swimming?

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modestbug2010
modestbug2010 Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have any good swimming success stories for your weight loss?it gets really hot in my town,already triple digits. So swimmingnwiu
D be awesome form to workout but how do i calculate how many calories i burn? I have a lot of trouble figuring calories out.

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  • Sycoholic
    Sycoholic Posts: 282 Member
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    Under cardio you can search swimming. It has all the different styles and intensity levels. Input your time and voila. Swimming is a great workout. Good for muscles and cardio. I've been heavy on weights and have recently incorporated swimming as well. I'm just not very good at it.
  • buzzcockgirl
    buzzcockgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    I'm a huge proponent of swimming! I owe a large part of my overall (80lb) weight loss to swimming. I started last June, and swam almost everyday, just regular freestyle laps, at a moderate steady pace. I was only able to do 20 mins at a time, then upped to 30... and I was training for a swim-a-mile benefit in October. I would do my laps, log them as 'swimming, freestyle, slow to moderate pace' and it gave me a pretty good calorie burn. Also- while you're doing the cardio part-- you're also getting a great strength workout (resistance of water!). I did my benefit and swam my mile-- loved it! It took 45 minutes of continuous swimming, but it's so easy... you stay cool, it's easy on the joints- it's great!
    Now I swim on average of 1-hour each time I get in the pool I go to a large Olympic-sized pool in my area. I haven't swam for 2 weeks, as I was training for my 5K this past weekend, but I plan on getting back to it this week! Even if you find that you can't do continuous laps for an extended amount of time- do some water aerobics. Imagine you're on a bike and 'pedal' thru the water. Hold onto the side of the pool and kick your legs like crazy. Just move! The water provides that great resistance to build muscle... you should see my arms now! :)
    I will swim forever!!!
  • wtfusernameisnttaken
    wtfusernameisnttaken Posts: 192
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    I LOVE Swimming. I swim, bike, and do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. But by far my favorite thing to do is swim. The above poster is right, there are TONS Of aerobic exercises you can do, a noodle will help as well, but depending on where you swim, water weights may be available for use too. Simple laps are fabulous though, or if it's a lap pool you can touch bottom all the way across, you can run in the water, as previously mentioned the resistance makes for an excellent work out!
  • FuzzieJelly
    FuzzieJelly Posts: 848 Member
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    Just treading the water: for every 20 minutes in the water, is equal to 45 min on ground. I hope this helps ya!
  • ameliaannakin
    ameliaannakin Posts: 344 Member
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    I'm really not a fan of swimming but there's a poster at my gym which says 'you never see a fat dolphin' and it really makes me want to get into it. It is great full body exercise and so good for you!
  • conniedj
    conniedj Posts: 470 Member
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    I started swimming last year to train for my first triathlon. I am not a swimmer. And then I found out why....I had "face in the water syndrome". When I put my face in the water it would cause me to hyperventilate.......I didn't really suck at swimming, and had a definitive issue that I could work past! And I did.
    It blew me away that I could ride 20+ miles on my road bike, do a HIIT class with no problem, but making the first 25 meters in a pool seemed soooooooo hard! I watched some videos on different swimming techniques (like not kicking my legs so hard, and stretching out my swim stride) and applied some of what I learned, and was super happy to find that I became a more efficient swimmer.

    I worked up to continuously swimming 200 meters...then 400, 800....and finally pushed to a mile! Now I always just set a goal, and try to meet it and exceed it if I feel like it! And I can honestly say I now love to swim! And the bonus is that it gives you really great shoulders!
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    I use MFP to estimate my calories burned from swimming based on my stroke type and intensity level although I agree that estimates are just that.

    Swimming is a great form of cross training that puts a lot less stress on the joints compared to other forms of cardio such as running. Cycling has similar benefits. I intend to start doing more of each so that I can complete a triathlon at some point.

    Don't forget the importance of strength training! Lifting weights is a good thing as well!
  • Justjamie0418
    Justjamie0418 Posts: 1,065 Member
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    I swim once a week (sometimes twice, sometimes less now that I took up running) but I use my Heart rate monitor for the most accurate burn.

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