Swimmers are always looking for ways to get the competitive edge against their opponents, and building functional lean mass is one component. As a swimmer, it’s important to make sure your workouts and your training are just right for your sport, not for runners, rowers or tennis players. In order to make sure you have the proper training as a swimmer, check out these tips.
What Swimmers Need
As a sprinter, you want to build up your strength, speed and endurance. When it comes to creating functional lean mass, swimmers need to avoid bulking up but still doing enough to build strength and stamina. The temptation to jump into the weight room and load up on the weights is strong, but swimmers like you will be better off strengthening your core and focusing on the muscles used most in swimming. Building up functional lean mass in those muscles that propel you through the water and swim more efficiently is the key to winning races.
Frequency of Training
To develop functional lean mass as a sprinter, you need to exercise in a weight room and train approximately 3 times per week, in addition to your pool workouts. Avoid overtraining by spending about 45 minutes in the weight room for each session. The combination of training sessions will definitely help you build up the muscles you need for swimming. As you properly increase your mass, you’ll get stronger and do better against the water resistance.
Tips on Training
To develop the appropriate muscle mass as a successful swimmer, you can’t ignore the weight training. These dry land exercises are critical for building the right muscle mass and increasing your bone density. Proper weight training can boost stamina and strength, so make sure that you hit the weight room regularly for training. Bulking up is not the goal here, so use lighter weights that allow you to do more repetitions.Alternating workouts between upper body and lower body has proven successful for swimmers, as it gives the muscles time to recover after a workout. For upper body exercises, some good options include front pulls and lat pulldowns, among others. Lower body exercises that will benefit include seated leg presses, hip extensions and seated leg presses, just to name a few. Strengthening the core is also important, and working with a medicine ball can help do this. Other good exercises for the core are squats, crunches and push-ups.For swimmers who desire to develop functional lean mass, it means spending the right amount of time in the weight room, in addition to the pool. To develop stamina, strength and speed, a swimmer’s muscles need the right kind of exercises, as well as the appropriate distribution of workouts over each week. With the proper training, swimmers can definitely be successful in their races.
Kevin Jones is a freelance writer, researcher and fitness instructor/consultant. He had helped hundreds of people find ways to become more fit and healthy through a balanced life focusing on an individualized approach to their nutrition and fitness. In addition, Kevin has written extensively in the fitness and health industries, including writing for companies such as ICON Fitness for both the NordicTrack and ProForm brands. Connect with Kevin online; LinkedIn – Twitter
