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
Weight lifting is good for swimming but I suggest you lift only small weight because your body is already having an exercise in the water when you have strokes using your arms.
Goggle,
Please take a more in depth read of my previous post. Lifting small weight as you say will either have no effect or have a very small increase in muscle strength. I do not recommend that swimmers pursue an all low rep high weight routine that is intended to increase muscle mass significantly but I do recommend that low-rep high weight routines be included to help vary the 'stress' on the muscle groups that will a) encourage them to grow and b) prevent them from adapting. This adaptation will lead effort without gain and will eventually lead to a loss of muscle fiber when the body adapts even further and figures out how to do more with less.
A factor that everyone needs to consider is that the human body is a lazy mechanism. It is very good at adapting and with that adaptation comes a desire to do as little work as possible. Example, you lift long enough and intense enough to build up say 40 extra pounds of muscle. And then you gradually reduce the intensity over a couple of weeks, your body will eventually realize 'hey, we don't need 40 pounds of muscle anymore, all we need is 35' and that 5 pounds of muscle will atrophy as the body reduces the flow of blood and necessary energy (i.e glycogen) to said 5 pounds. That is the reason why when you take 2-3 weeks off exercising, you are not quite as strong as when you stopped. Just the nature of our bodies. Understanding that nature is a very powerful weapon.
Paul
Weight lifting is good for swimming but I suggest you lift only small weight because your body is already having an exercise in the water when you have strokes using your arms.
Goggle,
Please take a more in depth read of my previous post. Lifting small weight as you say will either have no effect or have a very small increase in muscle strength. I do not recommend that swimmers pursue an all low rep high weight routine that is intended to increase muscle mass significantly but I do recommend that low-rep high weight routines be included to help vary the 'stress' on the muscle groups that will a) encourage them to grow and b) prevent them from adapting. This adaptation will lead effort without gain and will eventually lead to a loss of muscle fiber when the body adapts even further and figures out how to do more with less.
A factor that everyone needs to consider is that the human body is a lazy mechanism. It is very good at adapting and with that adaptation comes a desire to do as little work as possible. Example, you lift long enough and intense enough to build up say 40 extra pounds of muscle. And then you gradually reduce the intensity over a couple of weeks, your body will eventually realize 'hey, we don't need 40 pounds of muscle anymore, all we need is 35' and that 5 pounds of muscle will atrophy as the body reduces the flow of blood and necessary energy (i.e glycogen) to said 5 pounds. That is the reason why when you take 2-3 weeks off exercising, you are not quite as strong as when you stopped. Just the nature of our bodies. Understanding that nature is a very powerful weapon.
Paul
