Vasa Trainer Pro & Swim Training Bench Product Description
If an exercise machine can help with increasing swimming speed and endurance, wouldn’t it be worth a try? We sure think so here at Swimfolk!
The Vasa Trainer Pro is an exercise machine that is specific in targeting muscular strength, balancing, coordination and core power, together with increasing speed and endurance. It works by using one’s own body weight for resistance, making it ideal for safely developing one’s natural form. It’s 64 pounds and made of aluminum monorail and epoxy-coated steel, strong enough to raise the body on an incline and hold it their comfortably. It comes with a bench, pull-up strap bar, handles, paddles and a pulley cable system, stretch cord and a FREE training manual. Click here to visit their official website.
According to Vasa advertisement of the product, these are the claims given for use of their machine.
- Building strength
- Improving one’s stroke technique
- Developing core
- Gaining leg power
How it Works
The Vasa Trainer Pro is a bench with pulleys on the front, and an adjustable sliding pad on the frame. Swimmer can lie down face down or face-up depending on which exercise is being performed; freestyle stroke drills, crunches, leg, biceps/triceps, back and chest. By sitting on the bench, swimmer can exercise shoulders and core.
See diagrams below.
Pros
One of the biggest pros for this machine is that it’s a great simulation to actually swimming in water. Also, by changing angle, using weight plates (to increase resistance) and cords, swimmer can receive practically a full body workout in 10-15 minutes. Machine is capable of 200 different exercises. Swimmers can do push and pull strokes, chin ups, work back, shoulders, legs and crunches for the core, to name a few.
The Vasa Trainer Pro is said to be awesome at teaching foundation strong catch (increasing swimming speed) as it builds strength. In fact, many swimmers prefer the Vasa to weight machines and traditional strength training because of its unique design, one can use hand/ankle weights and/or resistance bands making it easy on the joints. Those with back, shoulders, even knee problems have received excellent results witnessing increased range of motion by using this machine. This fact makes Vasa Training Pro a good choice for non swimmers as well. It’s a great dry land trainer that owners have declared help to increase their speed, lap time.
Cons
Unfortunately, the elastic bands/cords rot and the metal frame and parts wear out and break. Although, many users have claimed to have had their machines for 10-20 years. Also, early on, Vasa didn’t ship to all countries. Check with them directly to ensure that they ship to yours. Contact them at https://vasatrainer.com/blog/faster-freestyle-swimming-part-1/
Conclusion
Whether a swimmer, paddler, surfer, triathlete or sports enthusiasts, the Vasa Trainer Pro is a GREAT full body exercise machine. Plus, it can be used as an awesome therapeutic tool for low impact strength training. Machine allows users to work one part of body at a time (strengthening) or all together (aerobic). This flexibility covers a wide range of needs for a variety of people. Even those with long-standing injuries have expressed benefits from this machine’s functionality.
Swimfolk believes in practicing one’s swim strokes on dry land. With the Vasa Training Pro, this can be achieved easily and efficiently with noticeable results. We recommend this product.
If this post was helpful to you, please leave a comment below.
Hi Beverly,
Great review of the Vasa Trainer Pro. In general it looks like a great piece of equipment for a swimmer to train on, especially if he or she can’t get to the pool as often as they would like.
This actually looks like a good piece of work out equipment even for non-swimmers. The price point and they space requirements to have one may make it a stretch for non-swimmers BUT I’ve always heard swimming is one of the best all around workouts so you never know!
Thanks again for the great review,
Mat A.
Hi Mat,
You are spot on about Vasa helping both swimmers and non-swimmers. Vasa has a space-saving solution now that is very affordable. Vasatrainer.com makes a simple, affordable folding swim bench called the Sport Bench that would be a great tool for people who want a low-cost platform to do swim training and practicing breathing on land, as you suggested in that article.
Here is a link to learn more:
https://vasatrainer.com/product/vasa-sport-bench/
In my experience, it is very useful for all swimmers, especially adult learned swimmers or new swimmers, to gain swim-specific fitness and learn the correct stroke path on land as part of the learn to swim better progression. Many swim coaches who use Vasa products would concur with me on this point and often take swimmers from teaching on land into the water to practice certain segments or points about the stroke path. Some use front snorkels and pull buoys to reduce variables and allow the swimmer to focus on just the correct stroke path in the water, as they practiced on land.
