there is a reason Michael Phelps eats 10000 a day

grace42d

I swim for exercise. Lately I have been swimming allot. About 3500 a day (allot for me, not so much for Mr. Phelps). Last week I decreased my calories to try to move the needle on my weight a bit. What I moved was my ability (or lack thereof) to swim. I bonked, two consecutive workouts.

The moral of the story is: if you don't eat enough, you can't work out hard, which sucks. What would be worse would be drowning because you have no calories left to burn to stay afloat!

bradthemedic

I swim for exercise. Lately I have been swimming allot. About 3500 a day (allot for me, not so much for Mr. Phelps). Last week I decreased my calories to try to move the needle on my weight a bit. What I moved was my ability (or lack thereof) to swim. I bonked, two consecutive workouts.

The moral of the story is: if you don't eat enough, you can't work out hard, which sucks. What would be worse would be drowning because you have no calories left to burn to stay afloat!

Your moral is completely correct. The more I eat the more effective my workouts are. There's no comparison.

mcleodconnor

I swim for exercise. Lately I have been swimming allot. About 3500 a day (allot for me, not so much for Mr. Phelps). Last week I decreased my calories to try to move the needle on my weight a bit. What I moved was my ability (or lack thereof) to swim. I bonked, two consecutive workouts.

The moral of the story is: if you don't eat enough, you can't work out hard, which sucks. What would be worse would be drowning because you have no calories left to burn to stay afloat!

Your moral is completely correct. The more I eat the more effective my workouts are. There's no comparison.

Yup. It's 100% accurate. It not only causes more muscle to be lost, but there isn't enough energy to let your muscles perform at their highest capability.

MoreBean13

For sure. Its also why it's very difficult to **effectively** marathon train at a deficit, too. Unfortunately, people very frequently choose a marathon as a simultaneous goal to weight loss, and it really doesn't work that way.

gomisskellygo

:laugh: :smokin: Yes, between swimming and his famous bong hits, I'm sure he eats tons.

IamJacksColdSweat

:laugh: :smokin: Yes, between swimming and his famous bong hits, I'm sure he eats tons.

:laugh:

susannamarie

I swim for exercise. Lately I have been swimming allot. About 3500 a day (allot for me, not so much for Mr. Phelps). Last week I decreased my calories to try to move the needle on my weight a bit. What I moved was my ability (or lack thereof) to swim. I bonked, two consecutive workouts.

The moral of the story is: if you don't eat enough, you can't work out hard, which sucks. What would be worse would be drowning because you have no calories left to burn to stay afloat!

Yeah, exactly. I moved mine up because I found that my Aikido practices were getting slower and slower. Since I want to train hard, I'd rather eat more.

mikes99mail

is that 3500meters / day? Wow! How do you handle the boredom?

I get to about 1500 and my brain is screaming for something *else* to look at, rather than just following the black line up for 17 strokes, then back down for 17 strokes, then back up for 18 (woo!! Something happened!!), then back down for 17...

someone suggested mixing it up a bit, using a float for some, doing breaststroke for some, but it's still just following a line - any tips on how I can enjoy it a bit more?

grace42d

I swim with a masters team, the workouts are varied, it is coached, if there is no one faster than me in my lane to chase, then I lead the lane and am chased, and there is always something to tweak on my stroke to get faster. Not to mention trying not to quit through the pain, that takes allot of thinking and talking to myself to keep pushing. During warmup I have time to decompress and think of nothing. So I would never say that it's boring! Try a masters team in your area, it is allot of fun.

By the way, 17, 17, 18, 17 is a nice stroke count! I can get down to 14, but only for a few laps. Usually I am around 18-20, which is not bad for a shortie like me.

ipsamet

is that 3500meters / day? Wow! How do you handle the boredom?

I get to about 1500 and my brain is screaming for something *else* to look at, rather than just following the black line up for 17 strokes, then back down for 17 strokes, then back up for 18 (woo!! Something happened!!), then back down for 17...

someone suggested mixing it up a bit, using a float for some, doing breaststroke for some, but it's still just following a line - any tips on how I can enjoy it a bit more?

Get a waterproof armband for your music player! Best investment I ever made... I'm triathlon training and I avoided swimming as much as possible for the same reason, it was SO BORING and I just spent the whole time glancing at the clock hoping it would budge, but now that I can listen to music I just kinda zone and power through my swim. It's awesome.

VMarkV

I think it's crazy that he can sustain such prolonged exercise day in, day out. But, that's what carbs are for

mikes99mail

is that 3500meters / day? Wow! How do you handle the boredom?

I get to about 1500 and my brain is screaming for something *else* to look at, rather than just following the black line up for 17 strokes, then back down for 17 strokes, then back up for 18 (woo!! Something happened!!), then back down for 17...

someone suggested mixing it up a bit, using a float for some, doing breaststroke for some, but it's still just following a line - any tips on how I can enjoy it a bit more?

Get a waterproof armband for your music player! Best investment I ever made... I'm triathlon training and I avoided swimming as much as possible for the same reason, it was SO BORING and I just spent the whole time glancing at the clock hoping it would budge, but now that I can listen to music I just kinda zone and power through my swim. It's awesome.

that's an awesome idea! Will do some googling this afternoon.. which do you recommend?

grace42d

After you get your waterproof tunes, here is a page to get your daily workouts. Lots of variety to help speed you on your way.

http://www.swimfastmasters.com/category/workouts