How to train for swimming?

How to train the legs on dryland for swimming?

• Specifically for the legs, I would like to know for how many repetitions should there be ideally for an overall more powerful flutter kick to apply in sprint to middle distance racing events. Would using a leg press machine over the machine for leg curls/leg extensions be much more effective? Are there even any better exercises for this? I am not able to squat with free weights due to limited access. Should I be pushing to failure to every set or wait until LA builds up enough to hurt? Is it a great idea to perform the movement fast on the positive motion and slow on the negative, with maybe holding it at the full contraction for a few seconds? I am only interested in doing this exercise for swimming specific power and efficiency

• Answer:

  Hi Eli, Well, you've put extreme limitations to your answer as you said you can't do squats. If you can, see if you can add lunges to your routine. The leg press machine is an excellent exercise. If you can adapt a pulley, put your foot (I'll call it the pulley leg) in the hand hold, stand up straight with the pulley leg behind you, pull the pulley leg forward. And ... Yes, you should be pushing to failure. Your fast/slow pattern is exactly correct. No need to hold the weight at full contraction. Reply to Additional Details: Increasing stamina/power is not necessarily a function of "# of reps" as it is a function of the amount of weight and pattern of lifting. You are already doing things right ... medium heavy weight, always keep the weight under control with perfect form, resistance phase move fast, negative lift phase slow. You also described that you do some lifts to fatigue. That is an excellent thing to do once per week. Use a heavy enough weight until you can no longer lift it due to lactic acid accumulation. THEN, have a partner help you to lift the weight and you let the weight down. When you can no longer hold the weight to even let it down, the muscle has reached total fatigue. Don't forget to stretch before, during and after your lifting session.