bodyswimming?

Wilfried Helferding said:

i am a newbie and wanted to ask if i can build muscle (not tone) considerably through swimming?

Yes, but not as much as you would with weight training and not in all areas of the body.
--
Regards, Helgi Briem helgi DOT briem AT decode DOT is

Wilfried Helferding said:

i am a newbie and wanted to ask if i can build muscle (not tone) considerably through swimming?

Yes, but not as much as you would with weight training and not in all areas of the body.
--
Regards, Helgi Briem helgi DOT briem AT decode DOT is

Wilfried Helferding' bernhard@ iraqlove.net said:

Quoted message said:

i am a newbie and wanted to ask if i can build muscle (not tone) considerably through swimming?

Considerably? No. Swimming builds long lean muscles, particularly in the upper body and shoulders.
You get stronger, certainly, but not particularly bulky. The muscles you grow are well suited for
endurance work but not for short-term pure power.

What type of muscle are you hoping for? If you're more interested in the huge muscles that
body-building magazines and football teams prefer, you need to lift weights. They don't care about
endurance (they tend to think in terms of 10 repetitions or less), but really like short-term bursts
of power. The muscles they grow are mostly white meat - bulky, well suited for quick bursts of
strength, but relatively poor on endurance.

Swimmers (especially sprinters) often do lift weights, but the lifting they do is very different.
They tend to prefer low weights and many repetitions (100 or more). They tend to encourage red-meat
type growth in regions genetically predisposed to white meat (almost a contradiction, I know). The
intent is to build strength and endurance together. They do not want to bulk up (it just adds drag
in the water).

Ross

Wilfried Helferding' bernhard@ iraqlove.net said:

Quoted message said:

i am a newbie and wanted to ask if i can build muscle (not tone) considerably through swimming?

Considerably? No. Swimming builds long lean muscles, particularly in the upper body and shoulders.
You get stronger, certainly, but not particularly bulky. The muscles you grow are well suited for
endurance work but not for short-term pure power.

What type of muscle are you hoping for? If you're more interested in the huge muscles that
body-building magazines and football teams prefer, you need to lift weights. They don't care about
endurance (they tend to think in terms of 10 repetitions or less), but really like short-term bursts
of power. The muscles they grow are mostly white meat - bulky, well suited for quick bursts of
strength, but relatively poor on endurance.

Swimmers (especially sprinters) often do lift weights, but the lifting they do is very different.
They tend to prefer low weights and many repetitions (100 or more). They tend to encourage red-meat
type growth in regions genetically predisposed to white meat (almost a contradiction, I know). The
intent is to build strength and endurance together. They do not want to bulk up (it just adds drag
in the water).

Ross