How to Build Upper Body Strength for Swimmers

Swimmers need upper body strength to increase their body's ability to pull itself through the water. Like it or not, swimming is more about the arms and shoulders than any other part of the body. While it uses nearly every muscle in the body for propulsion and balance, it is the upper body that drives the arms through the water and gives most of the speed to the swimmer. Because of this, it is vital that swimmers engage in a regimen that builds upper body muscle strength and endurance.

Begin by doing weight training. As in all weight training, it is more important to do multiple repetitions than to go for raw strength. Consequently, use lesser amounts of weight to start your training and work up to heavier weights while increasing the number of repetitions. It will be better if you start a little light on the weight and move up quicker at the beginning than to strain through too much weight and risk injury.

Toning exercises such as push ups can be used to between weight lifting days to reinforce the heavy training. Learn ways to do several types of push ups. You can do the traditional type. You may prefer to do some where you are standing up or with your feet on a chair. Injecting more variety will only assure that more muscle groups become involved in your training regimen. More muscle usage means better training.

Using a resistance type of machine along with exercise will only build up the muscle faster without a great risk. There are a number of good products available on the market and in most gyms to serve this purpose. You may want to experiment and find the one that suits your exercise style the best.

Rowing machines are also a great conditioning device for the core and upper body combined. By doing several hundred repetitions per week, this will increase arm strength and possibly flexibility. It will also work the shoulders and to a lesser degree the chest and abdominal muscles. By increasing the speed and resistance, you can maximize your exercising every time you work out.

Make use of machines that allow you to work your shoulders from back to front with either weights or resistance. This will do wonders for shoulders and chest development. If you are a woman it will even increase your chest size if you are concerned about it.

Finally, the key to successful training is persistence. Nothing takes the place of dedication to the effort. Many different routines will generate the upper body strength that you need. None of them will work if you are slack in getting them done.