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2006/01/10, 09:55 PM
Hi there I was curious if swimming would be negative on my weight training routine if I am trying to put on some mass. I am a scuba diver and need to keep working my legs out in the pool, plus I enjoy the water. I lose weight easily and have been told not to do much cardio because I could burn many calories that could be used for gaining mass, but I didn't know if swimming would be as bad because of the resistence of the water.
Any advice would be appreicated.
Thanks,
Nick
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2006/01/10, 10:58 PM
Swimming is cardio. Especially diving.
I usually give the most straightforward advice I can, but in this case, I will say don't give up what you love.
How many days per week are you diving? Weight, training experiance?
How difficult is it usually for you to recover from your diving workouts?
Age?
Answer these, and I will see what I can dig up.
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
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2006/01/10, 11:58 PM
Thanks for replying. I'm 25 and I try and dive about once a month. During school semesters I can dive up to 4 times a month, however in the off times I am trying to be in the pool about 2 times a week in order to keep my swimming stamina up. I try to keep my technique to only freestyle, breaststroke, and kicking with a board.
I don't have any trouble recovering from swimming exercises, I tend to be a little sore for a day and that is all. As far as weight training experience I trained consistantly for 6 months about 3 years ago, but I am trying to get back into it right now since I've gone back to school. I'm currently going to be trying a 3 day workout, so I was thinking about swimming only two days.
If there is anything else you would like to know I'll let you know.
Thanks!
-Nick
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2006/01/11, 01:07 AM
Swimming shouldn't be that bad, unless your doing it for hours at a time. An hour or two 2 times a week shouldnt be that bad.
A 3 day workout was just what I had in mind. Total body preferably.
Swimmers oftentimes get injuries due to muscle imbalances. Rows and overhead press should be your primary upper body movements. Lots of external rotation work. After you start working out, let me know what your bench press, overhead press, and row/weighted pull ups look like. This can help me to assess if you have an imbalance.
MANY swimmers have tight hip flexors. Think about it, how many times per lap do you flutter your legs. Stretch them (although you should be stretching already). I have heard some really high percentages here, though I have personally only worked with 2 swimmers. One did yoga, the other had tight hip flexors.
I would say the deadlift should be the primary lower body lift for most swimmers. Not only does it put the tension in all the right places, but it isn't to compressive on the shoulders.
Don't do a traditional parallel squat for more than 3 weeks at a time, unless you really think you can handle it. Alternate it with front squats, and other variations. If you have a cambered bar available to you, this would be preferable. A canbered bar is just a bar with a bend in it, but when you squat, it takes a lot of stress off of the shoulders.
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
============
Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
============
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