Suggestions on Tracking Swimming as Exercise

cmfruin2012
cmfruin2012 Posts: 157 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For those of you who swim for fitness -- I am looking for some advice/suggestions on how to accurately measure calories burned.

I have been swimming for exercise since starting this life change several weeks ago. Now, I am not a hardcore distance swimmer -- I watch the time more than I count the laps -- and I log it in MFP as the stroke I did plus the time spent. According to MFP, I am burning a LOT of calories (which isn't too far-fetched given my current weight) -- however, I would like a more accurate measure of my efforts.

I use the Endomondo app on my phone for walking -- I see on there that you can track swimming as a workout; however, I am not wiling to take my expensive phone into the water, even with a waterproof case. I can track swimming workouts manually -- but that requires me to count laps while I swim -- and it is really easy to lose track as I really lose myself in swimming! I have been investigating HRMs that are water proof -- but there is such a disparity in price and features -- and my own doubts about whether one would actually fit around my chest -- that I am unsure if this is a workable option for me. I have also looked at the various swim watches out there -- such as those manufactured by Garmin and Finns -- but these seem a little high tech for a novice such as myself.

So -- any suggestions or feedback on the above technologies?

Thank you in advance for your comments.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    You don't need an HRM. I have one, and I've used it for swimming, but unless you're doing it at a steady, aerobic pace, the HRM is no better at guessing than the online calculators. I was a team swimmer in high school, and I know that I don't keep up the pace that I did back when I was doing it every day in competitive context.

    When I first started logging calories and exercise, I worried about every little calorie. After a while I just learned to take the estimates and use one or the other or average a couple together. Really, trying to be precise with exercise calories is not worth it. Choose an amount of time and estimate how hard you were working, use one of the MFP numbers, and call it good. As time goes on you'll learn to adjust the numbers if you aren't getting results.

    I just use a flat exercise number based on how hard I worked - no matter what kind of exercise I am logging. It only varies a hundred or so calories - I'm not a professional athlete, just an hour a day. Don't try too hard to micromanage it.

    *edit to add: If you do decide to order one, the Polar is the most popular. The straps come adjustable, so even if the one it comes with is tight, you can order a larger one for a few dollars. But you might be surprised....and if you go to the Polar website, they probably describe the sizes.

    .
  • cmfruin2012
    cmfruin2012 Posts: 157 Member
    This is really helpful advice -- I appreciate your taking the time to comment.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    You're welcome. This will be helpful to you .....the author has been in the fitness industry for decades:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
  • dmkoenig
    dmkoenig Posts: 299 Member
    Stick with keeping track of time manually and use available tables describing swimming intensity to come up with a calorie estimate. That will get you in the ballpark which in the end I think even the more sophiticated devices can just do. Even lap counting isn't going to be very helpful for determining calorie burn as body drag is a huge component of swimming effort. Some people have great body position and can cut through the water extremely efficiently while others are going half the speed but working twice as hard. So the combination of perceived effort and time with avaialble caloric tables for swimming should work for you.
  • ironmanwannabe
    ironmanwannabe Posts: 81 Member
    Not sure if you know someone with a polar rcx5 but that is the only HRM that I know of which monitors HR underwater. If you can borrow one, swim 1/2 hour at your current workload and multiply by 2 to get your calories burned per hour. Also effort plays a bit in here. If you can do a casual recovery type swim and a normal/hard swim (2 sessions). Now whenever you swim, you can take the minutes divide by 60 and multiply with whichever calorie rate you feel you swam at.

    Just for reference, my swim workouts are about 700/hr. I dont like wearing the HRM strap while swimming because it doesnt stay in place unless I wear my tri top. But then there is the corkiness factor :)

    You however do not have to worry about that!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    I have a bottom of the line older Polar and it works underwater....I've even taken it scuba diving to 90 feet under. You just don't want to be futzing with the buttons underwater too much.

    I've had it for five years and it was around $100.

    .
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    My Polar ft4 works under water. It has a chest strap and I also was worried about it fitting me but I have no propblems with it. Also, it need to be pretty snug in water to work properly.

    I'm usually in the water for an hour - I spend 20 minutes of that hour swimming las freestyle and the rest doing stretches and foam barbell work.. According to MFP I'd burn 295 calories in 20 minutes of light/moderate freestyle swimming. I can usually do about 1/2 mile in 20 minutes, but I often lose count of my laps although if I lose count I tend to start with a lower number so I'm probably still getting in the laps. My HRM tells me I burn about 125 in the 20 mins of swimming laps, and I've settled on 150 for no particular reason. :laugh: I have a feeling it's closer to the higher number of cals burned since I'm usually really out of breathe when I'm done, but I guess I trust my HRM more than MFP, and I also figure that I'd rather underestimate than overestimate.
  • dynamiteshell
    dynamiteshell Posts: 2 Member
    You burn more calories at a lower heart-rate when swimming because of the water pressure...

