For the swimmers out there...

capnrus789
capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
When logging swim activity here on MFP, how do you make the differentiation between "light/moderate" and "vigorous" effort?

I've been swimming for the past month, 3x a week, and have no idea how hard I'm actually working.

Replies

  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    Light/moderate is mostly treading water, slow laps, or seasoned swimmers who no longer get as winded or sore from laps.

    If your heart rate gets way up there and you start to really feel it in your shoulders, then go with vigorous.

    It really depends on the individual to determine effort. Speed and skill are big factors in calories burned.

    I always enter moderate because I stop frequently and tread.
  • robhow44
    robhow44 Posts: 2 Member
    If you finish a set and you're breathing hard, it's probably vigorous. I swim regularly usually round down to the nearest 5 min mark when entering in my swim/cardio times.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Are you sweating? thats how I figure it out, if my face is red and I am sweating (yes you sweat in the water) its not moderate. Light/moderate is if I am not putting my best forward.

    I used my HRM now but thats what I used before.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    My heart rate is definitely up there, and sometimes I even feel hot while in the water.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    If when you get out of the pool you are sweating...then vigorous. If not then moderate.
  • Ivian_
    Ivian_ Posts: 276 Member
    Depends. When I'm Michael Phelping the crap out of my lap times, I log as vigorous :laugh:. When I'm just trying to get distance in, then I log it as moderate. I also wear my HRM so it gives me a decent HR estimate.
  • applebug20
    applebug20 Posts: 6 Member
    I'm a swimmer too and I've even asked the managers/lifeguards at the pool what they consider. If you feel like you are putting forth all of your effort, even if you don't know how fast it actually is - I'd say you are definitely swimming vigorous. Getting sore, getting tired, feeling like you need to stop to catch your breath because you are working so hard. For me, moderate is more lazily getting in the water, maybe swimming around lazily - doing elementary back stroke etc.
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    Um, I don't log swimming, cycling or running, just the miles I do...*shrug*
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
    My heart rate is definitely up there, and sometimes I even feel hot while in the water.

    I would say that is vigorous. I know zumba and swimming are different, but I was on a website trying to determine the amount of calories burned and they distinguished light/moderate/vigorous as the following (I only included the part about breathing):

    light - you do not have to catch your breath when you stop
    moderate - have no problem catching your breath when you stop
    vigorous - you have to catch your breath when you stop

    I hope this helps!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    All exercise logging is subjective. Why don't you use a number somewhere between the two?

    As far as entering exercise calories, I figure it's a guess. Even with a good heart rate monitor, unless you know your VO2 max, you are still guessing. So pick a category and use it for a while and see if you continue to lose weight. Unless you are exercising for several hours a day, it's really not all that many calories to worry about.

    The other thing is: don't start using exercise to buy food calorie-for-calorie. I always ate my calories earned by exercise here on MFP, but I just used a flat 400 every time I exercised for an hour. I also understood that food calories entered are not perfect. So, an estimation works just fine. Sometimes I probably used a lot more, sometimes less. It all worked out.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    All exercise logging is subjective. Why don't you use a number somewhere between the two?

    As far as entering exercise calories, I figure it's a guess. Even with a good heart rate monitor, unless you know your VO2 max, you are still guessing.

    Disagree. A high-quality HR monitor, even without accurate VO2 max figures plugged in, is a heck of a lot more accurate than some subjective guess based on how hard you're breathing. The garmin algorithm has been proven to have a margin of error of only 10% (assumes a good connection to device) which is pretty nominal in the long run, especially if you're just looking for a broad picture of your overall effort. It's science.

    I have one, and I used it. It is the best guess, but it's still an estimate. 10% could be quite a bit, depending on the energy expenditure. I'm not going to quibble with you about 100 calories one way or the other - my point was that this is not an exact science. It just isn't. Our bodies are dynamic machines, and weight loss is not just about exercise calories and their calculation. ...that was his question. This site tends to make people think it is possible to count exactly how many calories you intake and output - I'm saying there is a large margin of error - as much as several hundred calories a day, even IF you weigh and measure your food and use a HRM.

    It can be become way more obsessive than it needs to be. The body is pretty forgiving - over the long term.

    .
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    I really just want to know how much beer I can have after a swim. There's a 132 calorie difference between moderate and vigorous. :laugh:
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Why didn't you say so? Use vigorous. Moar beer.

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