Swimming for MMA

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ozisonfire

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I do a lot of swimming as i am hoping to compete in triathlons in the future, i find it really helps with my MMA, i can go a lot longer, my core strength is coming on leaps and bounds and it also helps loads with my breathing.

Although i am sure this has probably been brought up before, i am interested to know if anyone else finds this useful?

Thanks
 
I've been swimming 3 times per week for the last month and a half. I recently underwent knee arthroscopy on both legs and it is a part of the rehab.

I used to do competitive swimming when I was a kid, training 2 hours, 5 times a week, averaging maybe around 4.5 km if not more when I was only 11yo.

Now swimming is 1000 times harder for me. I still have the right technic but my body has changed and it just doesn't float anymore! My legs feel like they are made of lead and it feels like I use 50% of the energy just to stay on the surface and maintain a good horizontal position and only 50% to move forward. It is funny but when I take the kick-board and just work the legs even the 45yo women using the kick-board swim faster! After 100m it feels like my legs are going to break and everybody else seems able to do it for days! I swim 2-2.5km and it just kills me! And my HR is sky high the whole time so this feels like good exercise.

Also, I've gained around 8 pounds of lean muscle mass since I started swimming and it actually made swimming harder for me. I just feel like I don't get enough air and get winded faster. My guess is it has to do with needing more oxygen for the extra muscle.

So yeah, it feels like general-fitness-wise my cardio is getting a good workout and I am sure at least some of this transfers to any sport. I might go as far as considering substituting 1hr running for 1hr swimming two or three times a weeks once I'm all healed, since it has the added benefit of being low impact on the joints. But for sure as soon as I can, I'm going sprinting ;)
 
oh yeah. A lot of ppl don't do it though because lack of exposure. I grew up doing martial arts, club swimming, and club wrestling as a kid and through high school. If you're doing lap swimming effieciently, I bet ur one of the most cardiovascularly fit ppl in ur club.
 
Swimming is great. I keep promising myself I`m going to start and I`m going to do it at least once a week. Problem is I find it boring as hell, even worse than running on a threadmill.


miaou said:
I've been swimming 3 times per week for the last month and a half. I recently underwent knee arthroscopy on both legs and it is a part of the rehab.

I used to do competitive swimming when I was a kid, training 2 hours, 5 times a week, averaging maybe around 4.5 km if not more when I was only 11yo.

Now swimming is 1000 times harder for me. I still have the right technic but my body has changed and it just doesn't float anymore! My legs feel like they are made of lead and it feels like I use 50% of the energy just to stay on the surface and maintain a good horizontal position and only 50% to move forward. It is funny but when I take the kick-board and just work the legs even the 45yo women using the kick-board swim faster! After 100m it feels like my legs are going to break and everybody else seems able to do it for days! I swim 2-2.5km and it just kills me! And my HR is sky high the whole time so this feels like good exercise.

Also, I've gained around 8 pounds of lean muscle mass since I started swimming and it actually made swimming harder for me. I just feel like I don't get enough air and get winded faster. My guess is it has to do with needing more oxygen for the extra muscle.

So yeah, it feels like general-fitness-wise my cardio is getting a good workout and I am sure at least some of this transfers to any sport. I might go as far as considering substituting 1hr running for 1hr swimming two or three times a weeks once I'm all healed, since it has the added benefit of being low impact on the joints. But for sure as soon as I can, I'm going sprinting ;)
Click to expand...



Wait a sec, you`ve gained 8lbs? By swimming? In 1.5 months? Something doesn`t fit.
Anyways, you are obviously going too hard and have developed alot of glytotic mucle. Go easier, much easier and rebuild your aerobic base and you`ll slowly get back to your old form.
 
Swimming is good, as long as your a decent swimmer. There are people that can run miles easy and will jump in a pool and 2 laps they are dying. Naturally that isn't going to help their cardio that much, where as if your a good swimmer its great.
 
On days I dont train in muay thai I go to the gym for cardio work, I always enjoy a swim and sauna after this cardio, not sure if the swim helps much towards performance in my muay thai training/fighting but I definately think it helps my body recover and relax between hard training sessions. I feel like a million bucks after my swim and sauna which cant be said when i walk out my MT club LoL
 
paolo27th said:
Wait a sec, you`ve gained 8lbs? By swimming? In 1.5 months? Something doesn`t fit.
Anyways, you are obviously going too hard and have developed alot of glytotic mucle. Go easier, much easier and rebuild your aerobic base and you`ll slowly get back to your old form.
Click to expand...

