swimmers build - calorie surplus or deficit?

[GutiSteve]

newb here!

ive been a cyclist and swimmer for years but i am pretty new to weight lifting. as much as i would like swimming to form a "swimmers build", it doesnt. so I am hitting the gym...

I have been working out for about a month now with a calorie deficit , i was doing weights and cardio. i am currently just doing weights. i have some muscle but im not close to being ripped.

I have kept the same weight for the whole month (5'8", 155). so i assume that i am gaining muscle and losing fat?

my goal is to be 5'8", 145, and lean ripped.

my question is this....should i have a calorie surplus to gain more muscle and weight before cutting down to 145? or should i stick with what i am doing with a calorie deficit to lose the fat while tightening up the muscle that i have?

also should i be doing cardio or not? if so, how much?

heres my current schedule

mon pecs abs

teus back

wed off

thurs shoulders legs (my legs barley need anything as ive been a cyclist for so long)

fri arms abs

i have tried FBW and this seems to be a little better for me. id love to hear any suggestions relating to my question or not. thanks!!

ps i have read the beginners postings suggestions and i didnt find anything relating to this, i hope this is still a valid question...

[That70sShowDude]

I don't really know much about swimmers, but I do know that Michael Phelps eats around 9,000 calories per day to maintain his bodyweight. This means that he does loads of cardio type stuff. Probably mostly just swimming. Just search for Michael Phelps workout on google or something and you'll find out all you need to know.

[GutiSteve]

well i am currently not training for swimming or biking.....i just want to get ripped. which is why i am posting here as opposed to a swimming board. i am willing to take it easy on the cardio if it will help me gain more results.

i am just confused about those 2 things...

how calories and cardio will play in my specific goals

[GutiSteve]

anyone?

[SuffolkPunch]

caloric excess + weight = gain muscle and fat

caloric defecit = lose fat and if your are unlucky, some muscle too

There is a zone in the middle where you can 'recomp' - but for many people this is an exercise in frustration. If you want definate results, pick one of the first two goals at a time.

Choose a workout regime from the sticky threads. Boom, done

[L1GHTWEIGHTBABY]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jasonlezak1.htm

[GutiSteve]

caloric excess + weight = gain muscle and fat

caloric defecit = lose fat and if your are unlucky, some muscle too

There is a zone in the middle where you can 'recomp' - but for many people this is an exercise in frustration. If you want definate results, pick one of the first two goals at a time.

Choose a workout regime from the sticky threads. Boom, done

thanks for the info suffolk, that pretty much answers my question. so you cant "gain" muscle with a deficit but you can maintain the muscle while losing fat (with a little luck).

i am pretty happy with the regime im doing now, im just refining the diet and cardio.

im going to stick with the deficit and see how cut i can get without the fat and if its not up to par, ill try to gain more muscle. i hope i can tighten up the muscle i already have in the process, otherwise it seems ill just be wasting my time....

[Swmkid07]

newb here!

ive been a cyclist and swimmer for years but i am pretty new to weight lifting. as much as i would like swimming to form a "swimmers build", it doesnt. so I am hitting the gym...

I have been working out for about a month now with a calorie deficit , i was doing weights and cardio. i am currently just doing weights. i have some muscle but im not close to being ripped.

I have kept the same weight for the whole month (5'8", 155). so i assume that i am gaining muscle and losing fat?

my goal is to be 5'8", 145, and lean ripped.

my question is this....should i have a calorie surplus to gain more muscle and weight before cutting down to 145? or should i stick with what i am doing with a calorie deficit to lose the fat while tightening up the muscle that i have?

also should i be doing cardio or not? if so, how much?

heres my current schedule

mon pecs abs

teus back

wed off

thurs shoulders legs (my legs barley need anything as ive been a cyclist for so long)

fri arms abs

i have tried FBW and this seems to be a little better for me. id love to hear any suggestions relating to my question or not. thanks!!

ps i have read the beginners postings suggestions and i didnt find anything relating to this, i hope this is still a valid question...

I am a swimmer at D1 university, and here's what you need to know about works outs and things. We dedicate about 25 hours to working out a week, and about 17-20 of those are cardio. We lift three times a week and are on strict diets. Swimmers are concerned with being as lean and hydrodynamic as possible, so the loss of fat and muscular leanness is paramount. As you may know, there are phases that elite training athletes go through during their training, and this holds true for most sports. The first phase, aerobic, consists of cardio, which is necessary to get in shape to be able to handle the workouts. Second, or anaerobic and anaerobic power works on fast twitch firing, while implementing all of the cardio work you have just done. You might be looking more towards phase two. There is a sprinter on our team who used to fight amateur MMA, and he is know 6'4" 220, after loosing 40 pounds. What I recommend for you, and what he does, is aerobic work in the pool 2-3 times a week. The other days, work on anaerobic power, so sprinting and resistance training. We lift 3 times a week, and all he does is 4 sets of about 4 reps. Basically our lifting consists of a chest and lower body, so maybe we'll go close-grip bench, and then box squats. Then we will do a circuit of weighted lunges(10 each leg), pull-ups( 4, I recommend weighted), lateral shoulder raises(10), weighted back extensions, and lateral band walks. These are just some ideas for lifting, I'm sure you can come up with other ones. You also need an intense diet, which I am sure you are already practicing. I usually go carbs before workout, protein after. Make sure your get the cardio in about 4-5 hours a week at least. Consistency is the key!Hope this helps.

[gomez26]

I don't really know much about swimmers, but I do know that Michael Phelps eats around 9,000 calories per day to maintain his bodyweight. This means that he does loads of cardio type stuff. Probably mostly just swimming. Just search for Michael Phelps workout on google or something and you'll find out all you need to know.

I am a swimmer at D1 university, and here's what you need to know about works outs and things. We dedicate about 25 hours to working out a week, and about 17-20 of those are cardio. We lift three times a week and are on strict diets. Swimmers are concerned with being as lean and hydrodynamic as possible, so the loss of fat and muscular leanness is paramount. As you may know, there are phases that elite training athletes go through during their training, and this holds true for most sports. The first phase, aerobic, consists of cardio, which is necessary to get in shape to be able to handle the workouts. Second, or anaerobic and anaerobic power works on fast twitch firing, while implementing all of the cardio work you have just done. You might be looking more towards phase two. There is a sprinter on our team who used to fight amateur MMA, and he is know 6'4" 220, after loosing 40 pounds. What I recommend for you, and what he does, is aerobic work in the pool 2-3 times a week. The other days, work on anaerobic power, so sprinting and resistance training. We lift 3 times a week, and all he does is 4 sets of about 4 reps. Basically our lifting consists of a chest and lower body, so maybe we'll go close-grip bench, and then box squats. Then we will do a circuit of weighted lunges(10 each leg), pull-ups( 4, I recommend weighted), lateral shoulder raises(10), weighted back extensions, and lateral band walks. These are just some ideas for lifting, I'm sure you can come up with other ones. You also need an intense diet, which I am sure you are already practicing. I usually go carbs before workout, protein after. Make sure your get the cardio in about 4-5 hours a week at least. Consistency is the key!Hope this helps.

both these posts are useless. the o.p has made it clear he does not want to be a swimmer only look like one. he simply needs to work out how much muscle he needs to gain & how much fat he needs to lose, then use bodybuilding methods to achieve it in the quickest, most efficient manner.

thanks for the info suffolk, that pretty much answers my question. so you cant "gain" muscle with a deficit but you can maintain the muscle while losing fat (with a little luck).

i am pretty happy with the regime im doing now, im just refining the diet and cardio.

im going to stick with the deficit and see how cut i can get without the fat and if its not up to par, ill try to gain more muscle. i hope i can tighten up the muscle i already have in the process

[xtaci]

I don't really know much about swimmers, but I do know that Michael Phelps eats around 9,000 calories per day to maintain his bodyweight. This means that he does loads of cardio type stuff. Probably mostly just swimming. Just search for Michael Phelps workout on google or something and you'll find out all you need to know.

He does 8 hour trainning throu the day , thats why he NEEDS 9k calories :P

[atlax14]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jasonlezak1.htm

use this.

[gomez26]

use this.

again, he is not looking to increase his performance in the pool ffs, he used the swimmer purely as an example of the type of physique he wants to attain. doing swimmer's training program is not an efficient way to achieve appearance goals, doing swimmer's training program is an efficient way to achieve swimming performance goals, a swimmer's appearance is only a side effect of their training - this is not their goal.

if u take 2 twins, both 145lbs 5'8 @ 6%bf, one achieved their body thru 3 yrs of swimming training 25hrs a week like Swmkid07 said, the other achieved it thru 9mnths of weight training 4-6 hrs a week & diet, assuming the same muscles are developed to an equal extent you will not see any difference between them. only a fool would do swimming training programs if their goal was only to look a certain way. if it is for amusement because u dont like weight training but u like swimming, thats another story, but who the hell would wants to train 25hrs a week for recreation?

ps i have read the beginners postings suggestions and i didnt find anything relating to this, i hope this is still a valid question...

dont be fooled by the fools in this thread. as i said you simply need to work out how much muscle u need to gain & how much fat u need to lose, then use bodybuilding methods to achieve it in the quickest, most efficient manner. that is all.

[joshydm]

again, he is not looking to increase his performance in the pool ffs, he used the swimmer purely as an example of the type of physique he wants to attain. doing swimmer's training program is not an efficient way to achieve appearance goals, doing swimmer's training program is an efficient way to achieve swimming performance goals, a swimmer's appearance is only a side effect of their training - this is not their goal.

if u take 2 twins, both 145lbs 5'8 @ 6%bf, one achieved their body thru 3 yrs of swimming training 25hrs a week like Swmkid07 said, the other achieved it thru 9mnths of weight training 4-6 hrs a week & diet, assuming the same muscles are developed to an equal extent you will not see any difference between them. only a fool would do swimming training programs if their goal was only to look a certain way. if it is for amusement because u dont like weight training but u like swimming, thats another story, but who the hell would wants to train 25hrs a week for recreation?



dont be fooled by the fools in this thread. as i said you simply need to work out how much muscle u need to gain & how much fat u need to lose, then use bodybuilding methods to achieve it in the quickest, most efficient manner. that is all.

its just not possible for someone who only does swim training to develop like a weight lifter. swimmers dont even get what society calls a swimmers build. to much body fat not only that but like the op said. what he wants can only be acheived by lifting. just no where near what a body builder does. however there is a reason its called a swimmers build and its because of the lean low bulk high energy muscle they develop from swimming thats why swimming and that training program would be great to get what he wants. as long as he adds lifting.

to the op i hope you are having luck
personalty i never stick to one routine, it changes every one to two months. but i get the best results that way by keeping it interesting to my body and mind.
also do lots of cardio. i suggest getting a heart rate monitor. stay away from zone three and redline zone cardio during cutting and only play with it during bulking. they are strictly for increasing cardiovascular performance as it is that point muscular atrophy sets in and your fat metabolism shuts off.
creatine is helpful during bulking, but for me its not about energy its about having what you need to build muscle as creatine is an important component.
thats how i have maintained my build over the last 4 years.