Just wondering how other folks here balance gym and pool workouts.
Now that I'm back in the pool I'm adjusting my lifting quite a bit to complement the swimming.
Used to, I'd alternate upper/lower body on alternate days, with one day a week off.
Now that I'm in the pool, I feel like I'm not giving my muscles enough rest time, since a swim is essentially a whole-body resistance set.
So far, I've been swimming Mon/Wed/Fri, and lifting Tue (upper), Thu (lower), and Sat (core). As I get better swim-conditioned, I plan to re-adjust, probably with more pool time.
Any thoughts, tips, experience?
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Former Member
Well, back when I was competing as a young'un, I was competitive in backstroke, crawl, and breaststroke, with backstroke being my strongest.
I never did learn how to be fast in fly. Today I can't even manage it. Can't get my pull and kick to sync up. Wish I had someone to show me how it's done.
Anyway, since I'm just starting back after a nearly 30 year "hiatus", it remains to be seen what I actually end up competing in, if anything. But my back and crawl still feel pretty good, and the breaststroke not bad. So I'm hoping I can perform well in short races for those 3.
So doing a whole-body workout alternating w/ swims, that doesn't cause you problems? Sounds like you're never giving your muscles a day off.
Ha ha. I only said my workouts were similar, the key difference being frequency. I work full time, have two young daughters, and just started back to grad school. I manage Mon, Wed swim and Tue, Thu weights (at home). Sundays I ride my bike 10 miles (1 way) to work. So I don't really do enough to tear down my body.
Sounds like you are more interested in sprints (possibly in competition) in which case I would definitely keep the weights. 3 days a week is perfect in my non-professional opinion. Keep alternating if you think doing a whole body workout is too much--you know your limits better than anyone else.
You mentioned having no coach. I would at least try and find somebody to swim with. I just started swimming with a friend from work who it turns out was a collegiate level breaststroker. Having a workout partner for motivation and the brief observations on my stroke are invaluable.
Best of luck no matter what strategy you employ and welcome back to swimming :)
Well, back when I was competing as a young'un, I was competitive in backstroke, crawl, and breaststroke, with backstroke being my strongest.
I never did learn how to be fast in fly. Today I can't even manage it. Can't get my pull and kick to sync up. Wish I had someone to show me how it's done.
Anyway, since I'm just starting back after a nearly 30 year "hiatus", it remains to be seen what I actually end up competing in, if anything. But my back and crawl still feel pretty good, and the breaststroke not bad. So I'm hoping I can perform well in short races for those 3.
So doing a whole-body workout alternating w/ swims, that doesn't cause you problems? Sounds like you're never giving your muscles a day off.
Ha ha. I only said my workouts were similar, the key difference being frequency. I work full time, have two young daughters, and just started back to grad school. I manage Mon, Wed swim and Tue, Thu weights (at home). Sundays I ride my bike 10 miles (1 way) to work. So I don't really do enough to tear down my body.
Sounds like you are more interested in sprints (possibly in competition) in which case I would definitely keep the weights. 3 days a week is perfect in my non-professional opinion. Keep alternating if you think doing a whole body workout is too much--you know your limits better than anyone else.
You mentioned having no coach. I would at least try and find somebody to swim with. I just started swimming with a friend from work who it turns out was a collegiate level breaststroker. Having a workout partner for motivation and the brief observations on my stroke are invaluable.
Best of luck no matter what strategy you employ and welcome back to swimming :)
