Strength

What are the benefits of foam rolling before a workout?

Debunking the Myth: The Real Benefits of Foam Rolling

Okay, so when you foam roll, what you're really doing is you're letting your body feel the area. You're not breaking up any kind of myofascial release or any tissue or anything. That doesn't happen. It's not that easy. People get told that a lot, but that's not how it works. Now, what it really does as far as if you're very sore or if you're in some type of pain is that because you're foam rolling that area or you're putting pressure in that area, you're essentially doing a small stretch with a lot of pressure, so you're turning off the receptors of pain in that area. So as soon as you're done foam rolling, hey, you won't feel anything for a little while. Why? Because the receptors of pain are basically tuned down. So that's why foam rolling has been used a lot is because I'm sore, I feel like I'm tight, and then I just foam roll and I don't feel it anymore. That doesn't mean it goes away. So there's no research that says that foam rolling is going to help you perform better. Now, for top level athletes or for whoever works out with a very high power output or high strength and things like that, if you have a routine that includes foam rolling, then it helps with just you mentally having your routine and being able to be calm about, alright, I warmed up correctly, now I'm going to go train. So there's not really a lot of benefits from it.

Foam rolling helps to temporarily turn off the pain receptors in an area and can also help with mental preparation when part of a routine. It does not have any scientifically proven benefits for performance.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/bykp8imsmahsywcj0yvt.vtt

The benefits of foam rolling before a workout are often misunderstood. Foam rolling does not actually break up myofascial release or tissues, despite common misconceptions. Instead, when you foam roll, you apply pressure to an area, essentially performing a small stretch with pressure. This can temporarily turn off pain receptors in that area, providing relief for soreness or discomfort. However, this relief is not permanent. Foam rolling does not have research-backed evidence to suggest that it improves performance. It can be included in the routine of top-level athletes or individuals with high power output or strength as part of their mental preparation and warming up process. Ultimately, there aren't many significant benefits attributed to foam rolling.

Can you take us through a typical dryland/weight session to build swimming strength?

Building Swimming Strength: The 70-30 Upper Body Rule

So, I consider swimming to be more of a, let's say 70-30, meaning 70% of the work is upper body and then some transfer over the core and then 30% as far as like how much leg volume you're doing within the swimming. That's just my personal model for swimming athletes. So, I do 70% of the work in the gym would be more towards the upper body. Not only strength, but lactate clearance also and oxidative. So, the training model is not just one session, but it's according to the split, like how many days a week you're training. It's also according to where you are in your season. Are you in off-season? Are you in the beginning of a block, the end of a block? So, for competitive swimming, we would have to go biomechanically through the ranges of horizontal pushing, horizontal pulling, vertical pushing, vertical pulling, and in between horizontal and vertical, all the angles in between. And also unilateral, so not both hands at the same time, but one hand at a time or one angle at a time, including the rib cage. So, that would be typical for me as far as the model in general.

The training model for competitive swimming consists of upper body strength, lactate clearance, and oxidative exercises. Exercises are done in the horizontal pushing, horizontal pulling, vertical pushing, vertical pulling, and unilateral angles to engage the rib cage.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/kk7c27lncmdvojx7m9ev.vtt

In a typical dryland/weight session to build swimming strength, I focus on a 70-30 split. This means that approximately 70% of the work is dedicated to the upper body, with some core engagement, while the remaining 30% is focused on leg volume. This is my personal approach for training swimming athletes.

The gym workouts primarily target upper body strength, lactate clearance, and oxidative capacity. It's important to note that the training model is not limited to a single session but takes into account factors such as training frequency and the phase of the season (off-season, beginning or end of a block).

For competitive swimmers, it's essential to cover a range of biomechanical movements, including horizontal pushing and pulling, vertical pushing and pulling, and various angles between horizontal and vertical. Additionally, unilateral exercises are incorporated, working one hand or one angle at a time. Even the rib cage is considered in this comprehensive approach.

