Hi,
Until recently, rugby was my main sport, but a bad ankle injury means my playing days are over. While rehabing i spent a lot of time in the pool, on the bike and more recently on the treadmill. This type of training has interested me and I am looking at doing a triathlon next year. My cycling and running is not an issue but i find i struggle in the pool.
I have spent the past 10 years between the pitch and the weight room and now I weight bout 270lbs at only 10-11% bodyfat so the majority of my bodyweight is muscle. I read somewhere that muscle doesnt float but sinks.
Is this much muscle mass a bad thing when it comes to swimming?
Thanks,
Yak.
Parents
Former Member
Yea I was calipered at 10.8% only 3 weeks ago and if anything i have gotten leaner again. I am 6' 4 and if you look at rugby players, we are pretty big guys when you play in the forwards.
Anybody got advice on how muscle affects swimming ability?
Muscle is going to do two major things in the pool that work in opposite ways.
First, it's going to create more cross-sectional area, which means more drag. A big thick body is much more difficult to pull through the water than a slim one. This effect is particularly bad if you have poor body position in the water.
The other thing is that muscle provides you with more power to propel yourself forward with. To really make this work for you, you will probably have to improve your technique a lot and develop swimming-specific strength.
So, being big can make you faster or slower, but the most important thing is to use good technique with the body you have to move efficiently in the water.
Yea I was calipered at 10.8% only 3 weeks ago and if anything i have gotten leaner again. I am 6' 4 and if you look at rugby players, we are pretty big guys when you play in the forwards.
Anybody got advice on how muscle affects swimming ability?
Muscle is going to do two major things in the pool that work in opposite ways.
First, it's going to create more cross-sectional area, which means more drag. A big thick body is much more difficult to pull through the water than a slim one. This effect is particularly bad if you have poor body position in the water.
The other thing is that muscle provides you with more power to propel yourself forward with. To really make this work for you, you will probably have to improve your technique a lot and develop swimming-specific strength.
So, being big can make you faster or slower, but the most important thing is to use good technique with the body you have to move efficiently in the water.
