swimming?

swerdygnome
swerdygnome Posts: 88 Member
edited September 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I've read so many times over the years about how swimming is one of the best exercises out there because of all of the muscle groups that are worked at once, but I don't see a lot of people on here posting swimming as their daily exercise. So far my exercise routines have consisted of at home walking (leslie sansone) dvd's and kickboxing dvd's, as well as walking outside. Well....tonight we decided to go for a swim and ended up getting in 45 minutes of backstrokes, breast strokes, side strokes, elliptical type motions under the water, pretty much everything you can think of, and by the end of it I could definitely feel the burn. I LOVED it. My muscles felt totally worked out but I didn't feel like I was gasping for every ounce of air like I normally do after some of my dvd's.

That leads me to my next question....because I don't feel like I've been hit by a freight train after doing a swimming workout, does that necessarily mean that I'm not getting as good of a work out? Have any of you had major weight loss success with swimming? I live in South Florida so swimming is definitely an option for me year round. I just wanted to get your opinions on the subject as far as it being sufficient for my exercise goals of 4 workouts a week. I'm hoping so, because that might just have been the most enjoyable workout I've ever done! Thanks guys!!

Replies

  • Amarillo_NDN
    Amarillo_NDN Posts: 1,018 Member
    I am not much a swimmer, but wateraerobics is very close to for me. Talk about using all your muscles and get resistant training at the same time. Also, it so great if you have joint problems and other things.

    One nice thing about working out in the water, you normaly will never be sore from it.
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
    In swimming you can definately get a work out. If you do it with intensity and resistance or go for stamina. Not just paddling and playing around. Although that would be a work out for me, now!

    It's cool and you dont get sweaty, so you don't realize how much you have worked. I was in very good shape in high school. I joined the swim team and they swam miles. It kicked my butt!
  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
    I normally don't get to swim for exercise because there are no pools close to me. How ever, this summer we went to a lake for a week and I swam every day. I did longer intervals of free swimming and changing up ways I kicked, and I could barely move my legs the next day (inner thighs especially). It didn't feel like a workout at the time, but it definitely worked muscles that hadn't been seeing action. Now I have my HRM, so I am looking for a pool to do some swimming in to see how the workout compares.
  • ColoradoClyde
    ColoradoClyde Posts: 6
    Swimming is great exercise if you 're working pretty hard at it. I do swim occasionally; maybe I'd swim more if I lived in Florida ...
    It's also a really good change from other types of cardio such as jogging, since it works the upper body and it's non-impact. On the other hand, as a long ago competitive swimmer, I can say that it will never be my main form of exercise, since swimming laps in a pool can get pretty boring.
  • Shar39
    Shar39 Posts: 5
    My daughters part of a swim team in our home town. Where they compete alll the time. Which means they practice alot. Swimming is a great form of low impact cardio exercise esp when you want to take a break from jogging. For the most part yes it works alot more muscles than jogging. Usually swimmers tend to have that slightly bigger upper body because of swimming. So if you want to work on your legs more then you should do breaststroke. It tends to generate more leg movement than the freestyle.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
    There are lots of people here swimming and doing water aerobics - like me! GREAT low impact exercise (I have a bum knee) and burns lots of calories. Go for it!
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
    Several years ago in the summer I started doing water aerobics while my kids practiced for the swim team. I didn't lose any weight (I was not watching my food intake at all at the time), but I did lose inches. I could wear a smaller size at the end of the summer.

    Now, swimming laps is one of my exercise options, especially if it is dark or cold. If you look in the exercise log section, you'll see that it burns lots of calories! It is one of my favorite workouts, but because it is not as convenient, I don't do it as much as running.

    My kids still swim competitively, and I can look at their bodies, and the bodies of their teammates and see that they are getting a GREAT workout. Wish I looked so good!!
  • swerdygnome
    swerdygnome Posts: 88 Member
    Thanks for all of your comments! I'm thinking I'll keep this up and maybe alternate it with my walking.
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