Overall, this model serves as a general guideline for my approach to building swimming strength during dryland/weight sessions.

Build Pectoral Muscles Fast with These Expert Tips!

Okay, this is a great question. So what you're gonna do is you're gonna pick two exercises. To me, the best ones are gonna be horizontal pressing are gonna be mostly for pectoral muscles fully. So I would say anywhere from a horizontal or an angle like an incline bench, so a bench press, flat bench or a small incline bench press and a fly. So you can pick cable flies or dumbbell flies. I prefer cable flies because they have that tension relationship that is better. So what I would do is I would start with volume that is like three sets of ten for example on week one and increase the volume over time for the next four to six weeks. Then you take a small deload and you start over with a little bit higher weight and you do that for four to six weeks and over time if you just keep repeating that four to six weeks up peak bring it back down four to six weeks up peak bring it back down and so forth you're gonna have a great build of pectoral muscles. What do you do at the beginning as far as sets and reps? Well let's say week one you start with three sets of ten, week two you could do that twice a week. If they're not that sore then maybe three times a week but you can start with that three sets of ten week one, three sets of twelve week two, then three sets of fifteen week three, then you bring it back down three sets of eight, go up in weight right for week four, then three sets of ten, go up in weight according to week one and so forth. Hope that helps.

To build your pectoral muscles, start with 3 sets of 10 for Week 1 and increase the volume over time for the next four to six weeks. Then take a small deload and start again with a higher weight. Repeat this cycle for four to six weeks and you will have great results.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/dxmmxdfqi7fncwnncur8.vtt

To build pectoral muscles quickly, you can focus on two main exercises: horizontal pressing (such as bench press or incline bench press) and flies (cable or dumbbell). Start with a volume of three sets of ten reps in the first week and gradually increase the volume over the next four to six weeks. After that, take a small deload and begin again with slightly higher weights. Repeat this cycle of four to six weeks of increasing volume followed by a deload. By consistently repeating this cycle, you can effectively build your pectoral muscles. In terms of sets and reps, you can start with three sets of ten in week one, then progress to three sets of twelve in week two, and three sets of fifteen in week three. Bring it back down to three sets of eight in week four, increase the weight, and continue the pattern similar to week one. You can perform these exercises twice or thrice a week depending on your level of soreness. I hope this information helps you achieve your goals!

Optimizing Your Squatting Frequency for Maximum Gains

Okay, that's a great question. As often as you can recover to do it again effectively, as often as you can recover again to keep moving forward within your program goals, and as often as you can to recover completely as your energy system depletes. So for example, if you keep hitting PRs, PRs, PRs, PRs, at some point you're going to have to break down as a human being because you can't keep training at that amount of volume, so you taper back. If you don't do it as often and your weight training is not getting stronger, then you're probably not doing anything. So the idea is to find a medium that is taking you upwards in your KPIs. You have to have KPIs. Key performance indicators will allow you to know whether you need to squat heavy more often or less. And that is according to your local fatigue, which is the legs. If they're too sore, probably not want to squat heavy again the next day or the day where you have that. Or you have local fatigue, you have energy, like as far as systemic fatigue, so if you're too tired and you barely can do your work and you can't function in your everyday life because of fatigue, then you're probably squatting too heavy too often. And then the third one would be axial fatigue. Like if your lower back is tore up, your axial fatigue is way too much, you probably did it too much. So you kind of want to have a medium to where it's working and it's giving you good results in your KPIs and not on the negative ones. All right?

Recovery should be done as often as needed to keep progressing with your program goals, and to make sure you're not overtraining. You should also pay attention to fatigue indicators such as local fatigue (legs), systemic fatigue (overall tiredness), and actual fatigue (lower back).

