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3 questions

LauraRae2
LauraRae2 Posts: 107 Member
edited November 22 in Social Groups
1 - how do you calculate calories burned from a swim? I've just been using the MFP entry and it's working for now but I'm wondering if I should invest in a great rate monitor.

2 - anyone use ear plugs? I'm thinking I should invest in some but I've never used then before so I'm not sure if there are different kinds or what.

3 - breathing out: through your mouth or nose? Does it matter?

Replies

  • mpeters1965
    mpeters1965 Posts: 370 Member
    1. I don't actually calculate them anymore because I stopped eating my exercise calories back, but when I did, I just used the MFP version.
    2. Yes to earplugs. I kept getting swimmer's ear infections because one ear just holds water. I use Speedo earplugs. They are clear and come in a clear case. They look kind of like a little torpedo. I tried the ones that conform to your ear (they look like little wax balls or something) but they don't last or stay in all that well.
    3. Both. Not sure how much it matters. I know those folks with noseclips have to breathe only thru their mouths so I guess it works. I want all that air out in a steady stream so that when I turn my head up to get my next breath, my lungs are empty. Also, if I'm doing a flip turn, breathing out through my nose as I go over keeps me from getting water up the nose. Water up the nose hurts as much now as it did when I was a kid!
  • stephenrhinton
    stephenrhinton Posts: 522 Member
    I use the MFP calculator but assume a low/moderate workout and I still think it overestimates ...but doesnt matter so much since I don't eat them back

    I listen to my mp3 player so the earbuds are effectively also earplugs ...but the ones i like best are the 3-layer christmas tree shaped ones ..

    I do both ....but I've noticed the more I use my mouth the more 'cotton mouth' i get by the end of the swim from the drying effect of the chlorine ....and it just feels perverse somehow to be having drymouth after being submerged for an hour ...
  • mpeters1965
    mpeters1965 Posts: 370 Member
    stephenrhinton wrote: »
    ...but the ones i like best are the 3-layer christmas tree shaped ones ..

    This is what I meant by torpedo shaped. Stephen uses better words!
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    1. Yes to MFP calculating exercise calories. I borrowed a heart rate monitor for a while and the numbers were always within about 20 calories of each other.
    2. Ear Plugs: I don't use them, but I do use a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol or "After Swim" drops in one ear to help dry it out really well
    3. Both. I tend to mouth breathe when I'm swimming harder, and nose breathe when I'm breathing easier--like during my warmups and cooldowns
  • Robertus
    Robertus Posts: 558 Member
    1. I've used 4 or 5 on-line swim calorie counters and they were all within about 25% of each other. Surprisingly, the MFP calculator was the 2nd lowest. When I was trying to lose weight, I was swimming so much that I could never eat back all my calories on days that I swam.

    2. I used to get ear infections pretty regularly until I started using the Christmas tree ear plugs. Haven't had an ear infection since.

    3. I tried using a nose clip for a while, but went back to exhaling through my mouth and nose at the same time.
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