Client # 299a in Workout Questions and Answers

__Client # 299a asks:
“How much weightlifting in general do swimmers do? I am finding that doing the body pump routine at the YMCA inhibits my swimming. Yet I like the core strength. When I did just yoga and swimming I was not as lean, as with weight lifting 3X a week.”

Weightlifting and swimming actually work hand in hand. Swimming takes stress off the joints and allows recovery and cardiovascular work. In truth while many people assume mixing both is counterintuitive it actually isn’t you get more out of a half hour of each than you do by only doing one alone.
It’s less about how much honestly and more about whatever exercises you do keep them balanced. For example if you do press weight lifting add a pull movement to it like mixing leg extensions and hamstring curls. You have to train your whole body upper lower and core. If you dont your performance in the water will suffer and that class may have hindered you due to their template of repping out could have caused you more harm than good with the swimming added to it. I would think weight lifting prior to a swim would help just do a shorter balanced workout before you swim. 3-5x a week is plenty just when you lift lan it out and balance it to get the most out of both of your workouts in the weight room and in the water and you will be fine.

Last updated March 15, 2019