Calories burned swimming??

stonel94

So since forever i've been told swimming is the best exercise ever cause it uses your whole body and you burn so many calories.
I love to swim and I swim a lot but I was always kinda estimating calories burned from MFP and stuff and I figure I swim at a moderate level so I usually put light to balance out the extra calories MFP always says are burned.
I just learned that I could use my HRM (polar FT7) in the water so I was so excited I would finally know how many calories i burned. Well for almost 30 mins of swimming (and when I was done I was breathing hard and everything it wasn't lesiure it was my normal pace and I'm in very good shape) it said only 212 calories burned average HR of 130 something and max only 141. This would put swimming as the worst calorie burner of all my cardio workouts. Now I'm wondering...is it just that the HRM doesn't work so well under water or is it really that few?

jacksonpt

So since forever i've been told swimming is the best exercise ever cause it uses your whole body and you burn so many calories.
I love to swim and I swim a lot but I was always kinda estimating calories burned from MFP and stuff and I figure I swim at a moderate level so I usually put light to balance out the extra calories MFP always says are burned.
I just learned that I could use my HRM (polar FT7) in the water so I was so excited I would finally know how many calories i burned. Well for almost 30 mins of swimming (and when I was done I was breathing hard and everything it wasn't lesiure it was my normal pace and I'm in very good shape) it said only 212 calories burned average HR of 130 something and max only 141. This would put swimming as the worst calorie burner of all my cardio workouts. Now I'm wondering...is it just that the HRM doesn't work so well under water or is it really that few?

Are you swimming laps?

It's probably lower than you think... most people's need to breath while swimming force them to swim with lower intensity than they would workout with doing some other activity. If you're on the eliptical, you can breath as fast and as deep as you need to, so your intensity is only governed by yoru fitness level. With swimming, you have to have a rhythm to your stroke and your breathing and you can't go all out for any length of time. So for most people, this mean a lower intensity level that they can sustain for longer, which translates to lower calorie burns.

stonel94

Swimming in a lake, so open water longer distance.

sugaree1202

Calorie burn for any exercise depends on intensity. You will burn the most calories when your heart rate is maintained at 82-88% ofyour max heart rate. For me tthat's 154-168bpm but everyone is different. I used to swim a mile of freestyle laps daily (65 laps/130 lengths) in 30-40 minutes and burn 400-600 calories at a pace where i had to breathe every other stroke. It is possible but you need proper form and technique.

If you've never received freestyle instruction in swim lessons or as part of a swim team, you should be able to find advanced lessons to learn how to maximize speed and eliminate drag. Ask the instructor to focus on side breathing, proper stroke & kick form like cupping your hands to displace the most water and turns like flipping or grabbing the wall and spinning your feet around to push off. Even though you're swimming in a lake now, if you do swim laps in a pool in the future, it's helpful to know how to turn properly. Breathing is the most important part of reaching and maintaing the intensity necessary to burn more calories - as you reach your arm up over your head, turn your head to the same side so that you can breathe in then as you are swimming, breathe out through your nose. When your lungs are empty, take another breath. You only have a second with your mouth out of the water so it's important that you only have to take a breath in, not try to breathe out and in during that time. It takes practice but once you get a rhythm going, you'll be able to see the calorie burn you're looking for. The water provides natural resistance for muscle toning too so you'll drop weight and get a toned back, arms, shoulders, leg & core! If you need more tips on form, feel free to message me.Have fun!