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
As a former powerlifter, I have to jump in whenever someone uses the term 'tone'. There is no such thing when it comes to resistance training as an activity. Muscles do one of two things:
1) They grown larger and/or longer
2) They grow smaller and/or shorter.
Now the goal of any resistance training program is to acheive option 1 but different programs acheive this at a varied rate of success. Muscle fibers tend to like status quo. So the goal of any resistance training exercise is to stress them to induce growth. This stress is actually a tearing down and rebuilding of the actual muscle fibers. The exercise performed creates the stress which 'damages' the muscle fibers of the targeted muscle group. The body reacts to this damage by repairing the damage during periods of rest and also creating more and/or denser muscle fibers to help resist any further 'damage'.
It is this mechanism that creates the plateaus that occur during long term training of any kind. The body becomes adapted to the stress levels applied and because of this adaptation, now longer is 'reacting' to the levels of stress in a way that is requiring growth. That reaction is a huge reason why any long term resistance training program needs to be re-evaluated on a 8-10 week basis and why using multiple exercises and multiple angles of attack of each targeted muscle group is critical.
Wow, I wandered off my original point a bit here. Back to the term 'toning'. There is no such thing as performing toning exercises. There are no exercises that will get you 'toned'. Toned is just a term referring to how visible your muscles are and no amount of weight lifting will 'tone' you. It's a combination of building muscle and losing the layer (or in my case LAYERS) of subcutaneous (i.e under the skin) fat.
To simplify:
Lower rep (4-6), higher weight (80% max) exercises help build additional muscle fiber
Higher rep (12-15), lower weight (50-60% max) exercises help build additional muscle fiber
Wow, they BOTH help build muscle? How is THAT possible?
BUT, each does it to a differing success level. And to do it effectively a balance between the two needs to be maintained in training (remember the body's ability to adapt?). And training closer to lower rep, higher weight ranges will create more 'stress' on muscles and will promote the highest degree of hypertrophy ( a fancy term meaning muscle growth). Does this mean that lifting this way will 'bulk' you up? No, not for most of the human population and I mean both male and female. Both men and women should engage in strength training exercises on a regular basis.
Paul
As a former powerlifter, I have to jump in whenever someone uses the term 'tone'. There is no such thing when it comes to resistance training as an activity. Muscles do one of two things:
1) They grown larger and/or longer
2) They grow smaller and/or shorter.
Now the goal of any resistance training program is to acheive option 1 but different programs acheive this at a varied rate of success. Muscle fibers tend to like status quo. So the goal of any resistance training exercise is to stress them to induce growth. This stress is actually a tearing down and rebuilding of the actual muscle fibers. The exercise performed creates the stress which 'damages' the muscle fibers of the targeted muscle group. The body reacts to this damage by repairing the damage during periods of rest and also creating more and/or denser muscle fibers to help resist any further 'damage'.
It is this mechanism that creates the plateaus that occur during long term training of any kind. The body becomes adapted to the stress levels applied and because of this adaptation, now longer is 'reacting' to the levels of stress in a way that is requiring growth. That reaction is a huge reason why any long term resistance training program needs to be re-evaluated on a 8-10 week basis and why using multiple exercises and multiple angles of attack of each targeted muscle group is critical.
Wow, I wandered off my original point a bit here. Back to the term 'toning'. There is no such thing as performing toning exercises. There are no exercises that will get you 'toned'. Toned is just a term referring to how visible your muscles are and no amount of weight lifting will 'tone' you. It's a combination of building muscle and losing the layer (or in my case LAYERS) of subcutaneous (i.e under the skin) fat.
To simplify:
Lower rep (4-6), higher weight (80% max) exercises help build additional muscle fiber
Higher rep (12-15), lower weight (50-60% max) exercises help build additional muscle fiber
Wow, they BOTH help build muscle? How is THAT possible?
BUT, each does it to a differing success level. And to do it effectively a balance between the two needs to be maintained in training (remember the body's ability to adapt?). And training closer to lower rep, higher weight ranges will create more 'stress' on muscles and will promote the highest degree of hypertrophy ( a fancy term meaning muscle growth). Does this mean that lifting this way will 'bulk' you up? No, not for most of the human population and I mean both male and female. Both men and women should engage in strength training exercises on a regular basis.
Paul
