Is swimming effective cardio?

sandyyy712
sandyyy712 Posts: 94
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I swim with a club team 6 days a week for 2 hours in the morning and I'm wondering if these workouts are really enough to either help me tone up or maintain my weight? Because everyone says that swimming burns a ton of calories, but after I swim I actually feel fatter/squishier than before I got in. So is it actually helpful?

If it's not, then I'm also wondering if combining swimming with one interval of running (20 min @ 5.5mph) everyday will be enough or do I need more?

Replies

  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
    Swimming is incredibly effective as long as you really push it! You ARE sweating but the water washes it away. :) You probably feel squishier after because you're wet!! :)

    It can be anywhere from 300 - 1,000 calories (or more) per hour, depending on the effort you're putting out. If I had access to a pool I wouldn't do anything else.
  • jeffrodgers1
    jeffrodgers1 Posts: 991 Member
    That would be a killer workout! Love it!
  • militarydreams
    militarydreams Posts: 198 Member
    Cardiovascular means heart and lungs. Anything that works both (basically increasing your oxygen needs by burning more fuel) is effective cardio.

    If you do too many pushups some people call it cardio :laugh:
  • luvnlife6
    luvnlife6 Posts: 44 Member
    Swimming is incredibly effective as long as you really push it! You ARE sweating but the water washes it away. :) You probably feel squishier after because you're wet!! :)

    It can be anywhere from 300 - 1,000 calories (or more) per hour, depending on the effort you're putting out. If I had access to a pool I wouldn't do anything else.
  • luvnlife6
    luvnlife6 Posts: 44 Member
    I totally agree with the above poster. Swimming is a great exercise. I love it.
  • shrednyc85
    shrednyc85 Posts: 30 Member
    As a former swimmer myself, yes it will burn a lot of calories assuming you get your heart rate up and are not merely floating along (like I used to tend to do when I could get away with it, lol!). If you are swimming 2 hours on a club team, Im assuming you have at least some sets that are relatively challenging (25, 50 or 100 yard sprints etc) and you are working hard.
  • pjwcampbell
    pjwcampbell Posts: 17 Member
    I think anything that gets your heart beating faster is "effective cardio".
  • sandyyy712
    sandyyy712 Posts: 94
    Instead of effective cardio I guess I should have put an is swimming an effective way to keep weight off?

    Because also, as a swimmer, we're basically told that we can eat anything and not get fat. Is this necessarily true? Because it wasn't until recently that I was unhappy with my weight and decided to lose some pounds. Now that I'm at my goal weight and I'm about to start eating more I don't wanna add it all back just because swimming doesn't keep it off.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories