My great friend, the charming ignoramus Leslie "the Fortess" Livingston, and I recently had the opportunity to bandy about a debate topic in the November issue of Swimmer magazine.
Leslie has asked me to create a poll to see which of us had the more persuasive arguments vis a vis the usefulness of weight lifting to behoove swimming performance.
I tried to talk Leslie out of such a poll, because I wasn't sure her delicate albeit manly temperament could take the likely beat down she would get, vote wise.
After all, her teenage daughter had already proclaimed, in uncertain terms, that she was best off pleading Nolo contendere here (see en.wikipedia.org/.../Nolo_contendere if your legal skills are as atrophied as Leslie's). In her daughter's own words, "He totally owned you, Mom! Like totally! It was so awesome! He's so totally funny, and you are so totally uptight, Mom! I mean, it was like so totally embarrassing how much he owned you! Please tell me I'm adopted! Please tell me Jim Thornton is my real mother!"
Unfortunately, this kind of advanced rhetorical argument on my part fell on deaf ears, just as my advanced rhetorical argument--in which actual studies were cited!--also fell on deaf ears. Evidently, the dear girl has overdone the neck thickening machine, and in the process, mastoid muscle processes seem to have overgrown her ear canals!
I know that not everyone has received their copy of Swimmer yet. Rumor has it that those of us who live in the higher class zip codes get the extra virgin pressed copies, with the rest of you having to wait to the ink starts getting stale.
You will get your copies one day, I assure you! Just as you will get your H1N1 swine flu vaccines dosages when me and my friends at Goldman have had our third inoculations!
But I am getting a bit off the track here.
If you've read our Inane Point (Leslie) - Brilliant Counterpoint (Jim) *** for tat debate, Leslie asks that you vote in this poll for the person you think was RHETORICALLY superior.
Note: this does not mean which of us was right.
Hell, I have already conceded Leslie was right, and have begun weight lifting myself thrice weekly!
I am one bulked up monstrosity of a girly man at this point, and I don't plan to stop till you can bounce quarters off my moobs.
So. Forget all aspects of actual rational correctness here, and certainly forget all aspects of who is more popular.
And vote with your pitiless inner rhetoritician calling the shots.
Leslie, I warned you: Nolo contendere was the smart plea. But no, you just wouldn't hear of it!
Parents
Former Member
Here's what I think,
When and only when your swim technique, efficiency and aerobic base is 100% maximized, will lifting help. This is likely the case for those with tremendous swimming pedigree, such as, but not limited to, 10+ years of age group experience, NCAA experience, olympic experience..etc.
In these cases, lifting can put the crowning touch an what is in all likelyhood crazy fast swim times.
If you lack any of the above experience(s), you may want to reconsider cutting out on any swim time to substitute for lifting.
A few exceptions to that might be someone who really lacks some real basic upper body strength. In those cases it might help in the 50 and 100 sprints.
When I started swimming I had a 300lb bench. Today, five years later, I swim the 50 free 8 seconds faster, the 100 free 13 seconds faster, and the 200 free 45 seconds faster. I have not lifted in five years, but was in a gym the other day and my bench is in the neighborhood of 185-205 lbs.
When my swim times plateu, I will reconsider lifting.
So you're saying because you got faster when you learned to swim that nobody should ever lift weights until they have "100% maximized" their aerobic capacity? That's so wrong it hurts to think about.
Here's what I think,
When and only when your swim technique, efficiency and aerobic base is 100% maximized, will lifting help. This is likely the case for those with tremendous swimming pedigree, such as, but not limited to, 10+ years of age group experience, NCAA experience, olympic experience..etc.
In these cases, lifting can put the crowning touch an what is in all likelyhood crazy fast swim times.
If you lack any of the above experience(s), you may want to reconsider cutting out on any swim time to substitute for lifting.
A few exceptions to that might be someone who really lacks some real basic upper body strength. In those cases it might help in the 50 and 100 sprints.
When I started swimming I had a 300lb bench. Today, five years later, I swim the 50 free 8 seconds faster, the 100 free 13 seconds faster, and the 200 free 45 seconds faster. I have not lifted in five years, but was in a gym the other day and my bench is in the neighborhood of 185-205 lbs.
When my swim times plateu, I will reconsider lifting.
So you're saying because you got faster when you learned to swim that nobody should ever lift weights until they have "100% maximized" their aerobic capacity? That's so wrong it hurts to think about.
