To pick "light / moderate" or vigorous

Roootman

So I've upped my swimming routine to 90 minutes 3 days a week, according to the pool owner 66 laps is 1 mile, I do 132 laps of combined crawl ('freestyle"), kicks and breast stroke. 24 crawl, 10 kicks only and 10 breast stroke then repeat it 2 more times.

So when does it move from light to vigorous when selecting the exercise on the exercise tab of this site, the difference seems to be a couple of hundred calories, is 2 miles in 90 minutes moderate or vigorous?

ALSO, I use a pair of short swim fins and hand scoops, according to the manufacturer they INCREASE caloric effort, some people in various places around the internet claim in DECREASES caloric expenditure because they are more efficient. Anyone have any insight on this? Take more or less calories?

bmmarti3

On the topic of the fins and hand cups, they would in fact decrease your calorie impact on a per mile basis, but since you judge based on time, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an increase in calories associated.

To be on the safe side, I would just pick moderate activity, but that's just a suggestion.

littleluvbug

Unless you're wearing a heart rate monitor, you either need to stop and take your HR or go by your effort. You KNOW when you're exerting yourself and when it's just a moderate effort. Listen to your body and breathing. If your HR is at the top of your range, then it's vigorous, if it's at the low end, then you're moderate. Just be honest with yourself on your reflection of your effort. I wear a Polar HR monitor and to be honest, I was burning a lot less calories than I thought I was! I swim for 60 min at a moderate effort, HR in my mid range and burn 400 or so calories in an hour for a mile swim. Hope that helps!

Katie320

I have very little experience with swimming like this, but since it's something you do regularly, maybe you could alternate between logging it as vigorous and light/moderate? One day light, the next time vigorous, etc. That way you have a safe and reasonable estimate for the week.

chrisuy

It's really hard to say and I think only you're going to be able to judge what is moderate vs. what is vigorous. Different people swim at different paces so you're going to have to go on your own perceived exertion as a gauge.

I personally never enter anything as vigorous unless I'm working out in zone 4. At that point, I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation as my breathing would be too labored. And pretty much unless I'm racing, I'd never be in zone 4.

As for swim fins and hand paddles, again it's all about exertion here. If you use the fins and paddles, but you aren't swimming any faster (i.e. you're still doing 2 miles in 90 minutes with them on just the same as if they were off) your caloric expenditure will decrease because the fins and paddles are just making you more efficient in the water. But if you're using the fins and paddles and are going considerably faster than before, you *might* be increasing caloric effort as both of those increase the resistance of your exercise. Still, keep in mind that the equipment does make you more efficient. At the same effort and caloric output, you're still going to be faster with the fins/paddles because they make you more efficient in the water.

It basically boils down to effort. Your caloric expenditure is going to increase when you're physically putting in more work into your swimming. And only you will be able to measure that effort.

lscott721

Since I was just now entering my first swim session in this system, I had to clarify laps/mile... Been swimming for years at the Y and have based my "mile" on the pool length of 25 yards, or just over 35 laps/mile (mile = 1760 yards) Competitive swimmers have a shortened 'mile' to make it close to 1500 meters (1650 yards).... A new bulletin board was up today and the aquatics team did exactly what this pool owner did - he doubled the number of LAPS needed for a competitive mile (if 25 yd pool).... A competitive swimming mile is 33 LAPS or 66 lengths, but you find the same mistake all over sites where people ask about the distance per mile. I must say, 132 laps is 3.66 reg. miles or 4 swimming miles! Wow- that is excellent! If that isn't a "vigorous" swim work out, I don't know what one would be!

rok2

Per Iscott721's comment about laps, competitive swimmers say "lap" when the mean "length" ALL the time. A "lap" to a competitive swimmer means one trip down the pool. So a mile in a standard 25y pool is really about 72 lengths, but competitive swimmers will count 66 lengths as a mile because the longest race is 1650 y. They will also say this is 66 laps. They are not trying to mislead you. It's just the vocabulary that has been used forever. In a 50m pool, 30 lengths (laps) is about a mile.

I think the vigorous vs moderate debate is very personal. As a lifelong (30+ year) regular swimmer, if I'm swimming a mile in 30 minutes, I'm slacking off big time, so that's a light effort (heart rate <120). But if I'm doing sets of 10x100's on 1:30 or less, that's probably vigorous (heart rate >140). I would argue that a recreational swimmer would have completely different perspective on what is light, moderate, or vigorous. So the best advice I have is judge it on your average age-appropriate heart rate. Note that when I go long using paddles and a pull buoy or fins, my heart rate goes WAY down, and my speed goes up as I am much more efficient, so I'd say these aids lower your level of output in any given swim. They are useful for training muscles, but not so much for aerobic exertion.