Strength of top swimmers

here is one Competitive swimmers (22 females, 18 males) were tested for arm power using an isokinetic swim bench at varying velocities that covered the range required for swimming. Subjects also performed a series of 25-yard freestyle sprints. The mean power of one maximal pull on the bench at a velocity of 2.66 meters per second was measured while the average swimming time was 1.81. The correlation coefficient between the two was .90. An added study used four untrained subjects. Power improvements of 19% and sprint swimming improvements of 4% were demonstrated. This suggests that sprint swimmers could improve performance by increasing arm power. It should be noted that this study focused on 25 yards of swimming, an event that is not in the competitive schedule. Other studies by these same authors show that the relationship of strength to swimming diminishes rapidly as the distance increases.

Next one - Swimming is one sport where the majority of competitors practice some form of resistance training. Although most competitive swimming distances might not be considered true endurance events, elite swimmers perform huge volumes of over-distance training. To determine whether adding resistance training to pool training might improve sprint-swim performance, Tanaka, et al. (1993) studied 24 experienced swimmers during 14 weeks of their competitive season. The swimmers were divided into two groups of 12 swimmers and matched for stroke specialities and performance. The two groups performed all swim training sessions together for the duration of the season, but in addition to the pool training, one group performed resistance training three days a week, on alternate days for eight weeks. The resistance training program was intended to simulate the muscles employed in front crawl swimming and utilized weight lifting machines as well as free weights. Swimmers performed three sets of 8-12 repetitions of the following exercises: lat pull downs, elbow extensions, bent arm flys, dips and chin ups. In order to maximize the resistance training effect, weights were progressively increased over the duration of the training period. Then both groups tapered for approximately two weeks prior to their major competition. The most important finding: resistance training did not improve sprint swim performance, despite the fact that those swimmers who combined resistance and swim training increased their strength by 25-35%. The extra strength gained from the resistance training program did not result in improved stroke mechanics. Their conclusion: "the lack of positive transfer between dry-land strength gains and swimming propulsive force may be due to the specificity of training."

Interesting link - www.gsv1.de/freq_speed.htm

Last one : Relationships between muscular strength and dry land power, muscular strength and swimming power, and muscular strength and competitive swimming performance were investigated in collegiate swimmers (M = 37; F = 28). Strength measures included 1 RM of the bench press, latissimus pull down, and triceps press. Dry land power was assessed using a seated chest putt and a two-arm supine overhead throw for distance using a 6-lb medicine ball. Swimming power was assessed by performing a 30-s maximal effort tethered crawl stroke swim. Competitive times for 50 and 100-m crawl strokes were used as measures of swimming performance. For the whole group, all relationships were significant. For women, the three strength measures were related to dry land and swimming power. Only the 1 RM latissimus pull down was related to performance. For the men, muscular strength was related to dry land and swimming power but not to performance. Contrary to the authors' interpretation of these results as being indications of an important role of strength in maximal swim velocity, when only one strength exercise in the females was related to performance and none were in the men, a contrary interpretation is warranted. These results support the contention that muscular strength is not related to sprint-swimming performance (velocity) in male or female swimmers.

www.bodybuilding.com/.../jasonlezak1.htm Lezak lays out a routine but gives no numbers. I haven't seen any "abs" work there .................

here is one Competitive swimmers (22 females, 18 males) were tested for arm power using an isokinetic swim bench at varying velocities that covered the range required for swimming. Subjects also performed a series of 25-yard freestyle sprints. The mean power of one maximal pull on the bench at a velocity of 2.66 meters per second was measured while the average swimming time was 1.81. The correlation coefficient between the two was .90. An added study used four untrained subjects. Power improvements of 19% and sprint swimming improvements of 4% were demonstrated. This suggests that sprint swimmers could improve performance by increasing arm power. It should be noted that this study focused on 25 yards of swimming, an event that is not in the competitive schedule. Other studies by these same authors show that the relationship of strength to swimming diminishes rapidly as the distance increases. Do you have a reference for that. i would love to look it up

Also as Syd mentions - lifting will do very little if you don't transfer the strength into the water. I hear this a lot, and I have no idea what it means. If you get stronger by increasing the size of muscles relevant to swimming, you will automatically have more power in the water. You don't have to do anything special to make your strength "transfer." Strength is the ability to produce force. In swimming, you produce useful force in the water through a specialized technique. This is called swimming-specific strength. If you apply the technique you already know with stronger muscles, your swimming-specific strength improves.

I have no idea what it means. If you get stronger by increasing the size of muscles relevant to swimming, you will automatically have more power in the water. 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.

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.

Wow, I am really enjoying this post. Lots of good stuff. Just a few comments about the research studies presented (by the way, thank you so much for all of those ehoch) One article talked about 14 weeks of lifting with reps from 8-12 for three sets, 3x/wk during the competitive season. That is a lot of training, perhaps overtraining. Also, doing the same lifts for 14 weeks really makes someone stale. I know when I was swimming a lot of yards during the competitive season, I did not get stronger. A good strength training program would start with lifting 8-12 reps for the first 4-6 weeks followed by 4-6 weeks of 4-6 reps followed by 4-6 weeks of dynamic stuff (plyometrics, medicine ball stuff, resistance in the water) at high velocities to take the extra muscle and strength and make it functional