Though my form still needs a lot of work, I am considering starting strength training in the near future, since I have read about how it can help swimming speed, form, etc.
However, I am still struggling with the idea of why strength training is needed. Lets assume that lifting a certain weight in a certain way improves a core muscle, which will help steady my posture (?).
Now assuming I don't weight lift, but instead try to hold the proper posture (high elbow, etc.) for a long period of time, and gradually increase the time I do that over weeks and months, won't those muscle(s) automatically improve?
It seems to me that intuitively the proper muscles would gradually get stronger in order to adjust to the frequent usage - that way the exact muscles I need would get stronger, instead of having to train a large array of muscles that have a relation to swimming.
What am I missing?
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Former Member
Just my point of view and would love to hear everyones thoughts on this.
You're wrong. What you're saying has no connection to the reality of how a body creates thrust in the water. There is no such thing as "training muscles to work alone." Muscles are very simple machines that basically do one thing: contract. If a muscle undergoes training stress, it will contract better. What that means depends on the type of training. Train a muscle for endurance and it will be more efficient aerobically. Train a muscle for strength and it will, yes, get larger.
In swimming, muscles respond to signals from the nervous system. You are training your brain, your spinal cord, and your peripheral nerves. That's what makes muscles work together or work alone, not the muscles themselves. The most important way to train the nervous system for swimming is to practice swimming skills. If you have the skill to apply force, larger muscles (from weight training) will apply more force in the water. It's not a bad thing, seriously.
From what I've read, there's also a strength training effect on some less skill-specific nervous system attributes. Strength training doesn't just increase maximum force, it increases rate of force production, the ability to ramp up force quickly. Again, this has nothing to do with coordination or mimicking swimming motions in the weight room. If you lift heavy, you get this benefit.
Just my point of view and would love to hear everyones thoughts on this.
You're wrong. What you're saying has no connection to the reality of how a body creates thrust in the water. There is no such thing as "training muscles to work alone." Muscles are very simple machines that basically do one thing: contract. If a muscle undergoes training stress, it will contract better. What that means depends on the type of training. Train a muscle for endurance and it will be more efficient aerobically. Train a muscle for strength and it will, yes, get larger.
In swimming, muscles respond to signals from the nervous system. You are training your brain, your spinal cord, and your peripheral nerves. That's what makes muscles work together or work alone, not the muscles themselves. The most important way to train the nervous system for swimming is to practice swimming skills. If you have the skill to apply force, larger muscles (from weight training) will apply more force in the water. It's not a bad thing, seriously.
From what I've read, there's also a strength training effect on some less skill-specific nervous system attributes. Strength training doesn't just increase maximum force, it increases rate of force production, the ability to ramp up force quickly. Again, this has nothing to do with coordination or mimicking swimming motions in the weight room. If you lift heavy, you get this benefit.
