Does swimming "inform" muscle growth? A dryland/weights q.
Former Member
Ok, so here's the thing. I know well and good by now that swimming does not really build substantial muscle mass. If there was any doubt, all you'd have to do is look at someone like Mark Spitz- an Olympic champion who clearly would have swam enough to see any of the benefits swimming had to offer:
www.tierraunica.com/.../6a00e551962103883300e55419aa128834-800wi
Compare that though to today's champions:
4.bp.blogspot.com/.../ryanlochte.jpgwww.popstarsplus.com/.../MichaelPhelpsPicture.jpg
Obviously huge by comparison. Now, the simple answer might be "weights. These guys do a lot more dryland than they did back in the day". But here's the thing- in all my years of lifting, I have never once seen anyone lifting beside me at the gym built like these guys. The people I see are jacked, sure, but proportioned very differently- and I've seen hundreds if not thousands of guys who were serious about weights!
The only time I *did* see, in person, people who looked like the pics above were, no big surprise, the guys on the local college's swim team.
So I contacted the coach and she was kind enough to send me their dryland routine- and guess what? Incline bench, deadlifts, flys, laterals, etc. etc. etc. In other words, the same identical program that countless weightlifters use every day. There was no magic formula to it.
So this left me really confused. Swimming alone doesn't build this sort of physique. But weights alone don't do it either.
Is their some sort of magic I'm missing here? Does something happen with the combination of the two that results in this type of build?
Please chime in if you have a lot of dryland experience or, even more so, if you're actually built like this from doing these things!
Thanks so much for your help,
BB
To date, the only consistently built people I've seen along these lines have been swimmers. That's why I'm here. If I'm 100% wrong and this is not the way, show me the right way and back it up with something for me to see.
Is it possible that is because all the other athletes wear clothing?
But sure, I'll bite.
You want to increase the size of your Pectoralis Major and Minor muscles without increasing the size of your Biceps, Triceps, Lats, correct?
You also want to increase your Deltiods in the same manner?
Well, that is going to be a tad challenging because to target those 2 muscle groups requires the active involvement of all the other groups you are trying to keep the same. From the time I started lifting, thru my competitive powerlifting days to now, I have NEVER understood this reasoning. Any resistance movement involving major muscle groups must involve the smaller muscle groups also. Plus making a primary muscle group larger/stronger without increasing the strength/size of the secondary groups is asking for trouble such as tendon tears, muscle tears, joint pain, etc. Having a great chest but poorly developed traps, lats, rhomboids, etc is sad.
But to increase those muscle groups will involve a 6-8 week rotation of programs designed to spur hypertrophy. The body likes to make as little physiological changes as possible so doing the same thing, over and over again, in the same way at the same speed will give you gains in the first 2-3 weeks but then the body adapts and you have to change up the routine.
No more than 9-12 total sets per body part. Change up angles of attack (do not decline bench that is a waste of time) and exercise types. Target weights that you can lift with good form 4-6 times per set. Take 1 minute between sets. 2-3 exercises per body part.
To date, the only consistently built people I've seen along these lines have been swimmers. That's why I'm here. If I'm 100% wrong and this is not the way, show me the right way and back it up with something for me to see.
Is it possible that is because all the other athletes wear clothing?
But sure, I'll bite.
You want to increase the size of your Pectoralis Major and Minor muscles without increasing the size of your Biceps, Triceps, Lats, correct?
You also want to increase your Deltiods in the same manner?
Well, that is going to be a tad challenging because to target those 2 muscle groups requires the active involvement of all the other groups you are trying to keep the same. From the time I started lifting, thru my competitive powerlifting days to now, I have NEVER understood this reasoning. Any resistance movement involving major muscle groups must involve the smaller muscle groups also. Plus making a primary muscle group larger/stronger without increasing the strength/size of the secondary groups is asking for trouble such as tendon tears, muscle tears, joint pain, etc. Having a great chest but poorly developed traps, lats, rhomboids, etc is sad.
But to increase those muscle groups will involve a 6-8 week rotation of programs designed to spur hypertrophy. The body likes to make as little physiological changes as possible so doing the same thing, over and over again, in the same way at the same speed will give you gains in the first 2-3 weeks but then the body adapts and you have to change up the routine.
No more than 9-12 total sets per body part. Change up angles of attack (do not decline bench that is a waste of time) and exercise types. Target weights that you can lift with good form 4-6 times per set. Take 1 minute between sets. 2-3 exercises per body part.
