Is this type and amount of weightlifting enough?

Think of the muscles that you us in swimming strokes & work on those. Squats for the start & turns , I guess . Lat pull downs & tri work will help.

Think of the muscles that you us in swimming strokes & work on those. Squats for the start & turns , I guess . Lat pull downs & tri work will help. I disagree, I think that a good weight-lifting program should be more well-rounded for overall fitness and health, for better muscular "balance" if you will. And ultimately I think this is good for swimming as well. I also disagree with Paul about bench press being useless for swimmers. And I don't know that it poses any more danger than most other exercises, any of which -- if done incorrectly -- can lead to injury.

I disagree, I think that a good weight-lifting program should be more well-rounded for overall fitness and health, for better muscular "balance" if you will. And ultimately I think this is good for swimming as well. I also disagree with Paul about bench press being useless for swimmers. And I don't know that it poses any more danger than most other exercises, any of which -- if done incorrectly -- can lead to injury. Chris, feel free to disagree but my argument is based on having been through two shoulder surgeries for just what I explained. I'll take my own experience along with the Doctors who treated me and/or we have worked with for our team (Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail and Dr. Kip Sharpe orthopedic surgeon for the Chicago Cubs) along with at least a dozen college and club coaches who's programs I highly respect and who have left bench press many years ago. A swimmer can go through their career never getting injured doing bench press but those that do this exercise without doing strength training for the surrounding muscle groups in the shoulders and supportive muscles in the back are at higher risk...for minimal gain (in swimming)....IMHO! Just one of many articles that offer a very good overview of what I'm talking about: www.livestrong.com/.../

My take: With swimming, any exercise that involves the shoulders should be done with more caution than compared to non swimmers, especially with high yardage types. Some exercises (e.g. bench) generally might present greater risk, but this may not be the case for all swimmers since God made everbody is different. So you have to play it by ear.

Chris, feel free to disagree but my argument is based on having been through two shoulder surgeries for just what I explained. I'll take my own experience along with the Doctors who treated me and/or we have worked with for our team (Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail and Dr. Kip Sharpe orthopedic surgeon for the Chicago Cubs) along with at least a dozen college and club coaches who's programs I highly respect and who have left bench press many years ago. A swimmer can go through their career never getting injured doing bench press but those that do this exercise without doing strength training for the surrounding muscle groups in the shoulders and supportive muscles in the back are at higher risk...for minimal gain (in swimming)....IMHO! Just one of many articles that offer a very good overview of what I'm talking about: www.livestrong.com/.../ I've found weight training helpful, even bench press. I don't think you're advocating discarding weight training per se, just bench press (flat bench only? or incline/decline bench too?). Personally I've found flat bench helpful, though I don't concentrate on that exercise and if I do some flat bench I try to balance with rows and lat pulldowns. A big thing for me is back exercises, as swimming has overdeveloped the muscles that tend to decrease the curvature of my lower back (hamstrings especially) doing squats and roman bench seem to keep me relatively in line. If I don't lift, things like my knees and back start to ache. So ultimately, weights help me from getting injured doing other things like swimming. A good weight program for swimming can include bench and other "power" lifts, as long as it is tailored to an individual it shouldn't cause injury.

Swimming Anatomy Amazon.com: Swimming Anatomy (9780736075718): Ian McLeod: Books is a great book to have if you want to see which weights to do and what parts of your swimming they help. Most can be done at a home gym but some require gym machines.

Bench press is technically riskier than other exercises as the tendons involved are much weaker than the muscles involved. However, the OP is benching 140lbs, at that level I would say bench is definitely important as it is one of the best overall upper body mass/strength builders and risk of injury is no greater than most other exercises I would think. From Dr. Kip "Certainly doing it correctly is better than incorrectly, but I am still opposed to bench press for the following reasons: 1) Very hard to get people to do it right, and there is risk of injury when they do it wrong. 2) A common problem seen in weight lifters, and linked to bench press, is inflammation and later arthritis at the acromio-clavicular joint. There is even a "disease" called osteolysis of the distal clavicle seen in weight (read bench press) lifters. This is , I believe in large part caused by a fixed bar which doesn't allow normal protraction of the scapula as the arms come forward. If one is going to bench press, it should be with dumbbells, not barbells. (the Chicago Cubs, who are very concerned about expensive shoulder health , only allow bench with dumbbells)" It's simply a matter of "risk vs. reward"....I'm in the camp with folks I have already mentioned that believe for the most part that this weight training exercise can be excluded with minimal impact on performance...yet those that choose to do it...particularly adults who have "read" about it on forums and men's health magazines are at high risk of having it be a negative impact on their SWIMMING career. Fritznh....love weight training and have found it to be very beneficial...just think there are far better exercises for adult competitive swimmers.

Bench press is technically riskier than other exercises as the tendons involved are much weaker than the muscles involved. However, the OP is benching 140lbs, at that level I would say bench is definitely important as it is one of the best overall upper body mass/strength builders and risk of injury is no greater than most other exercises I would think.

Get rid of bench press, absolutely no need for it as a swimmer and ultimately it can lead to some serious issues....you get all the front/upper chest work you need in the pool. Dead lifts? Med Balls? Box jumps? Pull up's?

I don't have a good sense how much you swim so hard to say how much lifting will interfere or if you will be doing overkill on your body, but the keys to getting the most out of lifting on it's own are (1) Heavy weight (2) Low Reps (3) Eating/Sleeping a lot The rest is just details. 3x a week is fine. Stick to a rep range of no more than 6 in any exercise in my opinion.