dryland program, you
might just want another expert to take on this role so you can concentrate on in-water training. We are here
to help! Of course, the greater the understanding you possess of sound dryland training principles, the more
effective an online SURGE Strength Program will be for you and your swimmers.
Learn More about a SURGE Strength Program
How is the certification different from The Hive powered by RITTER?
Great question and we’re glad you’ve already taken advantage of one of RITTER’s educational resources. The Hive is centered around swim coaching education, specifically what the best coaches are doing when it comes to their in-water training. There’s also access to live events, some of which are dryland-related. The SURGE Strength Dryland Certification is vastly superior in both depth and quantity of dryland information than in The Hive. It’s not just a few videos and a quick exam. Enrolling in the SURGE Strength Dryland Certification is committing to greatly increase your knowledge of dryland training while in a formalized curriculum with specific desired outcomes. If you have access to The Hive then you’re going to want to enroll in the SURGE Strength Dryland Certification. This will the best resource RITTER has created yet!
