Weight training related question

Another consideration for college distance swimmers is that they have a 20 hour training limit per week and lifting takes away from the pool time they require.

well I don't know a reason for it. I mean what about lifting weights to build muscular endurance? wouldn't that help swimming fast when you are long distance swimmer so you don't loose your strenght on the last few meters?

I lift but very light weights. A long time ago it was thought that if distance swimmers got muscle bound they woudl'nt be able to develop endurance and woudl over develop the wrong type of muscle. Now I think that the only thing to watch out for is not going to heavy to hurt your shoulders. I don't use barbells only bumbbells and machines.

I have been told to lift low weight at high reps. We did a circuit and started with a light weight and did 50 reps, then went through the circuit upping the weight a bit and doing 30 reps then again with a higher weight and 10 reps ... no brake until the entire circuit (5 different machines or exercises) was done all three times ... then we started over with a new circuit. We called it endurance lifting. Did that twice a week and "power lifted" once a week, felt really good with that ...

Distance swimming tends to require aerobic conditioning and speed; it's not really a function of power. The extra muscle mass from lifting requires a lot more oxygen, which can be difficult to maintain over a long race. This is not to say there shouldn’t be some strength training but more appropriate for the distance swimmer would be high reps with low weights or specific strengthening for swimming like core training, Vasa Trainers, stretch cords, etc. which will strengthen the lats and triceps and stabilize the rotator cuff. Basically this builds the type of strength you need for distance swimming which is the ability to sustain moderate output for long periods. Sorry for leading the thread on a tangent.

But this doesn't answer the question about why coaches/those in the know are saying that distance swimmers shouldn't lift, but sprinters should. Any coaches/"experts" out there who why, phsyiologically or whatever, that distance swimmers shouldn't lift weights or a lot of weights? Thanks!!

Well I would say, if you are in a spefic sport. That you use your wght training to enhance that sport. You may have to attack your mucsles from a different angle. Just say you are doing tennis , you would not train like a boxer. Of course some excerises may seem the same , but you may adjust from light weight to amore heavier weight. Or a combition of excerises. I found that if you do pulled down lat work it helps in swimming. Or any excerise that requires pulling from over head to chest and down.

NCAA Division I & II Bylaws: 17.1.5.1 Daily and Weekly Hour Limitations -- Playing Season A student-athlete's participation in countable athletically related activities (see Bylaw 17.02.1) shall be limited to a maximum of four hours per day and 20 hours per week. (Adopted: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91) The Division III Bylaws don't have the same limitation.

NCAA guidelines state that atheletes may only have 20 hours of practice/training time ... some coaches have "optional" practices that aren't really optional. I was at a D-I school so I don't know if D-3 is different, but I'd imagine it wasn't.

I went tot Division III school. It's a tough, liberal school in a small town. We had (and still have) a terible pool. We really didn't swim much more than 20 hours.