Drop Dead Taper

I also told you the knuckledraggers would be out and take issue with what I wrote. I take issue with that.

www.davedraper.com/article-408-high-rep-training.html "Of course, limiting the weight you use determines the intensity of the workout. Light weights can be a pleasant sling of metal for conditioning, serious calorie-burning and weight loss. Don’t expect the development of muscle mass, though shape and tone will likely be among the rewards. Remember to focus continually despite the repetition of the repetitions. And don’t forget to fuel the body and feed the muscle. " I couldn't be bothered to get the Schwartzenegger book out from the bookcase.:weightlifter:

I'm freakin toned enough!! I don't care about any more toning. I just want to know if I should lift in the next 2 weeks. So far, my "research" can be thusly summarized: chicks say yes, guys say no. I'm siding with the guys... The swimming benefits from strength training are slow developing, and they won't disappear overnight. It's quite safe to take two weeks off from lifting. Lifting is a stressful activity and you need to lay off it for at least a week if you want to be fully rested. The only downside is that it cuts into your training for future meets if you rest too long too often. I usually only do a full 10+ day lifting rest once or twice a year for that reason.

Could you elaborate on this thought more please? I have the sense this is true. There are many ways to think about the attribute of "strength." We know that stronger swimmers are faster, but being strong in the water is different from being strong in the weight room. Even more specifically, breaststroke strength is different from freestyle strength, and bench press strength is different from squat strength. One reason for all of these differences is a quick strength adaptation that we might call coordination. The first time anyone bench presses, they will be super wobbly and weak. Over the next few sessions, their strength (defined by how much weight they can press) goes up dramatically. Is the person now suddenly 50% stronger, having gone from 95 pounds to 135 pounds? By one definition, yes. But the "strength" they gained is mostly specific to bench press. So really they are just less klutzy on the bench. However, there are other things that happen over a longer period of time that are different. Muscle mass increases, for example, and the nervous system changes to accommodate greater force production in general (as opposed to during a specific skill). That's when you see strength starting to cross over, while numbers in the weight room go up slowly.

Um, there is no such thing as 'toning', it doesn't exist. You are either a) building muscle fiber, b) trying to maintain muscle fiber or c) losing muscle fiber. There is no 'toning' So how do explain Geek? Oh wait...chest waxing gives the appearance of toning!

Hi Fortress! Whatever taper you "have the most confidence in" will work the best for you! Just find some method that makes sense to you and works with your training schedule, then put your faith in it and go for it! I will say at my advanced age I like to go into meets very well rested, especially 2 day meets! Bobinator :)

If Rail Groper was not a permitted alias, is it really appropriate to have SwimSpud, SwimStub, Fontress and Fortness as aliases? Seems like a double standard to me ... I'm sure this person(s) can think something a little more creative.

Um, there is no such thing as 'toning', it doesn't exist. You are either a) building muscle fiber, b) trying to maintain muscle fiber or c) losing muscle fiber. There is no 'toning' Ah, but you presume he was referring to muscle! There are many color tones, he really meant to get a darker tan. And a seven day tan will not be too dangerous.

While there may be a definition of 'toning' out there, there is not a specific physiological method that promotes said 'toning', the use of toning is more of a total body improvement thru exercise. If you build significant muscle mass and density in your quads doing 400 pound reps of squats, I GUARANTEE you that you can not maintain that same mass and density by doing a weeks worth of reps of 200 pounds. After that week that muscle mass and density will start to atrophy as the body senses that there is no longer a need to spend resources maintaining it with no stressors present requiring it. Which is what I said...I told Fort she'd lose some...but not all. Bodybuilders build up then cut... when they cut they lose a % of what they had. I fully understand weight training for muscle gain and size...which is not always an indicator of strength. "Think toning" was more along the way folks exercise when they "tone up" usually lighter and more reps...I'm not saying it. Folks like Dave Draper did. I pasted the link. I didn't make this up.

One thing I'd like to be able to do (and maybe Fort also), is some sort of, 'bare maintenance' with weights. Do some sort of minimum, so my muscles will still have a chance to rest up for a meet, but then after the meet when I go back to weights, I don't have that initial soreness from starting up all over again. Is something like that possible? If so, how?