swimming-the definitive word on it for cardio?

[danielson]

i remember reading on here a long time ago that swimming was good for cardio when trying to cut as your losing energy swimming and trying to keep your body warm

however when i went on the archives to search a fair amount of posts were saying that the swimming would result in a small layer of fat to insulate the swimmer and keep him a little boyant


i just found out i have free access to a pool, plus im sure it will be great for my posture and joints and flexibility. id only be able o do it once a week, maybe even after a previous cardio session (kung-fu or something), but most importantly i WANNA lose fat and keep some muscle. ive lost a fair amount of weight and not much fat, especially round the butt

any thoughts

if i ate more frequently would that speed up my metabolism too?


any help wopuld be much appreciated. only cardio i do is the daily walking i do and the kung-fu

 

[hhajdo]

Swimming is a very good type of cardio.You'll expand a lot of calories while doing it - probably more then in most other aerobic type of exercise..
It is also one of the rare activities that has no bad effects on joints so i highly recommend it...
You should eat every 2- 3 hours (6 meals a day or more)...
If you do so it'll speed up your metabolism overtime regardless of your bodytype...

 

[big4life]

I've never tried it, but I have heard the same thing about
building up a small layer of fat.

 

[danielson]

thanx for the replies, nice info

id like to hear more opinions on the fat build up

as its a swimming pool (fairly warm, not artic sea temps) will i still build up the blubber? from once-a-week swims after some cardio

 

[freshr1]

That layer-of-fat thing sounds like an urban legend. I know a few ripped up swimmers.

One thing I heard is that overall it doesn't burn as many cals as say jogging. Reason being you're kept cool from the water and all the heat is disappated. So when you get out of the pool you're relatively cold, whereas after jogging you stay warm for a while after which helps burn extra cals. Not sure if this is true, but it sorta makes sense

Swimming certainly is a hell of a lot more fun than running though!

 

[danielson]

that and i havent sswam for a while so it will be fun to see if a 12.75 stone man (180ish lbs) is as boyant as a 9 1/2 stone man (140ish lbs) is

i think im gonna sink like a log, ought to be fun

 

[Test boy]

i think im gonna sink like a log, ought to be fun [/B]

If you sink like a log then you are not swimming.

I doubt those stories about the fat layer as well. Swimming is the perfect exercise.

 

[Speedo Racer]

Swimming will not add fat, this is a widely believed myth, most likely because swimmers don't necessarily have to be ultra-lean to be competative. It is the best all-around aerobic-type workout, because not only do you work both upper and lower extremities, it is no-impact. However, if you only swim once per week it isn't going to make a difference one way or the other. You will neither gain nor lose fat.

 

[The mann]

nah,swimming won't make you fat.......an awesome form of cardio ,too.....

 

[danielson]

cheers dudes

id be doing other forms of cardio too, not just swimming once a week, so it should all help i wanted to do it because i heard it was also good on the rotator cuff and posture and stuff like that

ill try to rember that test boy