Muscular endurance training for swimmers

Strength training can be viewed as a form of cross training (activities other than swimming that help maintain your conditioning) since it provides a different way to stimulate and challenge the body above and beyond what you achieve in the pool. However, when building muscular endurance, be sure to approach it in the right way. Muscular endurance refers to a muscle’s ability to generate a relatively high level of force repeatedly without fatigue. This is important in every swimming race, especially for distance longer than 100 m.

A strengthening programme that emphasizes muscular endurance should use moderate levels of resistance, and athletes should perform several sets of an exercise. Each set should consist of 15 to 25 reps. Muscles must get used to contracting often against a light resistance  and recovering quickly; consequently, the amount of rest between sets should be minimal.

Here are some key points you should have in mind when using strength training to build muscular endurance:

• Endurance based exercises should make up the bulk of your early season. You should continue to use the exercises, although to a lesser degree, as you move closer to your competitive season.
• Use relatively light weights or resistance when building muscular endurance. You should be able to do 15 to 25 reps with proper form throughout. If you are not be able to maintain correct form or you fatigue quickly, lower the resistance. You should be able to do two or three sets of each exercise.
• Circuit training is a great way to emphasize muscular endurance, and training circuits can easily be set up on the pool deck. When using circuit training go for a set period of time (20 to 30 sec of work) than a certain number of reps.
• Take short rests between sets, typically less than 30 sec. The work to rest ratio should be 1:1 or less. Remember that you are training both your muscular and cardiorespiratory systems to recover quickly. To accomplish this, you need to maintain the appropriate work to rest ratio.
• Incorporate variety into your training. There are many exercises you could use to build leg strength or upper body strength for example. Mix them up so your programme does not become stale.

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