69

I want to write about weight training for sprint swimmer because I am also a sprint swimmer.  As a sprinter you need to train the same way in the weight room that you would in the pool. A big misconception that sprinters have is that they have to lift heavy weights all the time to get strong. That would be like doing all resistance training in the pool, which nobody does. Most sprint swimming programs go through different phases of training during a season. Typically they do a variety of endurance, power, and speed work. The same thing needs to be done in the weight room as well. To get the most out of training, you need to change what you do every so often because your body gets used to the same thing over and over again. It wouldn't make sense to do the same workout in the pool every day so why would you do the same thing in the gym every single day. If a season starts in April and goes into September like a typical summer season you need to balance the type of lifting you do. April should consist of endurance lifting, May power lifting, June speed lifting, July power lifting, and August speed lifting. By the end of the summer you will be stronger and faster with more endurance, which is the goal of a sprinter. For example, if you need to be able to go 48 seconds as fast as you can in the 100 free, that requires all of the components discussed above. The fastest sprinters in the world do not really pace the 100. The first 50 split is within a second of their best 50 time. When you take away the time it takes to turn you are looking at only a couple tenths of a second slower. That means the first 50 is approximately 98% effort so you definitely need endurance to finish off the race.