I'm small but I genetically have big lats, and without any training I can cable pull a lot, close to 300 lbs, which is a lot more than my body weight. I could probably even do more, but my grip/forearms are the limiter - if I used lifting straps, I'd bet I could do more.

I would be really surprised if Javier Gomez or Alistair Brownlee, who are FOP elite triathlon swimmers, could cable pull as much as me, but they swim nearly 2x my speed!

Wow - 300lb one arm standing cable pull. That's ant like strength in my mind. Amazed.

For a cable row? Done the whole stack before.

Whole stack. Standing. One arm replicating a swim pull. Amazing.

Dang, maybe a 100 in 2:00 isn't terrible for me who is tested by 20lbs.

Now that I've completely read what you're talking about...nope. But what you're suggesting isn't a normal gym move per se.

True. It isn't a normal gym move. I wouldn't suggest it to build muscle.

For me, it was a way to develop a feel for a freestyle "pull". I think I was making the mistake of the elbow leading the pull as I swam (just like the elbow leads the arm backwards while running). So while it's not a much weight, it feels like the weight helps me get a feel of "anchoring" the hand/arm while engaging the core and pull without the elbow leading backwards.

Dunno exactly....but, I've done a few tethered swims in my backyard pool with an elastic tether. At one point I got curious how much pull I was putting on the tether. So, I swam at different "paces" and marked how far I stretched the tether and measured that force.

At my 50y repeat pace (1:25 / 100y), I was pulling at 35-40 lbs.
At my 100y repeat pace (1:35 / 100y), I was pulling at 25-30 lbs.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that's exactly the same as it would be swimming free, but that's the order of magnitude anyway.

So, if I were going to put that into sets/reps/weight terms I would say something like:

20 sets, 22 reps per arm, 40 lbs. (20s rest) = 20x50y repeats @ 42s
20 sets, 44 reps per arm, 30 lbs. (20s rest) = 20x100y repeats @ 1:35

As noted above this should be a very swim specific motion. Lean over, point your head at the cable pully, stretch your arms out over your head: catch-pull-underarm-recover, repeat. Its almost exactly what I do with my stretch chords on days I can't get to the pool.

ETA: Swim specific means, same joint motions, same range of motion, same speed of pull, same frequency of pull. if somone looked at you sideways, you should look exactly like you are swimming. And your pull speed/frequency should look the same. My stroke rate is 57 spm at 100y pace, and is 61 spm at 50y pace, and is 65 spm at 25y pace. I use a metronome to set the pace I'm trying to emulate.

I also simulate 25y sprints with 50 lbs. 20x11(per arm) @ 50 lbs, 15s rest.

Dunno exactly....but, I've done a few tethered swims in my backyard pool with an elastic tether. At one point I got curious how much pull I was putting on the tether. So, I swam at different "paces" and marked how far I stretched the tether and measured that force.

At my 50y repeat pace (1:25 / 100y), I was pulling at 35-40 lbs.
At my 100y repeat pace (1:35 / 100y), I was pulling at 25-30 lbs.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that's exactly the same as it would be swimming free, but that's the order of magnitude anyway.

So, if I were going to put that into sets/reps/weight terms I would say something like:

20 sets, 22 reps per arm, 40 lbs. (20s rest) = 20x50y repeats @ 42s
20 sets, 44 reps per arm, 30 lbs. (20s rest) = 20x100y repeats @ 1:35

As noted above this should be a very swim specific motion. Lean over, point your head at the cable pully, stretch your arms out over your head: catch-pull-underarm-recover, repeat. Its almost exactly what I do with my stretch chords on days I can't get to the pool.

ETA: Swim specific means, same joint motions, same range of motion, same speed of pull, same frequency of pull. if somone looked at you sideways, you should look exactly like you are swimming. And your pull speed/frequency should look the same. My stroke rate is 57 spm at 100y pace, and is 61 spm at 50y pace, and is 65 spm at 25y pace. I use a metronome to set the pace I'm trying to emulate.

I also simulate 25y sprints with 50 lbs. 20x11(per arm) @ 50 lbs, 15s rest.

"weight" on one machine versus another machine is meaningless. It's like "speed" on a trainer. Different machines with different designs provide different mechanical advantages. I even own a machine with levers to change the number of pulleys utilized, changing the resistance by 50%.

You’d be better off using stretch cords and doing like 50 reps at a time.

I read that Phelps can do 28 chin ups, that that would approximate pulling his body weight 28 times during a 100 fly. Pretty impressive given how "big" he is. 28x of your body weight for that exercise is pretty good.