I have been reading and watching posts and replies, on the General forum, as well as Coaching forum, that seem to dismiss the importance of having developed triceps. I may be wrong, but what I surmised is that even though having a longer stroke is of great importance (and I am an advocate of a longer sroke depending upon the distance and actual stroke being swum), that many people including Kaizen making statements that a long stroke is better, there is much conclusion that "finishing" the stroke lower on the leg has several problems: 1) it takes tricep strength so avoid it and 2) finishing shorter and closer to the waist area is the way to go.
Now granted, a 50 free sprint probably needs a lesser SPL than a 200 or 400, but my concern in this topic is that there may be a message to other swimmers that finishing later on the body requires more strength in the back of the arm (triceps) so avoid it. My Word: Wrong!!
Every great, great swimmer I have ever seen has the arms of Hercules, both in biceps, shoulders and triceps. And even at my older age and a fatter body, the one remaining muscle group that is ripped is the triceps on my arms because they have been trained over years and carry me through even now. Having these great muscles developed continues to aid in my powerfully finishing my stroke and setting up for the next one. Triceps DO provide propulsion in the stroke finish/recovery portion of the stroke, so making sure they are developed, as well as other components of your body, is extremely important. Just one swimmer's point of view....and open for discussion.....
donna
Just in case I missed somebody else's post, I would direct you to "Swimming Anatomy" by Ian McLeod.
It describes which muscles are used for each stroke (or more than one) and how best to strengthen these (dryland).
It's a great book (and no, I'm not getting any commission from the publishers.
I agree. Well worth the price.
Without getting into the question of transferability of dry land strength to the water, here is a little tidbit: I am 1.88m. tall and weigh about 94kg. (6"2, about 207lbs.) and have been strength training for years. I am pretty strong and muscular. I do weighted dips for reps and multiple sets with 25kg. around my waist. Yet the slender teenage girl swimming in the lane next to me today, with toothpick arms, swam much faster than me. Hmm....
As to the question: I truly feel that unless you simply enjoy lifting weights as I do, you can get all the triceps development you need from pushups. There are many varieties. As a rule, the closer your hands are the more stress on the triceps. The pushup is a very challenging exercise for women.
Just in case I missed somebody else's post, I would direct you to "Swimming Anatomy" by Ian McLeod.
It describes which muscles are used for each stroke (or more than one) and how best to strengthen these (dryland).
It's a great book (and no, I'm not getting any commission from the publishers.
I agree. Well worth the price.
Without getting into the question of transferability of dry land strength to the water, here is a little tidbit: I am 1.88m. tall and weigh about 94kg. (6"2, about 207lbs.) and have been strength training for years. I am pretty strong and muscular. I do weighted dips for reps and multiple sets with 25kg. around my waist. Yet the slender teenage girl swimming in the lane next to me today, with toothpick arms, swam much faster than me. Hmm....
As to the question: I truly feel that unless you simply enjoy lifting weights as I do, you can get all the triceps development you need from pushups. There are many varieties. As a rule, the closer your hands are the more stress on the triceps. The pushup is a very challenging exercise for women.
