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Question: Weight/Strength training for swimming....?
Question Description:
I am currently a very competitive swimmer. I am 15 years old and am interested in strength/weight training for swimming. The only problem is I don't know what exercises to perform to better each stroke. Should I use weight machines? If so which ones? Should I use dumbells? If so Which exercises? Should I use sport bands? If so what exercises should be performed. I am very excited to begin weight training but I am not sure how it should be done to benefit swimming.
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Answer#1: Surgical tubing or stretch bands are the best.You can go through all the stroke motions with more resistance than water. The stretch bands give continuous resistance too. It's about how much water you can pull, not big your muscles are. Bands keep you lean and give you strength.
Answer#2: In weight training you have 3 core lifts: squat, bench, and power cleans. These lifts are essential to all athletes while weight training and each should be included in 2/3 of each workout per day (ex. you'd go 3 days doing 2 of those lifts while rotating the one that you don't do every day).As for other exercises that you'll want to do you really should do pull ups on a squat rack. These obviously help your arms out a lot but for your own safety don't do these right after bench. You should also be doing leg raises for your thighs and calves. You sit on a thing with weights that're used for power clean and someone takes away the safety lever and dip down the weight as low as you can and bring it back up. Normally you do 20 of these per each rep. Another lift I'd advise are ball tosses. You sit on a inclined bench rack and a partner tosses a medicine ball at you which you have to throw back. You do 10 tosses and then switch off with your partner. Speaking of medicine balls, you should also be doing Swiss ball lunges. You sit on one of those big inflated balls that they use in aerobics classes and while holding a medicine ball you twist to each side of your body. You do this 10 times per each side (20 in all). Lastly, I advise for your workout to do swimming before weightlifting. Swimming serves as an aerobic exercise and can literally get you pumped up for lifting. If you lift and then swim your arms could be exhausted and your heart rate will be trying to rest while you're making it go faster which can't be a good thing for anyone.
Answer#3: I always say it depends on what your race is. Sprinters require a little more anaerobic fast twitch muscle and I therefore believe should be more aggressive on the weight.Mid-distance specialists should blend both higher-weight and lower-weight higher rep regimines.Distance swimmers need more aerobic muscle fiber and should focus more on endurance training than bulking up.First off, let me preface my comments by saying I am 10 years removed from the sport, and I didn't touch a weight until I swam in college. Physiological research and sports technology has advanced significantly since I was last standing on the blocks at Nationals and I have not kept up one bit.At 15 years old, I mostly did conditioning work involving medicine balls, running, sit-ups, push ups, rope climbing, wheels (a two-by-four with wheels attached, would then climb and incline using our hands), hill intervals (running up and down a hill the same way you would do 10X100 on the 1'.), bands (especially focusing on the shoulder area).If you decide to lift, start by working with a professional regarding technique first. In college I was a little spoiled in the fact that we had professional strength trainers that watched us constantly and stayed on top of us to ensure everything was done right 100% of the time. You may not have that luxury and therefore should take the time and ask your parents to spend the money to get educated in the proper form. Trust me when I say everyone thinks they are an expert, having watched the bo-flex infomercial with Chuck Norris, and now they know it all. It just simply isn't the case and you may end up doing more harm than good.What ever you do just stop and think about your athletic goals and the corresponding workout that fits your needs. For example, If you swim the mile, there is no need for you to add 10 pounds of anaerobic muscle fiber bulk to your frame, that just means you have more weight to pull. Just use some common sense, consult with a professional (preferably someone with some experience weight-training swimmers in your area, which may not necessarily be your swim coach) and you should be allright.
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