    "The pressure of water causes a shift of blood volume from the periphery of the body to the thorax. This increases venal pressure and so leads to a decrease in heart rate of up to 20bpm lower in water than on land. The same intensity of exercise at a lower heart rate. Only in the pool!"
    Source: www.swimming.org/swimfit

    So forget about heart-rate when swimming. Just swim continuously so you you feel like you're working hard and getting out of breath, and not just gliding up and down the pool or resting!
  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
    I just enter it as cardio and depending on the intensity whether it was leisurely or moderate etc, that's fine for me. Let's face it they're only estimates anyway.
  • ka97
    ka97 Posts: 1,984 Member
    When I first started my tri training, I really wanted to count laps because it was very important for me to know that I could cover the distance in the race. I used a very small tupperware container and plastic beads (you could also use pennies or other small object). Put the beads in the tupperware, on the pool deck at the end of my lane. After each lap, took out one bead and put it next to the tupperware. When the were all out, I then returned one bead to the tupperware after each lap. Yes, it requires you to pause for a couple of seconds after each lap, but for me it worked. I had a predetermined number of beads based on the distance I was working for in each workout, but if you're just looking to tally what you are doing, probably doesn't matter how many you have to start with.

    I belive there are gadgets out there that you can attach inside the pool, on the wall at the end of the lane, and you tap it each time you complete a lap. But I've never really looked into it, so I have no idea how well they work or what they cost. My lo-tech tracker suited my purpose just fine.
  • wowsrz
    wowsrz Posts: 50 Member
    I have the Polar FT4 and I use it swimming. It is comfy and I like that I can see if I've been in my target range and for how long. It is comfy and stays put for me. I have found that MFP grossly over estimates the calories burned especially while swimming (at least it did for me).

    Good Luck!!
  • ChristiCare
    ChristiCare Posts: 179 Member
    I self used to loose myself while swimming. I made a string of larger beads on a twine rope. I started off with 14, which I wasnt able to do all of when I started. I think it took me an hour to do have the string. (dont laugh I was one that swam from one side of the pool to the other and had to stop and gasp for air) Now I am able to do 35 laps withing that hour. but the beads really help me keep track of my laps and help me know if I am getting more or less done.

    I also do have one of the cheap swim mp3 players that have worked great to pass the time
    i just thought I would share
  • cmfruin2012
    cmfruin2012 Posts: 157 Member
    You burn more calories at a lower heart-rate when swimming because of the water pressure...

    "The pressure of water causes a shift of blood volume from the periphery of the body to the thorax. This increases venal pressure and so leads to a decrease in heart rate of up to 20bpm lower in water than on land. The same intensity of exercise at a lower heart rate. Only in the pool!"
    Source: www.swimming.org/swimfit

    So forget about heart-rate when swimming. Just swim continuously so you you feel like you're working hard and getting out of breath, and not just gliding up and down the pool or resting!

    Wow -- I had no idea! This is fascinating. And makes sense based on how I feel -- I know I am "working" -- I do get out of breath and my face is "flush" -- but I don't feel like my heart rate is really up there.
  • ChristiCare
    ChristiCare Posts: 179 Member
    When I first started my tri training, I really wanted to count laps because it was very important for me to know that I could cover the distance in the race. I used a very small tupperware container and plastic beads (you could also use pennies or other small object). Put the beads in the tupperware, on the pool deck at the end of my lane. After each lap, took out one bead and put it next to the tupperware. When the were all out, I then returned one bead to the tupperware after each lap. Yes, it requires you to pause for a couple of seconds after each lap, but for me it worked. I had a predetermined number of beads based on the distance I was working for in each workout, but if you're just looking to tally what you are doing, probably doesn't matter how many you have to start with.

    I belive there are gadgets out there that you can attach inside the pool, on the wall at the end of the lane, and you tap it each time you complete a lap. But I've never really looked into it, so I have no idea how well they work or what they cost. My lo-tech tracker suited my purpose just fine.

    I use the bead method also. I have large beads on a nylon rope. Works great, then I log it as leisure swimming because I do have to stop every couple laps and I figure under estimating is better then over....

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