I am going to kind of agree with Geek on this one too(gasp.) I think that swimming is the best way to develope timing,flexibility,and biomechanics for swimming. I don't find I can develope power fo'r sprinting without weights. I can't improve core stregth without ball exercises and I can't develope leg endurance for breaststroke without biking(swimming enough breaststroke to do so kills my knees)
I have been trying to do a split ever since I saw jc van damme jump up and support himself across the walls of an elevator, (with legs only), that had the floor fall out of it. It left his hands free to snap the necks of a few bad guys.
I consider this a useful skill to try to obtain, though, I don't see a benefit to my swimming. Now, the forward bend hampstring stretch....big swimming benefit.
David:
You better stay off those walls then! I'm so sorry about your marathon. Here you were trying to cross train and do something without walls and you were still stymied by the non-swimming hampstrings. Are you that guy doing all that fly in Terry's group? Do you have big strong shoulders from that heavy lifting job of yours? I'm thinking that might account for those healthy fly shoulders...
Terry and David:
I don't know about you two, but I'm doing fly on Thursday.
Terry, the concept of yoga sort of appeals, but I'm already flexible and I'd rather do pilates. But no time. Cross country skiing. Too cold. I spent/wasted my entire youth in the states of Minnesota, New Hampshire and Illinois. Rowing. My husband did that in college. Now we could start a thread on whether cross training with rowing helps swimming. My husband is always telling me I should get on that rowing machine....
This is a funny thread.:rofl:
Globuggie and Ande:
I was a former gymnast and I can still do the SPLITS. But it is a party trick I only do to entertain my children (when I'm sufficiently warmed up). In fact, I think too much flexibility (apart from shoulders and ankles) is bad. I have a flexible, constantly arched back. Sometimes when I'm swimming I have to really concentrate on getting the arch out of my back so as not to break streamline. A friend from the lovely and inviting state of NC -- not Geek or Gull -- taught me the "suck in your stomach" drill for maintaining streamlines on free. Now I do need to work on my other splits... My 100 IM splits are a travesty. I'm sure I would be faster if I could do an elegant and refined butterfrog instead of the :frustrated: breaststroke.
I think my hampstrings are engaged at every wall.
Tightness and cramping in the hampstrings has long been an issue for me.(my work involves lots of heavy lifting)
During the manhattan marathon swim this year, i was forced to resign after about 16 miles due to hampstring cramping.
Splits could be part of your cross training. Is this thread remmnents of 2005?
We have always considered times in workouts, more important in longer swims than 100 but still important in the 100. We know if you go out to slow for the first 25 of a 50 or 100 you are in for a slow time.
I always worked on how fast I had to do each 25 on my way to a 100.
Terry and David:
I don't know about you two, but I'm doing fly on Thursday.
Terry, the concept of yoga sort of appeals, but I'm already flexible and I'd rather do pilates. But no time. Cross country skiing. Too cold. I spent/wasted my entire youth in the states of Minnesota, New Hampshire and Illinois. Rowing. My husband did that in college. Now we could start a thread on whether cross training with rowing helps swimming. My husband is always telling me I should get on that rowing machine....
leslie - i love the rowing machine. it is one of the few arm machines that really doesn't hurt my shoulders. my coach said it was okay to do since I wasn't reaching overhead or around. I found another thread, forums.usms.org/showthread.php,
where other swimmers talk about enjoying rowing with swimming. You should give it a try.
