How to swim smarter?

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Flabbby
Flabbby Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm an ex-swimmer, but to be honest I have no idea how to do it casually as an exercise.

In competitive training, we did a lot of small but fast distances with plenty of breaks. But I've noticed that a lot of the casual swimmers go in the pool, swim the same way until they get tired and head for the showers. Like, the whole thing takes about 30 minutes :O

Which one I should go with in order to burn fat? Fast(ish) and with breaks, or moderately with no breaks?

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  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    whichever way gets you in the water exercising.
    i personally go more for endurance. around 2k a session up to. 2 miles.
    have lost majority of my weight this way.
    there is also an excellent swimming sub forum on here where you will get far more detailed and informed responses.
    enjoy..

    btw. welcome to the forums.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Either way works - just make sure to do the same distance. Your swims when you were practicing for competition were built to increase your endurance and speed. Swims that people are doing casually are usually built for 'fat loss' and not much else. Personally, I find a mix of the two to be the best option. The HIIT part will burn fat, work your muscles, increase your cardiovascular fitness, and will help "kickstart your metabolism" for a few hours, while the slower paced side of it gives you a small break between swims and keeps your form good. It can also help build endurance depending how long you swim.
  • PoesyP
    PoesyP Posts: 37 Member
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    I lean towards the second, just keep swimming without a lot of noticable variety to the outside observer - although I am actually doing various things with my technique. For me it's primarily about what I enjoy doing - I enjoy just swimming long and steady and letting my mind empty and just having some "me time" in the pool. Lots of people find swimming up and down like that boring, so obviously not the ideal approach for them.

    Do what you want to do, what will keep you interested and keep you going back day after day.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Why can't you do both? Try half hour of one and then the other, and adjust as you see fit.:smile:
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 945 Member
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    Going by your profile I'd say do both!
    You can't have been away from competitive swimming for very long and if primary purpose is muscular development, those intervals/ sprints will help!
    Like CW said see the swimmers group !
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    former swimmer here, turned triathlete. i found it a bit of a struggle as well to figure out what i needed to do in the pool.

    this is a website i use for workouts- http://ruthkazez.com/50swimworkouts.html

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