Comments on: Wellness Wednesday: 5 Strength Training Exercises to Improve Swimming Performance

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:26:36 +0000

In reply to Gene Turner. Stabilizing the shoulder under load requires work of the smaller muscles in the rotator cuff, not just the big pec major. By using alternate presses, one calls on these muscles to stabilize the joint and the core to brace the countermovement. Just need to be careful in ramping up the weight. For more advanced stability, do alternating BP while the back is on a stability ball. BP machines and simultaneous arm presses don't train the shoulder joint stabilizers or core counter-rotation (important in the long-axis strokes) nearly as effectively.

By: Ben Yamsek

Ben Yamsek — Sun, 14 May 2023 21:23:07 +0000

What about Olympic lifts? (Snatch, Clean + Jerk?)

By: Jennifer Smalley

Jennifer Smalley — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 15:23:05 +0000

My teenage kids started lifting because our pool is not always open. They just had a meet (first one in 8 months) they dropped major time in every event.

By: Ben Whaymand

Ben Whaymand — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 16:17:32 +0000

Rachael Whaymand

By: Jonathan Ziegler

Jonathan Ziegler — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:19:47 +0000

In reply to Thelred Ziegler. Thelred Ziegler sweet

By: Thelred Ziegler

Thelred Ziegler — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 13:39:28 +0000

Jonathan Ziegler

By: Jorge Lopez

Jorge Lopez — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 18:39:25 +0000

Daniel Lopez

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:02:34 +0000

Why do you recommend alternating shoulder presses? This is not only dangerous as it takes you off balance, it puts you at risk of injury. More advanced weight trainers might do alternating shoulder presses but start off with both hands at once.

By: Gene Turner

Gene Turner — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:02:14 +0000

By: Bob Prichard

Bob Prichard — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 14:32:18 +0000

Our 18 Olympic swimmers went on to win 43 Gold Medals and set 11 World Records after we released the microfibers caused by lifting weights. Weights increase muscle size and strength by tearing thousands of the 20-50,000 individual muscle fibers in each muscle. As these torn fibers are repaired, they become bigger and stronger. But any time you tear tissues in the body, you also create scar tissue. Microfibers are a mild form of scar tissue that form around the muscles as an internal cast to facilitate the repair process. These microfibers cannot be released by stretching. The problem is that there is an initial improvement in swim times as it takes about two years for the microfibers to accumulate to the point where they reduce flexibility. From over 30 years working with age-group, masters and elite swimmers, we have found the fastest swimmers are the ones who have the greatest flexibility in stroke-specific ranges. Three of these ranges are the expansion of the stomach, diaphragm and chest. Bench presses and sit-ups constrict these ranges, reducing the ability to take in oxygen. One of our swimmers who lifted a lot held a national record at 50 meters, but was never competitive at 100 meters. After we released the microfibers caused by her lifting, she went on to win 4 Gold Medals, all at 100m distances. As one of our swimmers pointed out, people can swim around 5 miles an hour, while small fish can swim 25 miles an hour. Fish are more flexible than people. Plus, you see very few fish working out in weight rooms.