Swimming boosts cardiovascular fitness and overall muscle tone, and a carefully chosen, complementary weight-building program also improves a swimmer's fitness. Weight resistance workouts transfer aquatic training to dry land, and when specifically tailored to the swimmer's needs, help boost power and speed in the pool. Adult swimmers new to the gym should seek out professional guidance before starting a weight-training regimen.
Significance
Coaches call weight workouts for swimmers dry land training, as that portion of the athlete's exercise regimen takes place on the pool deck or in a gym. According to Mark Schubert, former Olympic swim team coach and author of "Competitive Swimming," improving the swimmer's speed in the water is the primary goal of dry land training.
Young swimmers ideally follow an organized program, which thoughtfully integrates weight training into the overall goals of both the individual and the swim team. Coaches tailor weight workouts to individual swimmer's needs, focusing on specific areas for improvement.
Function
Coaches tailor dry land workouts to improve the athlete's flexibility and to increase muscle strength and stability. Weight training ideally functions to complement the swimming regimen as opposed to merely adding muscle. One key area of focus in any swimming enhancement training is the core or abdominal muscle groups.
The core generates most of a swimmers propulsive power and any weakness slows speed and lessens power in the water. Weight workouts also function to bond teammates when one serves as the others exercise partner, according to Mark Schubert in "Competitive Swimming."
Types
Muscle group training ideally focuses on both large and small muscle groups. Specific stroke strength training focuses on those muscles used in stroke pull-downs or kicking. The muscles that support and stabilize the shoulder joint are particularly important for mature swimmers, according to the U.S. Masters swimming website.
Basic dry-land training also involves stretching, because swimmers that are more flexible move through the water faster. Because speed in the water depends largely on maintaining a streamlined position, those swimmers able to bend and flex torso and limbs with ease expend less energy moving fast. Some examples of stretching include touching the toes, or standing on toes, arms extended fully above the head.
Equipment
Fellow teammates make good exercise partners, says Mark Schubert. Stretching exercises that call on one person to push or pull and the other to resist the push or pull are safe and effective--as long as young participants receive proper instruction and supervision.
Surgical tubing, fashioned together as resistance cords, provide swimmers with a portable and inexpensive tool with which to mimic specific swimming stroke movements on land. Pull-downs and old fashioned bicep curls work well too. Medicine balls combine strength training with coordination and balance training.
Weight machines provide smooth resistance, but may also cause uneven muscle buildup. According to the "Ask the Dryland Coach Archives" of the USA Swimming website, overtraining large muscle groups and ignoring small muscle groups hurts a swimmer's overall symmetry and balance. Free weights build musculature evenly when used correctly, but bulk is not the goal. Large muscles that do not directly help the swimmer's stroke only serve to hinder the swimmer with their extra weight and energy-burning requirements, according to Mark Schubert in "Competitive Swimming."
Examples
The best swimming weight workouts feature exercises that build full-body strength.
Perform a reverse lunge and press. Stand with legs slightly apart, and hold dumbbells at shoulder height. Step back and reverse lunge while pressing the dumbbell weights up and over the shoulders and head. Reverse lunge mean taking a step back with one leg and bending the knee deeply. Do six to eight lunges on each side.
Perform a specialized row lift. Grab two dumbbells and assume a push-up stance. Raise one arm back, bending the elbows, until the dumbbell reaches the waist. Hold the position for about one second before lowering the dumbbell back down to its original position. Repeat six to eight times with each arm.
Perform the reverse-fly exercise. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lie over a large exercise ball while fully extended so that the pelvis is on top of the ball, hands are on the floor and toes are on the ground. Put both hands on the ground and hold the dumbbells. Raise the arms up and out, with elbows bent, to the level of the shoulders. Bring the dumbbells slowly back to the ground. Repeat 10 times.
Considerations
Appropriate training varies for different age groups. According to Mark Schubert, free-weight or machine-weight training is not appropriate for children or young adolescents. In its "Coaching Education Library," USA Swimming recommends that young swimmers rely on calisthenics and body-weight resistance workouts, such as push-ups. Sessions lengths vary and work well before or after swimming workouts, according to USA Swimming. All training needs the supervision of a coach.
Adults face different challenges such as joint pain or flexibility limitation and need to take the time to learn about new exercises and equipment.
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