Hey all. I've been doing a lot of exercise lately across a wide variety of disciplines. One of the things, in fact the main one, I'm trying to achieve is a swimmer's physique - nothing new there, I suppose :)
I'm fairly close but am really uncertain about one thing. I tend to be smaller than I want rather than heavier- it's a real struggle to build the upper body I'm looking for as opposed to, say, losing fat. I'm just naturally thin.
For my latest regimen to build up chest, back and shoulders, I thought I would do sprinting pyramids in the pool, increasing max every week. So it would go like this:
Monday - *** - sprint 1 lap, rest, sprint 2 laps, rest, sprint 3, etc. up until say 5, then back down
Wed - Same with Back
Fri - Same with IM, except the numbers represent the multiple of 100 I'll be sprinting.
Following week, up the highest number I go.
Anyway, I'm early on in the program, but already I'm doubtful if this will get the results. I based this whole idea on watching college and Olympic swimmers and figured, hey, they're training for sprint swimming, so that's what I'll strengthen. But I also know they dryland quite a bit. For me, that would essentially be weights.
The thing that got me doubting the program above was looking at photos of Olympic swimmers through the ages. The guys in the 70s almost look rail thin compared to the guys today. The only thing separating them, I have to imagine, is what they did outside the pool, as swimming is, well, swimming :).
So if you were in my shoes, what would you do to build up like one of these pro level swimmers - weights, or sprint swimming? I can do both, obviously, but I'd rather not waste precious time in the pool if it won't really advance what I'm after.
Lastly, not to sound like a jerk here, but if you have a really solid opinion on this, please include a pic so I can see how your ideas worked for you. I'm fairly well along in my training and would want to rely on advice from someone who has really clearly and effectively implemented it.
Thanks so much all!
Former Member
Each with his curse :). You say that, but try lifting for years on end with gruelingly slow gains. It wears on you too!
Some of the guys today are monsters, like Hall Jr, Adrian, Leezak, Phelps, Bernard, to name a few, but I gotta say, Popov had the ultimate swimming body, streamlined yet powerful.
YouTube - 1998 | Michael Klim Vs Alex Popov | 1998 World Champs | Mens 100 Freestyle
Yeah, and that's what I mean- if you look at Popoy, that's neither the build of a lifter nor the build of a pre-modern era swimmer. The only logical conclusion I can draw is that it's got to be the combination of the two that produces it. Lifting must add mass where you see it (chest, back), but swimming must provide the slimming (arms, midsection) that lifters often don't have.
If you want to look like elite level swimmers just follow their training plan. 10-20k yards a day in the pool, 3x/week dry lands for about 10-15 years and you should have the results you want.
Heh, I hear you, but I think there has to be a happy medium. These guys hit a limit at some point past which they stop becoming physically larger, otherwise olympians would be 20X larger than their masters swimmer's equivalents! I just need to find the right mix that pushes it in the right direction. At this point I'm leaning toward simply replacing one swim workout a week with weights, the workouts of which I was fortunately given by my local college's swim coach. That would put me at a 2:1 sprint swim to dryland ratio.
If you lift weights without gains it is either because you aren't eating properly or aren't working out properly. If you think you are cursed to be naturally thin then it sounds like you aren't eating enough.
When I was 20 I was able to go from 165 lbs to 180 lbs in 16 weeks with mostly muscle gains. I had to eat every 3 hours. I only went to the gym three times a week but pushed every exercise to failure.
No offense, but because it worked for you doesn't mean it's the magic solution. I've done almost exactly what you describe while friends and roommates did the same program: I added microscopic mass, they bulked up. A good place to see a wider sampling is the P90X photo forum. Almost without exception, the heavier set people will become cut and add muscle mass, while the thin guys will have much, much more modest gains.
Don't get me wrong, in the grand scheme I realize it's a blessing to trend thin, but it does come with its own challenges! :)
So it's not a huge ways off, I just need to figure out how these guys are bulking without getting the usual meat head look most guys get from lifting too much.
Well, you've got several things going for you, the most important being that:
- you've made good progress already
- you have a reasonable end goal in mind that's not very far off and is attainable
As far as the 'bulking' and 'meat head' look, that's actually incredibly hard to achieve for the average person - if not impossible. Those guys usually end up resorting to drugs to get big and huge, as otherwise it would take a decade's worth of dedicated lifting and eating to put on a large amount of muscle. Most guys are impatient, and they're not in it for the long haul or even the health benefits - thus the drugs. So lift away, I don't think you'll end up getting too big. And in the off chance you get to the point where you're putting on too muscle, just cut back a little :)
Some of the guys today are monsters, like Hall Jr, Adrian, Leezak, Phelps, Bernard, to name a few, but I gotta say, Popov had the ultimate swimming body, streamlined yet powerful.
YouTube - 1998 | Michael Klim Vs Alex Popov | 1998 World Champs | Mens 100 Freestyle
If you want to look like elite level swimmers just follow their training plan. 10-20k yards a day in the pool, 3x/week dry lands for about 10-15 years and you should have the results you want.
ndecker, thanks. Perhaps I should have clarified what I meant. You're right with the guys who grace the cover of like "JUICED Magazine" :). That's not exactly what I had in mind. What I was referring to was more proportion, and you've probably seen this- lifting in the traditional sense, with an all around, balanced set of exercises, tends to produce two results I'm not a huge fan of - very large triceps, very large upper traps and pronounced lower lats. Look at any bodybuilder or your local gym rat and you'll see what I'm talking about- it's as though the back "half" of you gets really large. Now, that's all well and good and those guys go for bulk, for which those muscles are necessary.
The thing I always liked about the swimmers' physiques was that arms, neck, and midesction remained very slim, but mid back and chest gained a lot of bulk. THAT's what I'm gunning for. When I used to do the traditional weight routine (bench in various forms, curls, pullups, etc.), a lot of my gains came in exactly those areas I mentioned above.
That's why, after seeing my local college's dryland routine and realizing it wasn't that different from a normal weight regimen, I figured it must be the combo of the two that produces it. Maybe it's like double stimulation for the back and chest compared to the rest of the body, since they both get worked in the weightroom and in the water, moreso I'd imagine than any other set of muscles.
Anyway, I appreciate again you guys entertaining this thread on here and giving me input, given it's not exactly a pure swimming one :)
It is really difficult to meet a goal based on physique. What you should be aiming for is steady improvement in whatever sport(s) or activities you choose. If that's going to include swimming, assess where you are currently and set up a plan to take small steps to get where you want to be. Push a little harder today than yesterday. Physique will follow.
If you noted your swimming experience, I missed it, but the only way to have the body of a swimmer is to be a swimmer. If you don't have that experience, especially during formative years, it will take a long time to develop.
Arthur was correct regarding weight gain. It really is as simple as taking in more than you are putting out. You are probably right that you have a very high metabolism. The first step in managing weight should be to accurately assess how many calories you are burning. To gain wieght, take in more; to lose take in less. Genetics and activity will determine where the weight is added or lost.
:2cents:
