Round 4 – Who Trains The Best – Swimmers

April 26, 2009 on 6:40 pm | In Best Workouts In The World, Strength Training | 1 Comment

That’s right…swimmers.

Swimmers have to train extremely hard to perform at a high level.  Jim Smith of the Diesel Crew sent me a pair of videos to use after I posted Round 3 – NBA Training .  

So far I have posted videos from MMA fighters, NFL Stars and NBA Players.  Each time, the readers of the site (you guys) get to vote on which one is better.  The winner of the vote moves on to the next round to face winners from other sports. 

Which Athlete Trains The Best?As a frame of reference, remember that these are only clips of their massive training regimens, and keep in mind their sport.  Try not to compare swimmers to NFL players or visa versa.  The training is going to be slightly different.

Michael Phelps

Phelps 2

Phelps 3

Ian Thorpe
 

 I think this is a good post to “think outside our training box.”  Not many of us compete in swimming, so it provides another perspective.

MY OPINION:  That being said, I think both Phelps and Thorpe are beneficiaries of their body types, and endless hours in the pool.  Strength training obviously isn’t their strong suit.   Of course I don’t expect them to throw around serious weight in the gym, but I do expect exercises with good form and complete range of motion. 

I will take Ian Thorpe in this one.  Plus, he has an awesome swimming nickname Ian “Thorpedo.”  His exercises include more free weight variations.  Phelps had a decent clip performing Bulgarian Split Squats with a sandbag, but the machine work looked weak.  Again, these are just clips, but swimmers would have to include some work capacity.   Both athletes compete in sprints up to slightly longer swims (still in the short to medium distance range).

The Thorpedo probably celebrating my choice  - Although Phelps came out with many medals and records.

- Joe Hashey, CSCS -