Swimming + Gym: Is it possible?

If it helps you - I lift 3-5x a week depending on my time. My lift is in the morning, my swim is at night. Giving me a little bit of rest period between workouts. That allows me to to recover between workouts. Also - my lifts are both push AND pull workouts.

Hi Dexter, I think swimming and weight training compliment each other nicely. I have found that for weight loss, speed improvement, and slight muscle building this schedule works well: M/W/F: swim 30 mins of mostly 50s, 100s & 200s followed by 1 hour of low weight, lots of reps lifting T/R: swim an hour (or more) with longer sets and some sprints If your gym offers one of the Les Mills BodyPump classes, I highly recommend them.

Yes, you can do both. Although I'm not sure about simultaneously ;) I never swim before lifting, always after. Swimming is such a great way to loosen up that it makes sense to swim last. On days when I lift and swim, the weightlifting is usually my main focus for the day, with the swim being a recovery workout. I almost never do any ab work in the gym. Dolphin kicking with fins is my favorite way to target abdominals, especially back dolphin.

For me, I don't see any way of doing a swimming workout and then doing a weights after. I'm too tired from swimming. The other way around, weights first than swimming, is fine.

Last year I went MWF swim, Tu-Th weights/cardio (sometimes Sat swim OR Gym), always Sun rest. I did this until January and start of SCY season then went to swim M,Tu,Th,F with weights/cardio only on Weds and some Sats. Worked out pretty good for me. Since I'm not much for SCM, I'm gonna probably follow the same routine this year.

Yes, it will help you swim faster and build a fit body. Are you talking about lifting weights immediately after your swimming workout? I think it depends on how you feel after you swim. Would you be energetic and ready for more exercise? It might help to eat a snack between the two workouts. I like to do my weight workouts on a different day from my swimming workouts, so that I'm rested for both of them.

Thanks a lot for all the replies! You have been very useful!

I've read somewhere on the net that swimming trains pull muscles a lot so, to build a great body, swimmers complete the training with a push session in the gym. Is it true? By the way, the question is the following: Is possible to swim and to train with weights simultaneously? Definitely. Specifically, if you want to work on your "pull muscles" or lats, I would recommend lat pulldowns exercises. The most widely accepted version can be seen at this site. This is viewed as a safe and productive method. Personally, I prefer the method where the bar is pulled down behind the head. HOWEVER, there are numerous people that find this exercise causes shoulder problems. This is because people are doing the exercise with improper form...many times through no fault of their own. As one person put it...lat pulldown machines are often designed with insufficient ergonomics. Straight posture is ideal. Pullups are great and there are many variations. Forehand grip, underhand grip, parallel bars, and behind the neck are all great ways to work on the lats. Also, check out these versions using a towel. Working all muscle groups is important, but I just wanted to share those in particular.

Definitely. Specifically, if you want to work on your "pull muscles" or lats, I would recommend lat pulldowns exercises. The most widely accepted version can be seen at this site. This is viewed as a safe and productive method. Personally, I prefer the method where the bar is pulled down behind the head. HOWEVER, there are numerous people that find this exercise causes shoulder problems. This is because people are doing the exercise with improper form...many times through no fault of their own. As one person put it...lat pulldown machines are often designed with insufficient ergonomics. Straight posture is ideal. Pullups are great and there are many variations. Forehand grip, underhand grip, parallel bars, and behind the neck are all great ways to work on the lats. Also, check out these versions using a towel. Working all muscle groups is important, but I just wanted to share those in particular. Personally, I do them to the front. In addition I do straight arm pulldowns with the same bar. My favorite for lats (and specific to swimming) is the Vasa Trainers.

Absolutely, many swimmers use strength training to supplement training and to increase their speed. I personally do my strength training prior to workouts because I am always working to increase my front-end or sprinting speed. As far as what to do, I recommend full body workouts, don't spend too much time working any one muscle group. Exercises that mimic swimming motions are ideal, but there are not too many of these.