Swimming or gym for weight loss???

bex220712

I've been caloring counting since Jan 18 my start weight was 21st I was swimming 4 times a week. I'm currently down to 17st 10 eating only my calorie allowance I dont eat my exercise ones. I started gym few weeks ago but seem to notice I lose more a week if I swim than gym? I do crosstrainer for 18mins treadmill for 20 bike for 15 and rowing machine 10. I'm slowing increasing times on these. I've been gym 5 times since weekend and lost 1lb? But from swimming last week for 5 days I lost 4lb lol. So can swimming be more effective than gym for some people??

snowflake954

Swimming is cardio and has a cardio burn. Strength training burns less, but sculpts your body. After swimming for 18 yrs, I added gym time and I can see the difference. I say do both.

ceiswyn

Swimming burns more calories, but gym (by which I assume you mean strength training) is more effective for building and retaining muscle.

I also recommend both.

Jackie9003

I have similar stats and am also finding going to the gym 3 times a week doesn't seem to be any better than when I walk to work 3 times a week - although I have noticed a slight change with my measurements. I haven't considered swimming (very, very self conscious about my size but recently bought a costume) how much a week do you do?

brittanystebbins95

Swimming burns more calories. The gym builds muscle, which weighs more than fat, so the scale could be moving less but in reality you might still be burning the same amount of fat, or even more. Muscle also takes more calories for your body to maintain, so the more muscle you build, the higher your metabolism becomes naturally. Its kind of a horse a piece. Most programs will recommend that you combine cardio with strength training for faster, more noticeable results. Why don't you alternate? Instead of doing one week of one, then one week of the other, alternate them daily?

littlegreenparrot1

Another here who does both, sometimes use the pool more for active recovery rather than straight aerobic speed.

I really love swimming, the most effective is often the one you want to do!

stepgrah

For me i started my diet from 14st 10lbs 85 days ago and am down to 12st 12lbs. I concentrated on eating my calorie allowance and using my exercise calories as the ones that truly create the deficite. I am on my exercise bike each day for an hour at 22mph and also walk for an hour. I am not looking to build muscle as i know I won't retain the desire for the gym, so these exercises I know I can do and will keep me healthy. I stopped snacking also and do not eat anything after 6pm at night therefore I have a long fasting period.

Each one of us is different and how we burn our calories and where is also different. Just enjoy the journey and the clothes shopping going from dark colours to light colours :-))

bex220712

I swim a minimum of 30 lengths a time when I go. I've built it up over time . It depends how busy pool is. I admit I love swimming and could swim for hours lol. I have lost inches this week more than weight on scale. I was told to have rest day every 4 days is this correct? I love how the gym helps with your mood. I will equal both out next week and see how that goes lol. Thanks all

MelanieCN77

I'm all for variety, do both!
At least one rest day a week is a good idea, but rest days can still be active.

kshama2001

bex220712 wrote: »

I swim a minimum of 30 lengths a time when I go. I've built it up over time . It depends how busy pool is. I admit I love swimming and could swim for hours lol. I have lost inches this week more than weight on scale. I was told to have rest day every 4 days is this correct? I love how the gym helps with your mood. I will equal both out next week and see how that goes lol. Thanks all

Another vote for both.

I can't swim in chlorine-cleaned pools and haven't found any saline-cleaned pools since I move away from Florida. I hate busy pools and used to schedule my visits around off-peaks times.

I'm not familiar with the every 4 days take a rest day thing - what I do know is that when lifting weights, don't do the same muscle group on consecutive days.

I do a variety of activity and get at least an hour of exercise every day. I rest during my desk job, lol.

My 81 yo mother is way more active than I am. This time of year she literally gardens for hours. She needs rest days. She struggles to stay above Underweight.

AnnPT77

bex220712 wrote: »

I've been caloring counting since Jan 18 my start weight was 21st I was swimming 4 times a week. I'm currently down to 17st 10 eating only my calorie allowance I dont eat my exercise ones. I started gym few weeks ago but seem to notice I lose more a week if I swim than gym? I do crosstrainer for 18mins treadmill for 20 bike for 15 and rowing machine 10. I'm slowing increasing times on these. I've been gym 5 times since weekend and lost 1lb? But from swimming last week for 5 days I lost 4lb lol. So can swimming be more effective than gym for some people??

I disagree with others that crosstrainer, treadmill, bike and rowing are likely to be building more muscle than cardiovascular (CV) exercise. Mostly those are cardiovascular exercise, not major strength training.

Most CV exercise can increase strength at first (maybe even muscle mass, but less likely in calorie deficit), as long as it's challenging existing muscles in a significant way. But that challenge tends to be reduced or even over with fairly fast, for most CV-type stuff.

If you start any new routine, any muscle soreness/challenge is likely to involve added water weight (for healing/repair), which can temporarily mask fat loss on the scale. You say you started gym "a few weeks ago", which is sort of vague, so it's hard to tell if that could be a factor here. If it's a short time, I'd give it 4-6 weeks before you're likely to be seeing what the actual difference in calorie burn is, maybe a little longer if you're gradually increasing frequency or duration (which keeps up the challenge, so could keep up the water weight a little longer).

IMO, there are three considerations, when it comes to choosing an exercise routine, that are more important than raw comparative calorie burn (though that's obviously up to you).

First, personally, I prefer to keep doing activities that are more fun for me, so I'll be more likely to do them regularly over the long haul. So, if you like swimming more than gymming, think about that aspect. Any exercise you do, even sub-optimal exercise, burns more calories than exercise you dislike, burn out on, so skip.

Second, consider doing some of both. Varying activities helps develop different dimensions of fitness, and keeps life interesting. You could swim 2 days and gym 3, for example, if you want a 5-day schedule.

Third, consider practicalities. If one is more convenient (close to home/work for example), or otherwise fits into your life better (while still allowing good overall life balance), that's a consideration. (By "life balance", I mean leaving enough time & energy for work, family, chores, social life, etc.)

I agree with others that it would be really a good idea to add gym-based strength training (free weights, weight machines, bodyweight exercises (the latter for a while, as progressive challenge eventually gets more difficult)). Strength training burns fewer calories per minute than nearly any cardio, but helps you keep existing muscle as you lose weight. (Overweight people tend to have more muscle than healthy-weight people of the same size/fitness, just from carrying the extra weight around. Muscle is useful, and hard/slow to rebuild, so it's good to keep what you can.)

Don't assume that what you see on the scale day to day results exactly from what you did during that period of days. Food takes time to digest. Water weight varies day by day (due to time of month for premenopausal woman, extra salt/carbs even if healthy amounts, exercise recovery, and many other causes). Food can take up to 50+ hours to fully digest and cause net fat gain/loss. Eating more physical volume of food (same calories, but more weight in veggies, say) makes the digestive contents in transit temporarily weigh more, and that show up on the scale. You really need to compare multiple weeks to be clear on comparative effects (ideally a full menstrual cycle if a premenopausal woman).

Best wishes!

kenyonhaff

I'm a big believer in "Do what works for you, especially if you enjoy it."