Here's my question: Should one intentionally loose muscle mass and weightlifting strength in order to be more streamlined and potentially go faster in the water? How much mass would one have to lose in order to present less resistance in the water?
Maybe on a related note: Let's say a swimmer has a muscular build, and their technique is very good, would they benefit from losing ten lbs. of extra muscle mass and maybe becoming a more streamlined vessel?
Any thoughts? :weightlifter::banana::weightlifter::banana:
Swim 3000+ QUALITY yards a day, eat right (use the right supplements), get sleep and the body will morph into the one with the correct muscle mass and correct strength for swimming fast.
Rtodd, thanks for the response. Currently I swim 5-6 days a week, 3 practices are 4-5000yds, the other 2 are 2500yds. I feel that these are as quality as I can make them (20-25% kicking, 20% drill/stroke work, and the rest is a mix of distances between 25yd sprints to 500yd swims). On good days I can get 5000 done in about 1.5hrs. Due to a heart issue last year, my diet has gotten pretty strict and is "heart healthy". Glutamine is the only supplement I take currently. I typically get 8 hrs of sleep each night, except on weekends when I get 9.
Why do you ask? are you still powerlifting? If so, I don't think it will complement swimming if you are sacraficing swim workouts to get the lifting in. In my case, my upper body strength has increased since swimming, but leg strength and muscle mass has suffered considerably......the inverse of running track, but right now I am not concerned because times are still coming down.
My lifting focuses on basic compound movements, but I only spend a total of 3hrs a week with the weights. I'm guessing I spend about 6.5 - 8 hrs. a week swimming between 18 to 22,000yds. Again, thanks for the suggestions. I may have to experiment with the weightlifting and do the high-rep/low-weight thing and see where that gets me. We'll see.
Swim 3000+ QUALITY yards a day, eat right (use the right supplements), get sleep and the body will morph into the one with the correct muscle mass and correct strength for swimming fast.
Rtodd, thanks for the response. Currently I swim 5-6 days a week, 3 practices are 4-5000yds, the other 2 are 2500yds. I feel that these are as quality as I can make them (20-25% kicking, 20% drill/stroke work, and the rest is a mix of distances between 25yd sprints to 500yd swims). On good days I can get 5000 done in about 1.5hrs. Due to a heart issue last year, my diet has gotten pretty strict and is "heart healthy". Glutamine is the only supplement I take currently. I typically get 8 hrs of sleep each night, except on weekends when I get 9.
Why do you ask? are you still powerlifting? If so, I don't think it will complement swimming if you are sacraficing swim workouts to get the lifting in. In my case, my upper body strength has increased since swimming, but leg strength and muscle mass has suffered considerably......the inverse of running track, but right now I am not concerned because times are still coming down.
My lifting focuses on basic compound movements, but I only spend a total of 3hrs a week with the weights. I'm guessing I spend about 6.5 - 8 hrs. a week swimming between 18 to 22,000yds. Again, thanks for the suggestions. I may have to experiment with the weightlifting and do the high-rep/low-weight thing and see where that gets me. We'll see.
