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
Parents
Former Member
I think there are two things going on in weight lifting, the first is that as Jake pointed out, it creates/changes slow twitch into fast twitch fibers. This is undeniably good for a sprinter, because it allows to move their arms through the water quicker, creating more propulsion. The other factor is the actual *bulking up* i.e. putting on x pounds of muscle. In the gym, both of these have the same results (being able to put up more weight than you could before). However, it could be that just one of these factors (the fast twitch muscle %) actually improves sprinting speed. This might be the reason that guys like Mangini are very small, yet are able to move very fast. I would also be willing to bet that if you took some of those guys and put them into the gym, they could do some impressive stuff. It would be interesting to see a comparison between typical weight lifting, highly explosive medicine ball workouts, and regular sprint training.
And Paul, if you are really into crossfit, check out the workout of the day here: navyseals.com/crossfit-workout-day
I think there are two things going on in weight lifting, the first is that as Jake pointed out, it creates/changes slow twitch into fast twitch fibers. This is undeniably good for a sprinter, because it allows to move their arms through the water quicker, creating more propulsion. The other factor is the actual *bulking up* i.e. putting on x pounds of muscle. In the gym, both of these have the same results (being able to put up more weight than you could before). However, it could be that just one of these factors (the fast twitch muscle %) actually improves sprinting speed. This might be the reason that guys like Mangini are very small, yet are able to move very fast. I would also be willing to bet that if you took some of those guys and put them into the gym, they could do some impressive stuff. It would be interesting to see a comparison between typical weight lifting, highly explosive medicine ball workouts, and regular sprint training.
And Paul, if you are really into crossfit, check out the workout of the day here: navyseals.com/crossfit-workout-day
