Oscillatory training is resistance training with a light weight in a very limited range of motion- 4-6 inches. And very fast movment. For example, on a bench press, you use a weight about 1/2 your max. and move it up and down very quickly from about 4 inches above your chest to about 8 inches above your chest. Do this for 5-10 reps, then do a full range movement to work the entire range of movement.
This article explains why this little-known type of training is beneficial. http://vandykestrength.com/pages/oc_training_methods
Basically, the concept is that your body doesn't want to get injured. So, it has special fibers intended to keep things from moving in a dangerous way. However, these muscle movement inhibitors, such as Golgi Tendon Units also inhibit muscle movement that is non-injurious. So, they slow you down in an effort to protect you.
Doing oscillatory movements teaches these fibers that it is ok to move like this and to get out of the way so you can move quickly. Oscillatory movements are also great at fixing a difficult sticking point in your strength. For example, on the bench press, you might be plenty strong on the last part of the lift, but have trouble at the bottom of the lift. Working on oscillatory movements with a lighter weight at the bottom of the lift will help you get past this sticking point.
Strength is important in sport, but sometimes our strength training is done at speeds that are slower than athletic movements. Most normal strength training is considerably slower than move movements done in sports. So, strength training can slow you down as the body gets used to the slower speeds. So, some faster movements are also necessary, such as Olympic lifts, plyometric training, ballistic training, training with light weights at high speed, and oscillatory training.
You don't want your muscles to be trained to be slow. You want them to be used to going fast so they will go fast in the race. Paddling at speeds that are slower than race pace and normal weight training can make the muscles used to this slow movement speed. Oscillatory training is one type of training that you can use that can help get the muscles used to faster speeds.
Here is the link to the article: http://vandykestrength.com/pages/oc_training_methods
