Does anyone know how strong the top swimmers are? Guys like M. Phelps or B. Hansen, how much can they lift with their legs, bench, lat pull, curl, tri ex, etc. I am making weight training a big part of my workouts, but I understand, at a certain point, adding more muscle or strength is not going to be of much benefit.
Parents
Former Member
If it was that easy, more swimmers would have better results with strength training. Strength training is VERY specific. Just because you get 20% stronger in lat pulldowns, does not mean you are going to drop 2/10 in your 50 time as many studies have shown.
Transferring it into the water usually means some sort of resistance work in the water. I use a parachute and it seems to work for me.
Yeah, getting 20% stronger in lat pulldowns when you start out is very easy to do, and almost all of it is accounted for by better coordination and lift-specific strength. It takes much longer than that to build a significant amount of muscle, which is how the automatic transfer of strength happens. It also takes a lot of extra food and a high-protein diet, which is why not everybody has amazing success from lifting.
If it was that easy, more swimmers would have better results with strength training. Strength training is VERY specific. Just because you get 20% stronger in lat pulldowns, does not mean you are going to drop 2/10 in your 50 time as many studies have shown.
Transferring it into the water usually means some sort of resistance work in the water. I use a parachute and it seems to work for me.
Yeah, getting 20% stronger in lat pulldowns when you start out is very easy to do, and almost all of it is accounted for by better coordination and lift-specific strength. It takes much longer than that to build a significant amount of muscle, which is how the automatic transfer of strength happens. It also takes a lot of extra food and a high-protein diet, which is why not everybody has amazing success from lifting.
