Hi,
I'm a 41 year old masters swimmer. I have no past experience in swimming. Started swimming 2 year ago, took a few private lessons to learn free style. Today I swim about 3 times a week with a masters group, 2-3 Km each time.
I'm not competing, but I do want to challenge myself and improve my times. The problem is that it is hard for me to incorporate more than 3 swimming sessions a week. So I started thinking about dry land exercises. I thought about running in order to improve my cardio, and gym training in order to improve my power and speed. But I find it hard to find reliable and relevant information on which exercises or technics to use. Most resources I find are designed for young competitive swimmers. I'm really not there. For example, I don't need exercises to improve my exit from the blocks. That is the least of my problems. I encountered some resources which state that Crossfit is a good match for swimmers. But again, some other resources dispute that.
I would appreciate of someone can share or recommend from his personal experience.
Thanks !
CrossFit would be good - IF you have a good gym around you. I've been doing it for 6+ years now, first as my only fitness regimen in my swimming hiatus and now as my swimming dryland. CrossFit taught and programmed well is good for general athleticism and cardio and power/speed. CrossFit taught and programmed poorly is a recipe for burnout and injuries. I could check websites of gyms around you if you wanted.
Otherwise, if you're OK with working out by yourself, a simple squat/bench/press/deadlift/auxiliary lift all rotated around a couple times a week would be something that would work well. Plenty of different options for doing that - no need to reinvent the wheel.
I would say swimming 3x per week you don't need any extra cardio. Maybe a brisk walk once or twice a week if you wanted.
Observation from an orthopedic surgeon friend: "Cross Fit is the best thing to happen to my business since home trampolines."
CrossFit would be good - IF you have a good gym around you. I've been doing it for 6+ years now, first as my only fitness regimen in my swimming hiatus and now as my swimming dryland. CrossFit taught and programmed well is good for general athleticism and cardio and power/speed. CrossFit taught and programmed poorly is a recipe for burnout and injuries. I could check websites of gyms around you if you wanted.
Otherwise, if you're OK with working out by yourself, a simple squat/bench/press/deadlift/auxiliary lift all rotated around a couple times a week would be something that would work well. Plenty of different options for doing that - no need to reinvent the wheel.
I would say swimming 3x per week you don't need any extra cardio. Maybe a brisk walk once or twice a week if you wanted.
Observation from an orthopedic surgeon friend: "Cross Fit is the best thing to happen to my business since home trampolines."
