I swim 7 days/week 2-3 hours a day. I have heard of adding lifting to my routine to improve my strength, but on days that I lift(possibly 3x a week) do I also swim on those days?
And if I do not add lifting into my workout routine and just continue with swimming 7/wk, do I take a day off? I heard Michael Phelps never took a day off since he was 11 years old and look where he is now... best swimmer in the world.
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I swim 7 days/week 2-3 hours a day. I have heard of adding lifting to my program to improve my strength, but on days that I lift do I also swim?
And if I do not add lifting into my workout routine and just continue with swimming 7/wk, do I take a day off? I heard Michael Phelps never took a day off since he was 11 years old and look where he is now... best swimmer in the world.
Since the rest of us aren't a young phelps, yea, you need a rest day. Even he, one of the best swimmers right now, has gotten older and takes days off.
If you are a younger person, your body recovers quicker. You are able to do more days of hard work and not be as affected by the training.
If you are an older swimmer, then rest days are a must if you want to be able to train/compete at your best. The body needs time for the muscles to recover and rebuild.
If you are swimming for fitness, then you probably don't need a rest day but still might be good once a week.
So, the answer really depends on what your goals are in swimming.
I swim 7 days/week 2-3 hours a day. I have heard of adding lifting to my program to improve my strength, but on days that I lift do I also swim?
And if I do not add lifting into my workout routine and just continue with swimming 7/wk, do I take a day off? I heard Michael Phelps never took a day off since he was 11 years old and look where he is now... best swimmer in the world.
Since the rest of us aren't a young phelps, yea, you need a rest day. Even he, one of the best swimmers right now, has gotten older and takes days off.
If you are a younger person, your body recovers quicker. You are able to do more days of hard work and not be as affected by the training.
If you are an older swimmer, then rest days are a must if you want to be able to train/compete at your best. The body needs time for the muscles to recover and rebuild.
If you are swimming for fitness, then you probably don't need a rest day but still might be good once a week.
So, the answer really depends on what your goals are in swimming.
