Can I swim instead of lifting weights...

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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    sorry you aren't "developing" muscles you are just uncovering what you have already.
    You're wrong. My deltoids have grown since I started swimming regularly. They're not particularly big, but they are bigger than they were. I am aware of the difference between muscle growth and fat loss, and my deltoids have grown.


    Actually no I am not wrong, number one you are eating at a deficet...you need a surplus to build muscle, 2 you are a woman and it is very hard for women who eat at a surplus, do a progressive load lifting program to build muslce , 3 you are not even getting in enough protien to help maintain the muscle you have...

    My delts are very well defined now as well, even "appear" bigger...from lifting a progressive load heavy program, I do get lots of protien and I am not building muscle...because I am a women eating in a deficet...not a surplus
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    sorry you aren't "developing" muscles you are just uncovering what you have already.
    You're wrong. My deltoids have grown since I started swimming regularly. They're not particularly big, but they are bigger than they were. I am aware of the difference between muscle growth and fat loss, and my deltoids have grown.


    Actually no I am not wrong, number one you are eating at a deficet...you need a surplus to build muscle, 2 you are a woman and it is very hard for women who eat at a surplus, do a progressive load lifting program to build muslce , 3 you are not even getting in enough protien to help maintain the muscle you have...

    My delts are very well defined now as well, even "appear" bigger...from lifting a progressive load heavy program, I do get lots of protien and I am not building muscle...because I am a women eating in a deficet...not a surplus

    Yup. Swimming builds muscle in your deltoid about as much as running builds muscle in your quads, ie it doesn't. You can get lean, you can tone, you can increase strength and endurance, you can increase vascularity and have a larger pump but you will not add mass doing high repetition exercises let alone at a caloric deficit.

    I am a man doing weight training 3 days a week with 8-rep lifts and I have zero expectation that I will be putting on muscle during this time because I am also eating at a deficit. That said my chest, shoulders and arms look bigger...as you would expect given the training which is going to increase vascularity and water retention but it isn't muscle mass. That is full on weight training with heavy weight as a man, there is no way a woman eating at a deficit would build muscle mass swimming, none.

    Do you know how hard it is to actually add muscle mass? In the best of circumstances, an athletic man doing regular weight lifting eating at a surplus the most you can reasonably hope for is about 10 pounds added in a year.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    If it's something you enjoy, why not? Once you are into that "exercise mode", I bet you will start looking for more ways to have fun every day. :) Maybe by then you can try lifting again...but if you find it boring, don't start with it.

    I know people who just do swiming and have a very lean body.

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