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/qxnark40vqk7pwyxnj8n.vtt

How often you should squat heavy depends on your ability to recover effectively, move forward in your program goals, and fully replenish your energy. The frequency should be determined by factors such as hitting personal records (PRs) consistently without breaking down physically from excessive training volume. Finding a balance that allows for progress in key performance indicators (KPIs) is crucial. It's important to listen to the signals from your body, such as local fatigue in the legs, systemic fatigue affecting overall energy levels, and axial fatigue in the lower back. If your legs are too sore or you're experiencing excessive fatigue that impairs daily functioning, it may indicate squatting heavy too frequently. The goal is to find a moderate frequency that yields positive results in KPIs without negative consequences.

Rev up your lower back with this targeted warm-up

Okay so what we have here I'm assuming that is a lower back warm-up that you're asking for for squats and deadlifts and such. So this is a high zerker squat with heels elevation on a ramp. The ramp is gonna posteriorly tilt your pelvic bone so that it's gonna make sure that you are getting good work done on orienting your hips the right way posteriorly and then also getting you good hip flexion in the sense by holding to the ball in between and also the elbows up allow you to get your core involved in everything that you're doing.

A high Zurcher squat with heels elevation on a ramp is a good lower back warm up for squats and deadlifts. It posteriorly tilts the pelvic bone, provides hip flexion and allows for core engagement.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/hwkvtx03smowpjbc4juw.vtt

To better warm up your lower back, specifically for squats and deadlifts, one effective exercise is the high zerker squat with heels elevated on a ramp. The ramp helps tilt your pelvic bone posteriorly, ensuring proper hip orientation. Holding a ball between your body and elbows allows for good hip flexion and engages the core during the exercise. This warm-up targets the lower back while preparing you for squats and deadlifts.

For weight loss, would you recommend cardio or weights?

Maximize Weight Loss: The Perfect Combination of Cardio and Weights

For weight loss, I'm assuming fat loss, I'm gonna go with a mixture of weights and cardio. Just enough cardio so that you're not gassing yourself out too much as far as your energy levels. And for weight training, just enough weight training to sustain your cardio. You gotta be a little bit sore, but not too much because you're gonna be in a caloric deficit with your nutrition. So if you're eating less than what you need, you're gonna be tired. If you tire yourself out way too much and you demand your muscles to grow, it's not gonna happen if you're in a deficit. So just be careful balancing both, but it is a mixture of cardio and weights.

Balance your weight training and cardio to make sure you're not over-exerting yourself while in a caloric deficit.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/y8q0yfm5jdzdnvoxmxp2.vtt

For weight loss, specifically fat loss, I would recommend a combination of cardio and weight training. It's important to include enough cardio to burn calories without exhausting yourself and impacting your energy levels. Similarly, with weight training, aim for a level that allows you to sustain your cardio efforts. You want to experience some muscle soreness but avoid overexertion since you'll likely be in a caloric deficit due to your nutrition. If you push yourself too much with intense workouts and expect muscle growth while in a deficit, it may not happen as desired. Find a balance between both forms of exercise, but remember that it's primarily a mixture of cardio and weights that can contribute to effective weight loss.

Swimming

Triathlon

Photography

Track & Field

Nutrition

Physical Therapy

Running

Pets

Cycling

Podcasting

HealthCare

Musculoskeletal

Hockey

First Responders

Integrative Medicine

Chiropractic

Cross Country Skiing

Adaptive Sports

Mental Health

Surfing

Climbing

Tennis

Military

Mind Body

Scholars

Criminal Justice

Liquor

Golf

CrossFit

Soccer

Pickleball

Hunting

Public Speaking

Venture Capital

Program Design

Weight Training

Injury Prevention

Conditioning

Form & Technique

Warm Up

“That was the warmup”
🏋️‍♂️ Sports Performance Specialist
🏆 Educator/Master Trainer
🔥 Pro Athlete Trainer
💻 Online Coaching
🦍 @boredapeyachtclub #9797

Neither AnyQuestion nor its Experts provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or otherwise provide professional healthcare services.

Lalo Vera