weight lifting program for swimming?

if your not careful weight lifting in most capacities can increase your weight,remember muscle weighs more than fat.However muscle is greatly needed in swimming strength,so perhaps a moderate workout may get you what you need!!!!go for it m8

Yes weightlifting is a part of swimming. The difference however is that swimmers usually gear their weight training toward strength and endurance rather than strength/bulk. The heavier the weight one lifts the more the bulk. The more sets at a moderate weight the more the strength. Not too many people tend to compete in football and swimming. Mostly because of the tie in for the season, but also because well, it's hard to do! Most football players need A. Bulk for the tackle or B. Speed to catch the ball. I think a punter/kicker (or even a running back) would be most like a swimmer and have a good balance because swimming really develops the legs that would complement not only the kicker's training, but his body type.

I'd recommend an "explosive" routine utilizing heavy weights and low reps in order to maintain and increase strength as the body sheds unnecessary muscle while streamlining itself for swimming. clyde

I know a guy who used to do both football and swimming, and he told me that his weight used to fluctuate significantly depending on what season he was in. He would bulk up a lot for football, but then it would come off for swimming. He finally decided that he needed to give one of them up. I think you're on the right track doing high reps and using low weight. Squats may be useful in building the muscles you use in kicking off from the wall on turns. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to find exercises using barbells or dumbbells that workout the exact muscles you use in any of the strokes. If you have access to the exercise apparatus where you pull down on a bar with your arms and (through ropes and pullies) it lifts a variable amount of weight, this may do a good job of exercising some of the muscles you use in your arm stroke.

well, I kind of made my own shoulder and arm exercises that work the muscles that you use to swim. and I already know ALOT about weight lifting, and bodybuilding, so I know that High weight and Low reps increases mass, and Hi reps with Low weight helps muscle endurance, and is used to tone the muscle. So I am focusing on muscle endurance untill swimming, I'm looking to gain anymore weight

I strongly believe weights should be part of a good swim program. I may have what you need at my web site www.breaststroke.info. You need to be more than strong though, in testing of the winners of Olympic swimming, the winners are usually not the strongest, but are more flexible. So a good program of stretching for flexibility shoud be included. Coach Wayne McCauley ASCA Level 5

i already do yoga, I can do the splits, and I can reach 25in. past my toes(knees straight, not bent), and nice site, I put it on my favorites, it has alot of good information on it

thanks, so I'll do reps of like 20. but I really don't like using the machines, I'll do free weights, like this: Bicep curls 25lbs - 20 reps, 3 or 4 sets that's just one example. now I have to find the time and the energy to do my swimming workouts, because I am not quiting football.

I agree with Wayne. Weights will greatly improve your power for sprinting, but stretching is essential. Big arms and shoulders aren't worth beans if you can't find a range of motion to use them. Reps of 10 which bring you to the point of failure are great in building muscle and overall strength. But personally I've found that high reps (20) can be beneficial and don't add the bulk that can tighten you up. I read somewhere a while back in a study of swimmers where one group did all around muscle trainining by using machines and bar bells, and the other focused on their swimming specific muscles by doing mostly dips and pull-ups (no free weights). Interestingly enough the group that did the dips and pull-ups gained muscle and strength benefits very similiar to the weight trainers, and were found to be slightly faster in the pool.