Does swimming "inform" muscle growth? A dryland/weights q.

Because you still hate your body? Lordy do you have issues man. Yeah, I hate my body, which is why I posted pics of myself in my previous thread. Can someone with something constructive chime in? Or at least tell me what this guy's problem is?

You know, it's Saturday night. Everybody has something better to do except you and me. Just you and "Jazz Hands," who thinks he's all that, when he's totally not! Like, what does even know about lifting or swimming? He probably looks like the bodybuilder with zombie eyes or something, and nothing like the picture of Ryan Lochte that isn't actually a picture of Ryan Lochte.

To get back to you question, no. They won't be the same because of genetics. There are uber fast guys in my swim team (age group). Some look a bit like a marshmallow. The others are built like Lochte. All are equally fast but genetics changes the way they look. Swimshark, thank you, narrowing in on my question. But this is why I should have specified same relative genetics. Put another way- the same person spends a year doing each of the above. Will the swimming affect the muscle mass gained? You'll agree with me that anyone who lifts hard will gain some muscle. I'm just trying to deduce if, regardless of genetics, there will be a "sway" because of sprinting.

This thread is funny. :worms: I can answer the original question in an anecdotal manner based on my own personal experience. I lifted a lot when I was younger but I didn't start swimming until my 30s, and since then I've gone through periods of swimming+lifting as well as swimming only. Conclusion: yes, the combination of swimming and weights yields a different build than weights alone, and a different build from swimming only. I like swimming+weights the best, and not only for aesthetic reasons. It's good for injury prevention and overall strength and power. I spend about 1/3 of my swim workouts doing comfortable aerobic work. The rest is either suffering at threshold pace or all-out sprinting with significant (though never enough, unless I'm swimming alone) rest. Right now I'm swimming 5x/wk and lifting 2 or 3x/wk. I don't look like Lochte or Phelps, but I look more like that than I did in college when I was only lifting. How much time and intensity are you devoting to swimming vs. weights? Maybe the key is to approach both with the same intensity, but devote more time overall to swimming. By the way I agree with Jazz that it's stupid to chase a particular body type. Then again I also think it's stupid to obsess over athletic performance. But I still do that sometimes, so who am I to judge :D

Slug- a lucid, relevant, and, most important of all, applicable example!!! Thank you- this is exactly the sort of A vs. B experience I was looking for. Is chasing a physique silly? Sure, why not. But then gyms across the globe are packed with the silly :). At least in this way (and with knowledge like yours) I can do it in the most efficient manner and get to the point where I'm maintaining what I've earned, as opposed to chasing. If it matters, this is me and my genetic predisposition: i1014.photobucket.com/.../temp.jpg As you can tell, it's at least within reaching distance of what I'm going for. Had I been starting from someplace wildly different, I'd agree it'd be a fool's errand. To answer your question, I don't know what the right ratio is, so right now I'm going for a simple alternation. Three days a week- weights, swim, weights, swim, etc. For the swim portion I'm shooting for all out sprinting to increase distance. On any given day, I'll take two of the strokes and, after warmup, just go for an all out killer to see how far I can go on max burners with each stroke. And then the next time I do those two, I'll seek to increase each by a half or full length. Basically just applying the killer-set approach from weightlifting (which has worked for me) to swimming. That's about it. (and you see Jazz Hands, this was all I needed, nothing more! :) )

I wish I really understood what you are trying to accomplish rather than just asking hypothetical questions. While you may not like the 'tone' of Jazz Hands' posts, he does know what he is talking about when it comes to weight training, muscle hypertrophy and sprinting.

image.exercisesfacts.info/.../img_793_big-back-workout-and-lat-workout-training-back-lat-pulldown-train-lats.jpg And is exactly the sort of build I said I'm not going for. What the target pics above show are a large chest and upper back, but relatively modest traps, bis, tris, lats, etc. Sigh, Nothing like taking a picture, stating a fact about that picture without including the context. That is a classic bodybuilding pose that is intended to emphasize the lattisimus development by maximal engagement of the muscle group to create that 'fan' while also drawing the judges eyes to the flexibility and development of the legs. The reason the upper back and shoulders appear to be minimized is a function of the pose. Next time you are in front of a mirror, try and maximize the appearance of your lats and upper back at the same time in a position like this.

If we assume differences are seen (witness, again, his experience), I was looking for even further refinement on what is most efficient. Such a person could tell me "hey, I see your goals, I got closest to that doing the latter (or the former)". What is most efficient for what??? You haven't stated a single concrete measurable goal in this whole thread. You have said that you use weights and swimming for 'fitness', 'fitness' is a great thing but how do you measure it? How do you know when you have acheived 'fitness'? Might want to Google 'SMART goals' to understand how to establish and measure goals. Goals would be - add 5% more muscle mass, lose 10 pounds while maintaining current lean body mass, swim 100 yards in 1:00, swim 10000 yards per week. Deadlift 500 pounds, etc. Those I can help with. But a goal of 'fitness'? Not sure I can direct you other than exercise every day, get plenty of sleep, eat right, etc.

Wait, you want to increase your shoulder and chest measurements by several inches without increasing your arms or neck at all? YouTube - ‪I'm sorry, Dave‬‏:rofl:

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.