swim warm ups/stretching???

All I do is a few arm windmills and stretch out the back a little bit...that's it.  Never had any pain after a swim.

I do
* big arm circles
* wall stretch - first with my arms high on the wall and push my chest into the wall, then with one arm up at 45 degrees and turning my body away from it to stretch my chest
* overhead tricep stretch
* standing quad stretch
* standing toe touch

I prefer a long warm-up.  If I'm on my own I'll do a 400.  My coached workouts are usually the same but if we're doing a sprint night, we warm up for 800m.  For me, 100 wouldn't be nearly long enough.

Hope it's a one-off and your shoulder is back to normal from here on in. 

some people are more prone to shoulder issues, with swimming, than others.   If it is bothering you i would do a longer warm up like 400-500 yards.   also some range of motion type exercises with low (2.5-5 lbs) weight.  It is basically the big muscles dominating the smaller muscles in the shoulder and forcing it into bad positioning. 

Just wondering if it's due to breathing to the same side all the time.......

For a normal swim workout, my warmup is usually between 500 and 1000 yds. One of my favorites is 3x200 alternating 25 drill/25free. In between the 200s, I stretch my arms and back out against the side of the pool a little. IMHO, unless you have a history of shoulder problems, most shoulder pain from swimming is the result of stroke issues, not inadequate warmup. The most common one seems to be people who cross over on their hand entry, but there are other possibilities such as pushing down during the pull. Without a video, no one can tell you if that's the case.

I am new to swimming (9 mo and counting). But I have had come minor critiques. As far as I know I do not cross over and I usually swim on one side of the lane to ensure I am going straight. I think a lot of it is inexperience and pushing my limits.

Not sure your age, but I was having a lot of right shoulder issues about 5 years ago at age 48 (I only breathe right).  I suspected it was because I was not doing bilateral breathing; hoping it wasn't rotator cuff.  Had trouble reaching bike jersey pocket with right hand.  Went to a sports orthopedic doc to check out.  He said (after xray) it was mild bursitis, and asked me to review my pre-swim warm up and stretching routine.  I had none!  He said at our age, choice is proper stretching, or start giving up some activities.  The main ones were reaches across to "scratch behind" opposite shoulder, and thumb up against spine (as high as you can go) on your back.  He said assisting with the other arm was OK, as long as you don't force it.  Since then, NO shoulder pain, and much better range of motion for the stretching.  Makes bike rides more comfortable, too.  If you are old - stretch!

check out http://www.totalimmersion.net/ for some good technique tips.

I posted this on another thread...

I learned the hard way and never did warm ups which resulted in shoulder surgery.  I warm up before every swim work out for a few minutes.  A good one is to bend over and rotate arm in a circular motion which moves fluid into the shoulder joints.  My surgeon suggested this warm up and I haven't had problems since.

My warm up is 1000-1300m. It includes swim/kick/pull. transition set with drills and than I move to the main set. Total about 15-20min to warm up.

Ok sounds like I will be practicing my windmill fighting tech before each swim...