Weight lifting and swimming

Jazz would it be okay to share your exact lifting programme with us. I am at a loss for what to do not having ever worked out in a gym before. I thought I would start off with Coach T's programme. I am still googling things like 'Triceps extension', 'Military press', etc. I have no idea what they mean. But it would be great to see what you do and compare your routine. Most of the bodybuilding sites on the Internet are not for swimming at all. It would be much better to follow a programme designed for an actual swimmer who has had good results. And for that matter, seeing as the thread is about weight lifting, anybody else want to post their routine. It could lead to an interesting discussion on the inclusion or exclusion of certain exercises, etc. Syd Hi, Syd. You can see my exact routine in my training log thread. I've just started it, but it should become clear fairly soon what my basic outline is. I've already had one person ask me to help him with a lifting routine on this forum, and I gave him a version of my favorite beginner template. It's not perfect, and only myself, my brother, and his best friend have been using it so far. We have had good results. Hopefully if more people try it, I can make positive changes. The template is to do three workouts a week. In each workout you do at least three lifts: one upper body pushing motion, one upper body pulling motion, and one lower body motion like a squat or a deadlift. The goal is to slowly and gradually increase strength in the exercises you choose. Different motions emphasize different muscles, so you would do well to learn about strength training anatomy and apply it in order to get a balanced workout routine. ExRx is a good site for that, and they also have demonstrations of popular exercises. If you look at that ExRx front page, you'll see two columns. In general, I think the Muscles column on the left will give you the most reliable and universal information. The Exercises column on the right has good information, but it can be incomplete or misleading sometimes, especially with regards to which muscles are being emphasized on which lifts. Here's what I mean by applying information about muscle groups. This is important for selecting leg exercises. The deadlift (with a regular barbell) is a very hip dominant motion. It involves the hamstrings and glutes to much greater extent than the quads. It's also a good exercise for the upper trapezius, which generally won't be used much in the upper body pushing and pulling lifts. The squat is different. You don't really use upper body muscle at all except for abs and lower back, and the quads are much more involved. Depending on how you squat, the hamstrings might not be emphasized as much as in a deadlift. There are plenty of examples of that. Basically, when you choose an angle of motion or a certain way of holding the bar, you are choosing to emphasize certain muscle groups. Because of this, you have to take a certain amount of care in developing a balanced program. For swimming, I think a good starting point for the three exercises is as follows: Chin-ups Dips Trap bar deadlift Your gym might not have a trap bar. In that case, you could alternate squats and deadlifts on different workouts, or maybe do one set of each. With regards to sets and reps, do what you are comfortable with. I often find that sometimes my first set of an exercise is a bit sluggish, and I do better in my second one. After that, I'm done. But you may choose to do only one set of an exercise, especially if it's a difficult one, or several sets. In general, the more sets you do, the less each added set will add to what you get from that workout. Use an amount of weight that is heavy, but that you feel comfortable handling. In general, this should mean between 4 and 12 reps. It's okay to mix up the number of reps you do between sets and workouts. Weight can be changed in chin-ups and dips by using an assist machine or a dip belt. Syd, I hope this will all be helpful. If you have any questions, you can send me a private message.

Jazz would it be okay to share your exact lifting programme with us. I am at a loss for what to do not having ever worked out in a gym before. I thought I would start off with Coach T's programme. I am still googling things like 'Triceps extension', 'Military press', etc. I have no idea what they mean. But it would be great to see what you do and compare your routine. Most of the bodybuilding sites on the Internet are not for swimming at all. It would be much better to follow a programme designed for an actual swimmer who has had good results. And for that matter, seeing as the thread is about weight lifting, anybody else want to post their routine. It could lead to an interesting discussion on the inclusion or exclusion of certain exercises, etc. Syd Hi, Syd. You can see my exact routine in my training log thread. I've just started it, but it should become clear fairly soon what my basic outline is. I've already had one person ask me to help him with a lifting routine on this forum, and I gave him a version of my favorite beginner template. It's not perfect, and only myself, my brother, and his best friend have been using it so far. We have had good results. Hopefully if more people try it, I can make positive changes. The template is to do three workouts a week. In each workout you do at least three lifts: one upper body pushing motion, one upper body pulling motion, and one lower body motion like a squat or a deadlift. The goal is to slowly and gradually increase strength in the exercises you choose. Different motions emphasize different muscles, so you would do well to learn about strength training anatomy and apply it in order to get a balanced workout routine. ExRx is a good site for that, and they also have demonstrations of popular exercises. If you look at that ExRx front page, you'll see two columns. In general, I think the Muscles column on the left will give you the most reliable and universal information. The Exercises column on the right has good information, but it can be incomplete or misleading sometimes, especially with regards to which muscles are being emphasized on which lifts. Here's what I mean by applying information about muscle groups. This is important for selecting leg exercises. The deadlift (with a regular barbell) is a very hip dominant motion. It involves the hamstrings and glutes to much greater extent than the quads. It's also a good exercise for the upper trapezius, which generally won't be used much in the upper body pushing and pulling lifts. The squat is different. You don't really use upper body muscle at all except for abs and lower back, and the quads are much more involved. Depending on how you squat, the hamstrings might not be emphasized as much as in a deadlift. There are plenty of examples of that. Basically, when you choose an angle of motion or a certain way of holding the bar, you are choosing to emphasize certain muscle groups. Because of this, you have to take a certain amount of care in developing a balanced program. For swimming, I think a good starting point for the three exercises is as follows: Chin-ups Dips Trap bar deadlift Your gym might not have a trap bar. In that case, you could alternate squats and deadlifts on different workouts, or maybe do one set of each. With regards to sets and reps, do what you are comfortable with. I often find that sometimes my first set of an exercise is a bit sluggish, and I do better in my second one. After that, I'm done. But you may choose to do only one set of an exercise, especially if it's a difficult one, or several sets. In general, the more sets you do, the less each added set will add to what you get from that workout. Use an amount of weight that is heavy, but that you feel comfortable handling. In general, this should mean between 4 and 12 reps. It's okay to mix up the number of reps you do between sets and workouts. Weight can be changed in chin-ups and dips by using an assist machine or a dip belt. Syd, I hope this will all be helpful. If you have any questions, you can send me a private message.