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Izayah516 · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 20

WHAT AFFECT DOES SWIMMING HAVE ON YOUR MUSCLES?????

Boss Man · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject:

It's resistance exercise, so it may well have a small strengthening effect, and also a fatiguing effect.

It may cause Lactic Acid buildup, and may also potentially become less effective in time for muscles, as it's pretty much the same thing over and over, unless you keep alternating your strokes regularly, or speed perhaps, or both.

It's good for Cardiovascular work, but as for muscles, fairly average I would have thought, and I wouldn't advise you to do weighrs, then tag swimming on the end, incase the muscle fatigue and Glycogen reductions, seriously hinder the swimming, or even become a slight safety risk.

However you could train weights, then swim maybe 8-12 hours after, when you've had another 3-4 meals, and you're better recovered from weights.

That's if you wanted to swim on a weights day.

As for doing swimming before weights, that's a different kettle of Fish. Wouldn't be too bad, but might just affect weights a bit.

swanso5 · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:04 am Post subject:

not much for your actual muscles...makes you good actual swimming though...

vamp · Joined: 01 Jan 1970 Posts: 640

swimming laps focuses on slow twitch muscle rather than fast twitch muscle used during weight training. Swimming is excellent for cardiovascular fitness. You will not see muscle growth as with weight training with this form of excercise even though it is resistance. I personnally recommend laps on non weight days for 20 to 30 minutes max.

Be carefull on mixing weights and swimming because repetative movement on joints can cause issues especially if your muscles are not given time to recoup from previous excercise such as weights.

I strongly recomend switching cardio excercises around, for example, swimming one day, sprints another, elyptical another day, perhaps a jog, maybe a skipping routine, biking, etc.

Variety is the spice of life!

Cheers

ballas38 · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 123 Location: Greece

If you do swimming sprints instead of traditional ones, are they better than the traditional ones due to more muscle use?

vamp · Joined: 01 Jan 1970 Posts: 640

Swimming sprints are like doing wind sprints on the track. Best way to do them from my training past is sprint 1 length of pool, out and walk back to opposite side to do again.

Depending on your length speeds, hopefully between 30-45 sec. (25 metre pool) you would be back in every 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Having a lap clock at the pool you use is helpful. Do these for about 15 to sixteen minutes.

I recomend 5 minutes of laps at a moderate pace as a warm-up and 5 minutes of laps after as a cool-down. Yes you should stretch after.

I do know some swimmers that prefer to freestyle there sprints without a dive in and breaststroke back.

Either way, these are excellent interval cardio excercises.

Hope this helped.

vamp · Joined: 01 Jan 1970 Posts: 640

Forgot to answer this part,

"are they better than the traditional ones due to more muscle use?"

I wouldn't say they are better as utilizing both through your workouts would be more benificial. ie sprints on Tuesday and laps on Thursday type idea. The sprints are a higher intensity and you will need to do them for less time to feel fatigued just like wind sprints to jogging.

As for more muscle use, I would say no, you use all the same muscles, it is the intensity that you are changing.

Cheers