Looking at some pro swimmers I could not help noticing how big and muscular they are.Does bigger muscular weight contribute positively to speed or not?Phelps is awesome and definitely not the bulkiest guy in the pool.
I am 6'1'' and only weigh 160 lb. It's all muscles(award from my 5 years of weightlifting).I look heavier than what I weigh but still would like to gain more muscles( and strengh!) which I always had a problem with unless I ate 6 times a day.Swimming is even more calorie-consuming, so I think I am stuck where I am.But the question is:is that ok to be lighter in order to be faster?
Thanks.
Former Member
There's a lot of speculation about this subject, because most people tend to think that if you've got bigger muscles, you can pull/kick harder, and generate more speed....what they don't realize is that muscle weighs a lot, so the bigger you are, the more you weigh, thus, the more you have to work to get from one end of the pool to the other. As a female, I've been trained to be toned and focus more on my endurance and speed training than muscles, I assume it's mostly the same for guys, since you don't see a bunch of really ripped body builders setting world records. But that's me, I guess....you'd probably benefit more from a male's point of view.
Dima, you may get advice from people in a very different situation than yours. In high school, I would put on about 10 lbs in-season from added muscle (due to practice intensity, weight room, and dryland exercises). If I were to get in *serious* swimming shape now, I'd probably lose 15 lbs (even if I hit the weight room big-time), due to the non-functional weight hanging around my waist. :D
Keep in mind that strength is not the only component in swimming fast. As you build up in strength, unless you do a lot of stretching, you will lose flexibility. This will hurt your streamline, and probably endurance. Also, you'll need to work on your technique, so that your added strength goes into propelling you forward, instead of frothing up the water.
There is a huge difference between having "Muscles" and having swimming muscles. Being able to bench press 300 pounds will not make you faster. Overall muscle contitioning is important. Having taught Nautilus, I believe the se machines can best duplicate many swimming motions. The Superpullover is perfect for all strokes.
The biggest change in swimming over the last 10 years has been the return of "core body" strenth. All sports are returning to this. When I as a kid, we did 100 situps a day. Now people like Tiger Woods, Mark Meguiar, and many others do 800 sit ups a day.
The martial arts all emphasize core body strength and power coming from within. Same goes for swimming now.
Sports Scientists have measured our Olympic swimmers for two decades now, the common thread amoung the winners is they were not the strongest measured, they were more flexible. Range of motion allows putting strength over a longer distance, hence power is greater.
I have an article on Weight Training at www.breaststroke.info that may help you, as well as some on stretching.
Coach Wayne McCauley
ASCA Level 5
For swimmers who does short distance is important to have a lot of strength.
They can do some building in a gymn and some exercise out of the water.
But, is my personal thought, who does from 200m to open water distance, have to do strenght in the water and not in a gymn.
I'm never been in a gymn.
Look at Hacket body difference from Hall...
It all depends on what u swim
For short distances having more muscle is important
For longer distances it is better to have less muscle so you pull less :D
