Swimming and muscle tone

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dandyvision

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Helloooo... I just have some questions regarding swimming and a form of exercise. I'm aware that its a really great form of cardiovascular exercise and good for muscle tone, although I'm not too sure on how much to do.

some background on myself: i enjoy running/jogging but i can't do it as much as i would like to because it can start to hurt my knees. also the top half of me doesnt really do anything so i dont really have any upper body strength. i also find it hard to fit into my daily routine of going to uni, and i dont really like going the gym because i think its boring and im not interested in becoming huge anyway. I recently (as in about a week ago) started swimming before uni and i find this fits in great with my daily routine and i feel every part of my body getting used i really like it.

At the moment i'm only swimming like 500 metres because I'm just dont have the endurance and upper body strength yet. I'm aware its very early days at the moment and I'm fine with paying my dues and I don't plan on adding on extra laps until i feel i can do it comfortably (for lack of a better word) while still pushing myself. I'm planning on doing this 4 days a week and theres no foreseeable reason why I can't.

I'm obviously planning on building up the distance eventually, but my question is this: if i was to swim about 2km/1.2mile (eventually) 5 times a week would this be sufficient to achieve good upper body strength and muscle tone (read: swimmer's body).

any comments/suggestions would be really appreciated thanks a lot
 
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I'm assuming you're referencing an Olympic swimmers body? They built what they have through diet and hours upon hours of swimming daily. I'd also not be surprised if they weren't in the weightroom a couple days a week.
 
oh nah im being realistic about it i know im not going to get one of those without seriously intense commitment and extra training and stuff, but i guess you could say the body of a more humble swimmer who doesn't have his sights set on a world record haha
 
dandyvision said:
oh nah im being realistic about it i know im not going to get one of those without seriously intense commitment and extra training and stuff, but i guess you could say the body of a more humble swimmer who doesn't have his sights set on a world record haha
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Physique results are diet related. Lots of fat people swim.
 
evolution said:
I'm assuming you're referencing an Olympic swimmers body? They built what they have through diet and hours upon hours of swimming daily. I'd also not be surprised if they weren't in the weightroom a couple days a week.
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They do have sessions in the gym, lot's of them, check out photos of Alain Bernard. The guy is massive and the commentators during the Olympics did not fail to mention how weight training helped his speed in the water.
 
Yep they all use the gym but when it comes down to it swimming is the governing force affecting the shape of their bodies.
 
I think that depends on how strong you want your upper body to be.

I would think that to gain the strength to swim better/faster, you should do a sport-specific workout in the gym, and, of course, swim lengths.

If it was me, I'd find somebody who was an avid swimmer (maybe somebody who teaches stroke improvement courses) and ask them what they feel are good weight training exercises to increase your strength for swimming. You might even think about enrolling in their course. Work hard. When they see you're interested and taking it seriously, they'll be more willing to answer all your questions ;)
 
Building up to that amount of swimming is a good goal, however as you get used to it your body will quickly adapt and you will no longer reap the rewards you are looking for (physically). This is pretty much true with any activity. Its true that diet will play a major role as you are pursuing the new sport. Swimmers typically have a tad more body fat than their land sweating companions. I swam competitively most of my life (for HOURS a day) and I always did until I started adding weights/running/cycling etc. Anything non-swim related.

Swimming also tends to make you extremely hungry because the core muscles are stablized and core temp usually doesn't elevate as high as if you are sweating up a storm running. If you're not prepared for this-be prepared for some major binge sessions the minute you get home which will negate all you're trying to do physique-wise.

You say you don't have time, and that you don't really like the gym. If you're not willing to add a modest weight program to your routine then google some body weight exercises. There are plenty you can do at home. The gym simply has more accountability and you are more likely to actually DO something there then if you come up with a home workout.

If you do weights at the gym focus on 1-2 exercises per major swimming muscle group: Shoulders (include all 3 heads of the deltoid), chest, back (lats) and core muscles. Its not necessary to concentrate on legs. Find a weight thats about 75% of your max and do 2-3 sets of 12-15 per exercise. It should only really take you about 20-30 min if that and will help your swimming goals while building muscle to burn fat.
 
I have been swimming about 1 - 3 miles / week for the last several months, training for triathlons. I will say that it has made great strides in my deltoids, moderate improvement in my lats and, surprisingly to me, increases in my biceps. It has not made me big, per se, but that was not my goal and if I wanted that I would hit the weights.

Most of the lifeguards I see are not bulky, but well defined.
 
wow cheers guys wasnt expecting so many people to respond. yeah i think i might include weight exercises at home i've got a few weights and yeah cool cheers
 
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