Using any of the Vasa swim benches would work well, and the new Sport Bench when used with stretch cords and Vasa Power Paddles is a very affordable and accessible solution.
Thank you!
Rob Sleamaker
I certainly believe that this machine can improve your swimming speed.
This kind of training increases your strength and usually strength gives more power and thus more speed. The way the Vasatrainer does is to simulate swimming, that is you use the same movement as if you were swimming but with increased resistance.
It is like when you do running and your run up and downhill several times. You still run but you increase the resistance. This will make you stronger and this in turn will improve your running speed.
Jojo
Hello!
I am not a huge fan of swimming due to my own struggles as you mentioned about breathing. I tend to get very fatigued quickly and it forces me to lose interest in swimming. I love the water but I am not a very strong swimmer. I am a certified open water diver but would love to be a stronger swimmer. Do you think this piece of exercise equipment will help increase my endurance and help me to be a stronger swimmer or should I just keep to water and work on it?
The Vasa is an all around marvel. It’s low impact and practically everyone who has one says that it has increased their speed and endurance. Building swimmer muscles take time, but not as long as you may think. I’ve increased laps weekly and by a month’s end, couldn’t believe how efficient I had become. Plus, with this machine, you don’t even have to swim that often to get the benefit. It’s for dry land. That’s what I love about it! Congrats for your open water diving certification. That’s impressive!
Hello Ed,
You ask great questions and you are not alone with these concerns. At Vasa, we have had the privilege of working with swimmers and swim coaches of all abilities, from total beginners all the way up to Olympians, including MP himself! One of the most common threads we see is how training on any one of the Vasa swim benches helps people learn the correct stroke path while building up swim-specific endurance and ability to sustain power in the water. A more efficient stroke combined with improved swimming fitness is an incredible combination. I believe that a simple on-land progression in stroke efficiency and fitness can give non-swimmers who want to learn how to swim in the water a huge, safe, and fearless way to prepare for eventual face-in-the-water swimming. In fact, I know that at the US Naval Academy, the swim coach is often sought by coaches of other sports to help their athletes learn to swim so they can pass the swimming requirement. One of the first steps the swim coach takes is to put them of one of the Vasa Trainers in his Vasa fleet! He reported that this is a logical step in the progression to learn how to swim.
I urge you to find a way to practice the correct swimming strokes on land, where you don’t need to worry about in-water breathing or buoyancy. Build up your efficiency and endurance first. Then approach the water with a qualified coach or instructor. Hope that helps you! Best of success.
I see this trainer and realize how important money is. I can see the benefits of this machine as a muscle builder. Don’t pretend it is an excellent dry land trainer for freestyle. I’m sure it can build a lot of the muscles freestylers use. However muscle memory says that what I do when I work out with a machine repeating over and over again will carry over into the pool right? So where does the VASA give real muscle memory to the roll that is and should be inherent in the freestyle and to a lesser extent backstroke? How many dimensions does the VASA trainer “work” the muscles in a swimmer? Where does the VASA connect the core muscles to the swimmer if there is no real workout regarding the roll required? Most important: without the roll training as the arms move through their stroke how is the VASA NOT allowing the swimmer to overwork their rotator? Then there is head position: does the head up necessity of lying on a flat surface teach ANYTHING good to a freestyler. We all know that head up in the water means horrible body profile from the standpoint of loss of speed due to more drag? Have I just described a machine that does not teach even one set of muscles used in freestyle correctly?
Jay, you make very good, valid points, however, this machine is a great machine for people who cannot always be in the water by helping them maintain the muscle they’ve gained. Also, without rotating, swimmers can work on their high-elbow catch. or their kick, possibly on their breathing. With this machine, a swimmer can see what they’re doing wrong under the water. This can help improve a swimmer’s stroke/technique. This device tilts so that the head can be positioned downward. As far as muscles worked, this is considered a total body gym. You can be legs, upper body, core strengthening, and chest. This machine can be adjusted like the Bowflex. I hope this gives you a better view of this machine.