swimming as cardio?

[circusgirl]

Anyone here do swimming for cardio? How effective is it? What's the cal burn like with hr at about 140? WIth daily cardio my legs are taking a real pounding on the treadmill and/or elliptical.

 

[WarriorPL]

Great cardio for upper body, but uses legs too. Both swimming and running are the best cardio, its all a matter of preference IMO.

 

[gmanlax7]

swimming is fucking tough !

20 -30 minutes and i am absolutely spent

 

[HANSEL]

I love swimming laps for cardio. Tones the hell out of my whole bod. Get your self some goggles and go!
In midsummer when its nice and warm out I wake up and swim a few laps right out of bed on an empty stomach then go shower up, great way to start the day.

 

[JJFigure]

The only problem is if you're lean, you won't float as well and the old people will lap the hell out of you. I tend to avoid swimming pools because I always end up looking like an out of shape idiot.

 

[CONTRACTION]

Swimming is excellent. I usually lose bf very quickly when Im swimming regularly.

The only thing is I dont float well, so I spend a lot of energy in a short amount of time. Technique has a lot to do with it also. An efficient swimmer will be able to swim for a longer time.

 

[Thaibox]

Swimming is an excellent exercise, tough as hell. But....

I think swimming is too anaerobic to be considered a viable alternative to other cardio options depending on your goal.

I use to do a LOT of swimming, drown-proofing, and such. I loved it. But, if you're trying to ride the edge of the anabolic/catabolic wall...swimming can be dangerous in my opinion. I would rather go for a walk.

 

[tsarleon]

perhaps timed swim sprints is comparable to sprints on a track????? if so then might be a could form of cardio

 

[circusgirl]

thanks folks! yup, it uses legs, but not as much, I did swim team at high school for a while, and it was always my arms that ached after training!

The uni gym's pool has just reopened after being shut for a year and as it's included in my membership.... thought I'd give it a go. Now to find out when it hasn't been block booked by the swim team!

 

[vinylgroover]

Get yourself a real bike and cycle. It's far more interesting than swimming, great cardio and will increase your leg muscularity considerably.

 

[JoBu]

Get yourself a real bike and cycle. It's far more interesting than swimming, great cardio and will increase your leg muscularity considerably.

Cycling CAN be good cardio as long as you don't let yourself cheat by coasting. I think cycling is good to add to the mix if you have the means, but for an entire body toning cardio workout with minimal impact on your joints and spine, you can't beat swimming. Sure, if you are lean you'll bust your ass just trying to stay above the surface, but as your technique improves, you'll become more efficient and find it much easier to put in 30-45min. And it doesn't always have to be freestyle...change it up with a couple laps of breast stroke to let your HR come down if you feel you're working too hard...it's a great interval type workout.

A 155lb person will burn about the following in an hour:

Bicycling, 10-11.9mph, light effort - 422 cal
Bicycling, 14-15.9mph, vigorous effort - 704
Bicycling, >20mph, racing - 1126 cal
Running, 10 mph (6 min mile) - 1126 cal
Running, 6.7 mph (9 min mile) - 774 cal
Swimming laps, freestyle, light/moderate effort - 563cal
Swimming laps, freestyle, fast, vigorous effort - 704 cal
Walking, 4.0 mph, very brisk pace - 281 cal
Rope jumping, moderate, general - 704 cal
Aerobics, high impact - 493 cal

Jobu

 

[witkowsd]

You can also add weights to your legs when you are doing laps.

 

[circusgirl]

thanks folks! I can manage an hour in the water as my technique is pretty good. I'd ehard it wasn't as good for cardio as the water meant you didn't use cals coling down but that's obviosuly bullshit from what you posted.

My legs get overtrained quickly if I treadmill/bike every day so looks like I'll be hitting the pool soon.

BTW breaststroke oughta be called no-breast stroke. As the better endowed you are in the chest dept the harder it gets to move forward instead of just up and down....

 

[JoBu]

thanks folks! I can manage an hour in the water as my technique is pretty good. I'd ehard it wasn't as good for cardio as the water meant you didn't use cals coling down but that's obviosuly bullshit from what you posted.

My legs get overtrained quickly if I treadmill/bike every day so looks like I'll be hitting the pool soon.

BTW breaststroke oughta be called no-breast stroke. As the better endowed you are in the chest dept the harder it gets to move forward instead of just up and down....

That's a funny thought...some large-breasted sweetie bobbing up and down in the pool struggling to do a couple laps Actually swimming is a good way to get rid of those things. Most girls I know that swim regularly (especially in competition) don't have a whole lot left in the rack department. An ex of mine used to have good sized breasts...but swam on the team in college

I don't think the the point about cooling down is valid. Your body still generates heat when swimming and you still sweat just as much...it's just not obvious 'cause you're already wet. it's just water removing the heat from your body's surface rather than air. Swimming is great cardio.

JoBu