Swimming

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Catfish Alley

Catfish Alley

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Aug 13, 2007
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Vancouver
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Hi guys. Just wondering if anybody here is into swimming for fitness? I recently got into it and I swim 800m - 1km three times a week. I'll increase that gradually as I get used to it. I feel great afterwards and tend to sleep really well. I feel fitter but weight loss has been limited so far. I've read varying reports about whether swimming is good for that but I figure I'm better off doing something I enjoy and that I'll do consitsenly rather than getting bored with running on a treadmill like I have in the past. Does anybody have a good routine because I'm just doing freestyle at the moment?
 
Dont swim to lose weight as you'll be hungry as ever after a good few laps.

If you want to get all of your muscles working then backstroke is the stroke of choice. Watch out for the wall and when you do your first lap count how many strokes it takes from the flags above your scone (usually about 3) to the wall and you'll avoid hitting the wall full-on with your hand - ouch it really hurts, trust me!

Make sure you keep to the left of the lane so you don't hit any one coming down the other way and you can keep the rope to your left hand as a guide that you're going the right way.

Breast stroke is for unfit lazy ex-swimmers like me and butterfly for the unitiated is trouble with a capital T!

Good luck and enjoy the swimming, I know I do whenever I get a chance.
 
I like to swim, beats running as it's sooo much easier on the body. Have been slack this summer though as I'm living in a town with no indoor pool ATM and hate the cold.

On thing I would say is when you get reasonably good is to set some goals. I used to casually swim say 1-2km with many rests, but if you have good technique it's not really pushing you much. I found it was better to have a couple of laps warm up then swim 1km with no breaks trying to improve a personal best time then a warm down. Makes it more interesting, makes you fitter and takes up less of your time.
 

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la47 said:
Swimming keeps your body temp too low as well to get any meaningful weight loss
Click to expand...


What a load of s**t!!!!

going by that logic we should all be stick figures here. We aren't!!! So what do you think the reason is for that??

weight loss is to do with the difference between energy used v energy consumed. To lose weight used (must be) > consumed.

Your body temp is likely to be reasonably static irrespective of the ambient temp. Except if you are playing NTFL, in which case your body temp will go up because your body can't keep itself cool. We humans have a thing called thermoregulation. We operate well in a small range. See below

  • 39°C (102.2°F) - Severe sweating, flushed and very red. Fast heart rate and breathlessness. There may be exhaustion accompanying this. Children and people with epilepsy may be very likely to get convulsions at this point.
  • 40°C (104°F) - Fainting, dehydration, weakness, vomiting, headache and dizziness may occur as well as profuse sweating.
  • 41°C (105.8°F) - (Medical emergency) - Fainting, vomiting, severe headache, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and drowsiness can occur. There may also be palpitations and breathlessness.
  • 36°C (96.8°F) - Mild to moderate shivering (it drops this low during sleep). May be a normal body temperature.
  • 35°C (95.0°F) - (Hypothermia) is less than 35°C (95.0°F) - Intense shivering, numbness and bluish/grayness of the skin. There is the possibility of heart irritability.
  • 34°C (93.2°F) - Severe shivering, loss of movement of fingers, blueness and confusion. Some behavioural changes may take place.
 
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