Swimming! How to lose most weight/tone the quickest?

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kuroi19
kuroi19 Posts: 45
in Fitness and Exercise
So I plan to swim as an exercise, maybe 1-2 hours 2 times a week as time allows, I am a 85kg (187 pound) male, 180cm( 5'11)
I plan to lose another 5kg to reach my bmi and get out of overweight zone.

How should I swim to make the most out of my time and effort? Should I have short bursts or 1-2 laps then rest or maybe swim at a medium speed but endurance as many laps as I can pull off at once without rest? Any particular swimming style that would be most useful?

Also does this even make sense as an exercise? I always heard that it burns a lot of calories and uses a lot of muscles but well I was swimming a lot today and none hurt.

Replies

  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    Bump...
  • blytheandbonnie
    blytheandbonnie Posts: 3,275 Member
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    Here's a good article that covers just about any question you might have about swimming's effectiveness:

    http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/retirement/10-health-benefits-of-swimming.htm
  • kuroi19
    kuroi19 Posts: 45
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    Ah thanks for the bump meeper the the article blytheandbonn :)

    Sooo as for calorie burning it goes Butterfly stroke>Freestyle> Backstroke and indeed swimming is a good exercise ^^

    I found out around that there are no set workouts but one can rest easy for 20-30 seconds every 2-4 laps as the pulse tends to stay high that long.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    How advanced a swimmer are you?
  • Siobhan108
    Siobhan108 Posts: 80 Member
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    I have use the pool more for exercise in the past year then anything. I jog in the water as fast as I can in about 4' of water. I use water weights to increase my burn as well. I started at 20 min 5x a week and now do about 45 min. 6-7x a week. I then try to do the breast stroke for 20 min. I try to use a zig zag method while jogging to build more resistance. Good luck in your journey.
  • bakeralison1
    bakeralison1 Posts: 43 Member
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    There are some free online sites like swimplan.com that will personalize workouts to your swimming level.
    Not only will it be more interesting, but you'll actually get to work on your strokes.
    How hard you work really depends on what you put into it in swimming, because if your a good swimmer it is easy not not push yourself just doing straight laps.
  • SASSYnCHICago
    SASSYnCHICago Posts: 98 Member
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    Swimming is a great cross training exercise. I don't swim extremely fast, so the calories burn aren't huge compared to when I run & do HIIT weight lifting routines. I also spin, kickbox and those all burn calories at a much higher rate - but swimming lengthens my muscles, and is a great all over workout - especially for abs, shoulders, back. and legs. I've seen the most effective lean muscle change since I started swimming. Keep up the work and add a variety of exercises to maintain & develop lean muscle to get the most effective calorie burns.
  • peterjasper
    peterjasper Posts: 41 Member
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    Some great weblinks to try guys. Cheers. Likely to help me plan my swimming workouts better.
  • Sarahlascelles
    Sarahlascelles Posts: 41 Member
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    Swimming is excellent exercise for weight loss. It uses the whole body, and the water creates some resistance too.
  • zerryz
    zerryz Posts: 168 Member
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    Swimming won't make you lose weight nor will other exercises. It's mostly diet that will.

    However, swimming will help you sculpt a gorgeous body (as long as the fat on top melts over time) Swimming is like any other exercise: more intensity, more fuel/energy used. If you want to make your swim intense, freestyle and butterfly are best, as long as your stoke count is faster. Mostly, make it a fun activity so that you'll want to go back several times a week. Wishing you success.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Take one minute break every 500 yards, swim 2500 yards per workout. You're a newbie right? 5k if you're intermediate.

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