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.
I appretiate all of your input. I am just the type that likes to discuss the points from all angles to make sure we are coming up with the correct conclusions.
Just a point of clarification, I was not worried about bulking up when I was talking about a weight lifting ceiling, I was more worried about wasting my time adding strength when it would not lead to moving my arms at a faster velocity when swimming. I know that up to a point, adding absolute strength can lead to my arms and legs moving at faster veleocitys while swimming, but at some point, the strength gains are negligable and my best bet would be sport specific stuff while maintaining strength.
When looking at the numbers of some of the top sprinting swimmers, I figured that I could get an ball park number on the potential ceiling.
From seeing all the posts here, it seems that many swimmers can sprint very fast times without much absolute strength (reley more on aerobic capacity, high anaerobic threshold) while others can also swim just as fast with more absolulte strength (reley more on great alactic capacity as well as ability to make huge amounts of lactic acid quickly). Perhaps their is more than one way to skin a cat. I would like to see someone do research that would find the optimal balance of strength and "swimming ability"
When we look at these guys with little strength, I wonder what would happen if we added a little stregth to their bodies. Something would have to give. Perhaps they would not be able to swim as many yards and they would lose someting in "swimming ability". I don't know if it would cause them to slow down, speed up, or if it would be a wash. I am assuming, that for a 50 free, it may speed up the swimmer, perhaps for a 100, it would be a wash, and anything higher it would slow them down.
I appretiate all of your input. I am just the type that likes to discuss the points from all angles to make sure we are coming up with the correct conclusions.
Just a point of clarification, I was not worried about bulking up when I was talking about a weight lifting ceiling, I was more worried about wasting my time adding strength when it would not lead to moving my arms at a faster velocity when swimming. I know that up to a point, adding absolute strength can lead to my arms and legs moving at faster veleocitys while swimming, but at some point, the strength gains are negligable and my best bet would be sport specific stuff while maintaining strength.
When looking at the numbers of some of the top sprinting swimmers, I figured that I could get an ball park number on the potential ceiling.
From seeing all the posts here, it seems that many swimmers can sprint very fast times without much absolute strength (reley more on aerobic capacity, high anaerobic threshold) while others can also swim just as fast with more absolulte strength (reley more on great alactic capacity as well as ability to make huge amounts of lactic acid quickly). Perhaps their is more than one way to skin a cat. I would like to see someone do research that would find the optimal balance of strength and "swimming ability"
When we look at these guys with little strength, I wonder what would happen if we added a little stregth to their bodies. Something would have to give. Perhaps they would not be able to swim as many yards and they would lose someting in "swimming ability". I don't know if it would cause them to slow down, speed up, or if it would be a wash. I am assuming, that for a 50 free, it may speed up the swimmer, perhaps for a 100, it would be a wash, and anything higher it would slow them down.
