Hi all!
In this thread: forums.usms.org/showthread.php
...there are a lot of different opinions on how to lift weights in combination with swimming. The opinions are all spread out in between other comments and quotes so I thought I would start a separate thread about this topic as I think it might be of value for everyone to get it sorted out how and why you should lift weights in combination with swimming. If you know of another thread with exactly this topic pls let me know and i will add this comment in that thread instead.
My strong belief so far is the following (not at all stating that this is the truth, but it is the best theory I have heard so far):
You lift weights to become stronger
If you are stronger you need less % of your total capability to travel at the same speed you did before you bacame stronger.
This will lead to that you can swim at the same speed for a longer period of time OR simply do the same distance as before, but faster
This means that both sprinters and distance swimmers benefit from becoming stronger.
You don't want to build muscle mass, since that creates drag. However, for most of us this is not a problem because if you train on a regular basis in the gym, 3-4 times a week in a very focused way you might add on 0,5-1,0 kg/year....if you are under the age of 30. Above this age you tend to add on much less if anything at all.:cane:
You become stronger by lifting heavy weights. High reps does not make you stronger, it increases your endurance capabilies. Endurance you typically practice in the pool. I therefore focus on sets of 3-6 reps with heavy weights. The next week I focus on fast movements (beacasue heavy lifting is often a rather slow movement), reducing the weights to 60-70% of max to practice fast movements under pressure (like swimming, but to the extreme). The week after that is for high reps letting the muscles rest a bit but dont let them rest completely....then I start all over again.
I typically focus on basic exercises like: squats, dead lifts, bench presses, chins and a variety of stomach and lower back exercisesVery interested to hear your opinions of the above and also your own experiences.
/Per
Jazz....you throw bits and pieces out and never really give the kind of detail people would like for someone who is advocating that he has found the "Holy Grail" of training for the 50!
Here's the deal, 21.5 is a respectble time in the 50 free but even in the masters realm you have some work to do:
Top 10
50 Freestyle SCY Men 18-24 (2007) # Name Age Club LMSC Time
1 Daniel W Farnham 23 SKY Kentucky 20.34
2 Geoffrey A Meyer Jr 24 PAFC Delaware Valley 21.04
3 Christopher S Smith 22 WH2O Southern Pacific 21.37
4 Peter A Hagens 24 RAMS Pacific 21.47
5 Brian M Goldman 21 PNA Pacific Northwest 21.59
6 Michael Krayer 24 NCMS North Carolina 21.64
7 Brett T Bannan 24 UNAT Pacific 21.75
8 Shane Copsey 24 CMS Colorado 21.77
9 Zachary Hansen 24 IM Illinois 21.80
10 Chris Bernard 21 FLAQ Florida Gold Coast 21.95
10 Justin Stephenson 24 DAMM North Texas 21.95
Your emphasis on weights first in my opinion means you'll dead end sooner not later and its doubtful you'll be able to extend that 21.5 into a decent 100:
100 Freestyle SCY Men 18-24 (2007) # Name Age Club LMSC Time
1 Daniel W Farnham 23 SKY Kentucky 45.41
2 Geoffrey A Meyer Jr 24 PAFC Delaware Valley 45.83
3 Jonathan P Russell 24 WH2O Southern Pacific 46.48
4 Peter A Hagens 24 RAMS Pacific 46.58
5 Christopher S Smith 22 WH2O Southern Pacific 47.45
6 Michael Krayer 24 NCMS North Carolina 47.68
7 Chris D Bernard 21 FLAQ Florida Gold Coast 47.73
8 Jason Lyons 22 WSU Inland Northwest 47.93
9 Shane Copsey 24 CMS Colorado 48.32
10 Devin F Saez 23 LVM Southern Pacific 48.51
There's a lot you could most likely learn from quite a few of your elders here on this forum, and with the strength and raw speed you have you might be able to really show us something...but it sounds like you have your mind set on "what works for you" so I'll wish you good luck and hopefully we'll get to race someday!
PS: No I don't think creatine is controversial as I in fact have tried it and found mixed results. I can also say that my guess is at least 80-90% of most elite USS and College swimmers use it and things like Muscle Milk, Glutamine, Cytomax, etc. etc.
Its one of the reasons in my opinion you see more fast swims in season as they all are tremendous aids in recovery....this along with the new technology in suits and the advent of SDK's in fly/free/back, flip turns in backstroke and dolfin kicks in breastroke have led to most of the time improvements the last 10 years.
Jazz....you throw bits and pieces out and never really give the kind of detail people would like for someone who is advocating that he has found the "Holy Grail" of training for the 50!
Here's the deal, 21.5 is a respectble time in the 50 free but even in the masters realm you have some work to do:
Top 10
50 Freestyle SCY Men 18-24 (2007) # Name Age Club LMSC Time
1 Daniel W Farnham 23 SKY Kentucky 20.34
2 Geoffrey A Meyer Jr 24 PAFC Delaware Valley 21.04
3 Christopher S Smith 22 WH2O Southern Pacific 21.37
4 Peter A Hagens 24 RAMS Pacific 21.47
5 Brian M Goldman 21 PNA Pacific Northwest 21.59
6 Michael Krayer 24 NCMS North Carolina 21.64
7 Brett T Bannan 24 UNAT Pacific 21.75
8 Shane Copsey 24 CMS Colorado 21.77
9 Zachary Hansen 24 IM Illinois 21.80
10 Chris Bernard 21 FLAQ Florida Gold Coast 21.95
10 Justin Stephenson 24 DAMM North Texas 21.95
Your emphasis on weights first in my opinion means you'll dead end sooner not later and its doubtful you'll be able to extend that 21.5 into a decent 100:
100 Freestyle SCY Men 18-24 (2007) # Name Age Club LMSC Time
1 Daniel W Farnham 23 SKY Kentucky 45.41
2 Geoffrey A Meyer Jr 24 PAFC Delaware Valley 45.83
3 Jonathan P Russell 24 WH2O Southern Pacific 46.48
4 Peter A Hagens 24 RAMS Pacific 46.58
5 Christopher S Smith 22 WH2O Southern Pacific 47.45
6 Michael Krayer 24 NCMS North Carolina 47.68
7 Chris D Bernard 21 FLAQ Florida Gold Coast 47.73
8 Jason Lyons 22 WSU Inland Northwest 47.93
9 Shane Copsey 24 CMS Colorado 48.32
10 Devin F Saez 23 LVM Southern Pacific 48.51
There's a lot you could most likely learn from quite a few of your elders here on this forum, and with the strength and raw speed you have you might be able to really show us something...but it sounds like you have your mind set on "what works for you" so I'll wish you good luck and hopefully we'll get to race someday!
PS: No I don't think creatine is controversial as I in fact have tried it and found mixed results. I can also say that my guess is at least 80-90% of most elite USS and College swimmers use it and things like Muscle Milk, Glutamine, Cytomax, etc. etc.
Its one of the reasons in my opinion you see more fast swims in season as they all are tremendous aids in recovery....this along with the new technology in suits and the advent of SDK's in fly/free/back, flip turns in backstroke and dolfin kicks in breastroke have led to most of the time improvements the last 10 years.