Lol! I don't think swimming helped me gain any weight. Probably helped me with the body composition aspect though (not gaining fat along with the muscle), since it offers a good amount of cardio. I can't run or train MA but it can still lift weights (other than squatting:icon_neut). And I have been on a very tight nutritional schedule since ;)

What do you mean by "developed a lot of glytotic mucle" by the way?
 
In before someone says "Runners run, Swimmers swim, Fighters fight."

All conditioning excises are going to help, its just a matter of how well it translates. No conditioning is going to help your fighting as much as putting in time sparring, etc. Personally I need something else to do, You don't always have someone else to spar with, and most people need a break from the monotony. My best friend was a great wrestler, and he swears by swimming, for its low impact. I myself love mountain biking. Also low impact (for the most part), but I find it fun, where I don't enjoy running or swimming.
 
miaou said:
Lol! I don't think swimming helped me gain any weight. Probably helped me with the body composition aspect though (not gaining fat along with the muscle), since it offers a good amount of cardio. I can't run or train MA but it can still lift weights (other than squatting:icon_neut). And I have been on a very tight nutritional schedule since ;)

What do you mean by "developed a lot of glytotic mucle" by the way?
Click to expand...

I mean muslces that use glycogen as an energy source. They are not too good at using oxygen and therefore tire quickly. If you do alot of anaerobic work (weights, HIIT) these are the muscle cells you`ll develop.
Start training below anaerobic threshold and slowly they`ll become more aerobic. You can still do intense stuff from time to time but again just make sure you don`t go above anaerobic threshold - so diminish the number of reps when you lift weights and avoid HIIT and do threshold training instead (but that again not too often).
 
I read somewhaere that nick diaz swims a lot. He actually credited it with why he was outlasting many of his opponents.
 
miaou said:
I used to do competitive swimming when I was a kid, training 2 hours, 5 times a week, averaging maybe around 4.5 km if not more when I was only 11yo.

Now swimming is 1000 times harder for me. I still have the right technic but my body has changed and it just doesn't float anymore! My legs feel like they are made of lead and it feels like I use 50% of the energy just to stay on the surface and maintain a good horizontal position and only 50% to move forward. It is funny but when I take the kick-board and just work the legs even the 45yo women using the kick-board swim faster! After 100m it feels like my legs are going to break and everybody else seems able to do it for days! I swim 2-2.5km and it just kills me! And my HR is sky high the whole time so this feels like good exercise.
Click to expand...

Wow this describes me to a T!!! I am just so bad at swimming now! I am not sure that my technique is so good really, I probably need some coaching. I used to be pretty good, but now I'm also just as slow as the old ladies doing breaststroke in the next lane! So embarassing...
 
Try cross-training. If your thinking of competing in triathlons then bike, swim, and run while doing MMA.
 
swim the night before a grappling/kickboxing/mma match not like 2 or 3 hours before bc u dont wan to be to lose and dont do too intense or too easy of a workout
 
Swimming has done wonders form my back. I have two herniations in my lower back and I do Bjj 4 times a week.

Since I started swimming there are days I forget I have ever been injured. Which doesn't happen often with low back injuries
 
TheeFaulted said:
I myself love mountain biking. Also low impact (for the most part), but I find it fun, where I don't enjoy running or swimming.
Click to expand...

I also do alot of mountain biking and my legs are pretty big but it has done nothing for fitness for some reason
 
paolo27th said:
I mean muslces that use glycogen as an energy source. They are not too good at using oxygen and therefore tire quickly. If you do alot of anaerobic work (weights, HIIT) these are the muscle cells you`ll develop.
Start training below anaerobic threshold and slowly they`ll become more aerobic. You can still do intense stuff from time to time but again just make sure you don`t go above anaerobic threshold - so diminish the number of reps when you lift weights and avoid HIIT and do threshold training instead (but that again not too often).
Click to expand...

Don't all muscles use glycogen as an energy source, it just depends on how you train? e.g a light jog vs sprints?
 
There's bias in energy source. He's not saying that the muscles can only use glycogen or oxygen, but that there's a change in the accumulation of the enzymes that work toward one or the or the other type of metabolism. And that generally speaking that it's advantageous to have a predisposition toward aerobic metabolism for activities that last longer than two minutes. Joel's posted about this before, but I'll see if I can find some of the source articles.
 
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