I took on dry land training 2-3x a week a few years ago, but all I do is swim so no worries about other sports/time. I definitely feel it's allowed me to hold off injuries and be able to sustain some decent yardage and intensity w/o any issues. Make me faster? I guess it's all how you look at it. For a guy who was always battling little tweaks and injuries in the shoulder complex/scaps yea those things kept me from swimming hard. Now that I don't have any issues it's just about recovering from the prior days workout. So, not being injured lets me train more. From a pure strength standpoint my ability to hold a great body position indefinitely is due to a lot of dry land stuff plus being able to swim more. chicken or egg? All I k now is I tried it w/o dry land and never got out of my rut. Once I shored up some imbalances in my upper back/scapular stabilization everything came into focus. YMMV. No I don't have any double blind studies. Be careful though you are bound to put on a little muscle and a few pounds.....I know that scares triathletes!

I am not in the same league as you are in the pool. For my first tri this year I did zero swim training in the water. Not smart I know. The swim was 1/2 mile and all I did to prepare was strength training. Lots of core work. My swim time at that race did not break any records but I did swim it from start to finish and felt comfortable doing so. My training partner who had also skipped any swim training but had not done any strength training did considerably worse on race day, having to backstroke some and at one point hang onto a kayak.

I don't know if that helps or if it proves anything one way or another but I'm a believer and will continue to strength train.

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The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die. -Steve Prefontaine

Since you swim slower than a 12 year old girl I would say no you don't need strength training.

Not that it really matters, but when you say mid-20min, does that mean 20:30 or 25?

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

20:30. I have the speed for just under 20 in a wetsuit, but its hard to execute in the race!

if you're a 20 min 1500 swimmer, you have plenty of strength. I probably wouldn't bother.

What's your 100m sprint time?

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Probably like 1:14. Thanks for the advice!

Hey I bet he can run faster than a 12 year girl

LOL

really?

Maybe I was wrong....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Yes, you should do some strength and conditioning work. A solid 9 week, periodized progression that focused on "dynamic" movements would help with injury prevention, strength/power development and stroke coordination. It would be more important than getting in those extra yards.

Best regards,

Tim Floyd

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http://www.magnoliamasters.com
http://www.snappingtortuga.com
http://www.swimeasyspeed.com

I probably couldn't :p

SnappingT do you have any links to the type of program you are talking about?

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Let food be thy medicine...

I'd do rotator cuff strengthening exercises, but not necessarily strength training. The rotator cuff stuff helps keep you from not getting hurt.

If you do choose to lift, just do pull ups.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD