Swimming Questions

jaykal001
jaykal001 Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,
I wanted to put this question out there, and see what kind of feedback I could get based on everyone's experiences. I am severely overweight, I can walk, I play golf, I swim, I use the eliptical a bit, but running/jogging is out of the question. One of the things I have always loved is water, so for the first time ever, I started swimming for the purpose of exercise. I'm not looking for a quick fix, but would like to get a good jump start on dropping some of the initial bodyweight off, so that when i want to work in a little bit of jogging, or some other higher intensity training, that I am not carrying all that extra weight around.

Has anyone had good success essentially swimming intervals at a medium intensity?
(I am swimming about 1/2 mile total distance [800 yards] over the course of 35 to 40 minutes. I swim 5 laps, with different strokes to keep myself moving, then rest, then repeat). Because of my awful endurance, and learning how to control breathing, I can't really do the freestyle for more than a length or two until i'm dying and swallowing water,etc. so i constantly switch off)

Has anyone ever used a waterproof heart rate monitor, and compared against some calculators for your calorie burn? I'm seeing estimates of 800 to 900 per session, which seems like a lot, but then again it takes a lot of effort to get my body through the water, so i'm just not sure.


I'd be curious to hear anyone else's thoughts!
Jay

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Swimming is an excellent exercise. I think your plan sounds great. As you do it more you'll find you can do more and more too.

    I've never used a waterproof HRM - so I have no advice there.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    swimming will be one of the best exercises you can possibly perform when you are overweight enough that your joints are in danger of injury. It's zero-impact, low level resistance training with a strong aerobic component. When I was swimming competitively I was in some of the best shape of my life. Just be sure to take whatever steps you can against repetitive motion problems like tendonitis. It's about the only hazard of swimming a lot.

    Re: calorie burn. To be blunt, the fatter you are, the more calories you burn. There's a direct correlation. So if you're REALLY overweight, yeah you'll burn like 1k calories sometimes in a short period of time. It's all a factor of your individual size, heart condition, and expended effort over time. There's no real way to compare it to others.
  • peterjasper
    peterjasper Posts: 41 Member
    Hi there

    I can definately recommend swimmng. Its cardio exercise as well as resistance training. I have been swimming for fitness for three weeks with my wife and we are totally hooked. I went from doing 900m in 30 minutes to 1300m in 25 minutes. My wife has gone from 200m to 600m. You can se some great gains very quickly.

    Someone posted this link on another thread that captures the benefits of swimming. Best of luck.

    http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/retirement/10-health-benefits-of-swimming.htm
  • shawnatheobald
    shawnatheobald Posts: 31
    Swimming gives me the best work out! I LOVE it. And like you, I started out where anything like jogging was way too hard on me to do effectively or for any length of time. Like mentioned, it is both cardio and resistance, giving you best of both worlds. I definitely would give it a try!
  • martinqueen
    martinqueen Posts: 2 Member
    I too cannot walk right now due to a foot injury. I was thinking of swimming. I am not a strong swimmer. Does anyone know of a good reference for how to start and work your way up?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Has anyone ever used a waterproof heart rate monitor, and compared against some calculators for your calorie burn? I'm seeing estimates of 800 to 900 per session, which seems like a lot, but then again it takes a lot of effort to get my body through the water, so i'm just not sure.

    Swimming is fantastic exercise - congrats on getting going, and good luck on maintaining the workload!

    As for the HRM question - HRM are generally awful at figuring out calorie burns for individuals who aren't already fit - you are right to not trust them. Swimming 800 yards is going to burn about 300 calories for a 250 pound person.
  • heatherlas
    heatherlas Posts: 21
    I have a bad knee right now and swimming has been a great way to get my cardio in. I have been using the Pulsar F7 and it works great in the pool. I like that I can track my individual calorie burn and not rely on what MFP might suggest. I also got myself a waterproof shuffle to play music and books on tape when I swim. It can make an hour of very boring laps pass very quickly, and want me to swim longer to get to the end of a chapter. Good luck!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Really, HRMs are faulty in a lot of ways - especially if you are obese and/or don't know your VO2 Max. But I'd say what you need is some number to plug into your data that will help you know when you are improving. Doesn't even really matter that it isn't 100% accurate (because HRMs aren't) but it does matter to you to see your improving numbers. So for that reason, use it. Keep good records of all your intake/output and measurements and weight. Then you can study and learn.

    Swimming is awesome. Just keep getting more and more exercise, preferably something you like. It will all come together. Don't expect exact numbers - not possible.
  • emblu
    emblu Posts: 272 Member
    Try the ASA website for help and links on swimming http://www.swimming.org/go/
  • logan_t
    logan_t Posts: 13 Member
    800 to 900 calories seems very excessive to me for only 800 yards.

    A thread from reddit a while back had something that made a lot of sense to me - that the "vigorous" exercise level should be reserved for when you're past your anaerobic threshold, or when you're at >80% your max heart rate (which is 220 - your age).

    I generally do the same couple workouts when I get in the pool, so I tracked both the amount of time I'm above that heart rate, and the amount I'm below it, during a workout. Then I put those numbers into MFP to get a total. After I know the amount of calories a given workout will be, I just log it under whatever comes up in the search, and replace the minutes and calories with what I already know about that workout.
  • zornig
    zornig Posts: 336 Member
    Hi there

    I can definately recommend swimmng. Its cardio exercise as well as resistance training. I have been swimming for fitness for three weeks with my wife and we are totally hooked. I went from doing 900m in 30 minutes to 1300m in 25 minutes. My wife has gone from 200m to 600m. You can se some great gains very quickly.

    Someone posted this link on another thread that captures the benefits of swimming. Best of luck.

    http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/retirement/10-health-benefits-of-swimming.htm

    Wow, what amazing time/distance gains! I started swimming laps about a month ago. I can do 1000 meters at this point, but it takes me more like 45 minutes! I hope to one day be nearly as fast as you.
  • labud1
    labud1 Posts: 23 Member
    I've lost most of my 60 lbs. swimming ....I started with 3 sets of 10 lengths ...1st week , then went to 3 sets of 20 lengths my second , then onto 2 sets of 40 lengths which is 2000 yds and takes about an hour everyday I think it's the only safe exercise to do if your over 50lbs over weight

    Concentrate on form and breathing. swim slowly in the beginning ...speed will happen down the road
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    800 to 900 calories seems very excessive to me for only 800 yards.

    I'm not singling out this comment, just using it as a reference to point out once more that without knowing the OP's weight or level of effort, there is literally NO WAY to know how many calories are being burned.
  • dar981
    dar981 Posts: 9
    I swam a lot with my bad back, you can integrate it into an existing routine, i started with 15-30 minutes and now swim for an hour at least 3x a week... Just take it slowly and build up. Even if you only do it 15 minutes, it you need a bit of motivation, I use a set of waterproof mp3 headphones during my gym/swimming sessions, keeps you going on those days when your struggling....

    I aimed for 15 laps, 25, then 50 laps, then 100 laps, builds your endurance up gradually. I didnt use a monitor though...

    Most pools have adult swim times, (some are early say 6:30), but its a nice easy way to start the day as well...
  • shrinkingbrian
    shrinkingbrian Posts: 171 Member
    I started at 405 pounds and now I'm at 197 pounds. I have done swimming nearly early weekday at the local high school. Swimming is a great exercise. I have also done walking and lifting weights but I probably burn the most calories swimming. It's also low impact with little injury compared to other activities. Just make sure to stretch your shoulders before and after and do some warm ups and cool down. I love swimming now. I went on vacation for a week and I was so glad to get back in the pool. I see the same people and they are amazing at my transformation. I started with mostly freestyle but now I also do backstroke and breaststroke. I can now do a mile swim in about 37 minutes.

    I don't use a heart rate monitor but I have seen other people use them. As long as you get your heart rate up and stay consistent with your exercise, you should be good.
  • unFATuated
    unFATuated Posts: 204 Member
    I don't know about calculating accurate calorie burns or waterproof HRMs (although I would expect they exist) but I'm another vote for swimming as great cardio for weightloss. I was 94kg (207lbs) at my heaviest and I'm 5'4" so anything other than walking was a bit too high impact for my already wrecked knees and other joints. I was also lucky enough to have a pool in the apartment complex I lived in, so I swam laps at a fairly slow pace for months and months (as well as doing WW at the time) and found it to be a great activity. Gets the HR up, provides resistance and nil impact on joints. I would alternate between freestyle and breaststroke. I wish I had ready access to a pool now, I would love to add swimming back into my exercise regime!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I'm not singling out this comment, just using it as a reference to point out once more that without knowing the OP's weight or level of effort, there is literally NO WAY to know how many calories are being burned.

    The level of effort has little impact on the burn, once beyond a "slow walk" exertion effort. The biggest determinants are distance and body weight.
  • jaykal001
    jaykal001 Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks for the comments everyone.
    My basic philosophy for tracking the burn, is using MFPs number, and cutting it in half. I figure that would be an OK estimate for now. Frankly for me, as long as i'm moving, and making slow progress, I'm a happy camper.

    I'm also doing more than swimming, so this is just a couple days a week, and part of the question came into play, as I decided if I should do additional exercise prior to my swim. Currently i'm dead to the world follow my swims, which is obviously a great thing, but at the same time, I like to get as much out of my gym time as possible, and if swimming goes smooth, I could have a bit more time to get some other exercises in.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    I am swimming regularly the same distance as you in around 35 minutes. I have monitored this with a waterproof HRM and came out with readings around the 400 mark.

    My resting pulse is around 36 and I am carrying about 20lbs excess weight so, with respect, you are possibly monitoring a calorie burn of a higher base pulse rate and pushing more mass through the water; both will up the calorie burn considerably.

    Swimming regularly I can see a fat loss of about 1lb per week. If I have a week off, I will not see that weightl loss so I deduce it is the swimming and not the strength training or the daily yoga that is having the most effect on my weight loss.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Swimming is as good as anything else. You're moving, burning calories and challenging your muscles. And it's no-impact, so no risk of stress fractures and no worries about joints. In fact, it's really good for joints.

    There is NO downside to swimming!
  • mikeykhan2003
    mikeykhan2003 Posts: 177
    Hey dude,

    I was in the exact same boat. I started swimming around 360, and I'm down to 311 now, with swimming as my exercise. I've always been a decent swimmer, but of course at 360 there's a lot of drag when you swim so it's pretty slow going. I do use intervals, I usually alternate that with swimming laps; I find the variety very cool, and I feel different muscles after each workout.

    If it were me (and it was), I worked every week on a couch to 5k swimming equivalent (I'll link it below); now I generally swim my mile in around 40 minutes. Still very slow, but hell it's an improvement of 30% in 4 weeks. When I first started swimming I would freestyle 3 out of every 4 lengths, and then backstroke 1 to get my breath back under control. As time has moved on I now backstroke only 1 / 10.

    If you have trouble with the first of the zeroTo1Mile workouts
    http://ruthkazez.com/Zeroto1milePreamble/pre-zero.html

    Zero to 1 Mile workout.
    http://ruthkazez.com/SwimWorkouts/ZeroTo1mile.html

    The interval workout I use
    http://www.rippednfit.com/fitness/swimming-hiit-the-pool/

    Good luck, and message me if you have any questions at all; I'd be glad to share my experience.

    m
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    I am obese (300 lbs) and I swim twice a week. It's actually a water aerobics class and I love it! We do some swimming, but also lots of water resistance exercises to build strength. I highly recommend spending as much time as you can in the water. I used to do some arc trainer work before the class, but for the calories I was burning (and as BORING as it was) I just spend extra time in the pool. In your position, I would up the swimming days to 3 or 4 per week, if possible and forget the other stuff.

    Unless, of course, you can manage to start a lifting program... I lift 3x per week and swim twice. It's a GREAT routine! Can't say enough good about it!

    Good luck!
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
    Because of my awful endurance, and learning how to control breathing, I can't really do the freestyle for more than a length or two until i'm dying and swallowing water,etc. so i constantly switch off)

    Congrats on starting this routine, swimming is awesome!

    I had trouble doing freestyle more than a length when I started too. The method I used to swim for longer was as follows:

    Week 1: At each swim session, swim 1 lap straight, do whatever it takes to make it through
    Week 2: At each swim session,swim 2 laps straight. No matter what, finish.
    Week 3: 3 laps
    Week 4: 4 laps

    My goal was to get to 20 laps after 20 weeks. At week 7, something amazing happened--I had the strength to keep going, and got to 15. The week after I got to 20, and never looked back. Now I swim a mile in about 39-40 min.

    I discovered the trick is to hold yourself back on the early laps. Don't push yourself as hard as you can, or your run out of steam/breath by lap 3. Instead, save the energy, and make the goal to keep going--not to swim fast.

    If that's your goal, hope it works for you! Good luck!!

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