Swimming

KayleighIsGoingFatToFit
KayleighIsGoingFatToFit Posts: 203 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I like to swim and I am good at swimming although I am not the best swimmer, I don't feel confident in the gym as I am only starting next month, would swimming be classed as a good work out?
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Replies

  • Tish
    Tish Posts: 34 Member
    Swimming is an amazing workout,one of the best I think. You use so many muscles all at the one time and if you enjoy it, it does not feel like a work out at all.
  • mdyoung8907
    mdyoung8907 Posts: 1
    Swimming and Water Aerobics can be great, you will be shocked how much of a workout you are getting. I highly recommend it as a way to ease into gym use and activities. I started with just swimming laps, then joined a water aerobics class in which we do a mile of laps around the lazy river, as well as core and arms and legs work. Networking in that class, as well as getting back into shape without the joint stress, helped me gain the confidence to join other classes and try new things.
  • Jim_1960
    Jim_1960 Posts: 399
    It would be classed as a great workout.
    My daughter (13) is a competitive swimmers and trains 4 times a week.
    She is built like a brick-****house and has a six pack.

    Go for it and the fact you enjoy it, even more so.
  • ansonrinesmith
    ansonrinesmith Posts: 755 Member
    Swimming is a great overall body workout, getting everything (Arms, Core, Legs).
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    Swimming is great! It's tough and works out a lot of muscles; it's pretty comparable to running. I definitely enjoy swimming more than running though! Just remember to stay hydrated (can be tough to remember when you're not feeling the sweat and surrounded by water) and go in with a plan. When I started out I just decided to wing it. I ended up kind of floundering for a session or two, just doing whatever I felt like. It wasn't until a decent swimmer got in the lane next to me and I had someone to mentally compete against that I started pushing myself. Starting off with time goals or lap goals can be really helpful.

    P.S. Be prepared for your triceps to hurt! I never realized how much swimming uses your triceps until I started doing laps. Those poor, under-used muscles! They started hurting even just a couple hours after my first swim I worked them so hard.
  • SkinnyBubbaGaar
    SkinnyBubbaGaar Posts: 389 Member
    Former competitive swimmer here. Yes, if done properly, swimming is really one of the best activities out there for getting fit. So many benefits, really.

    1) low impact
    2) great cardio if you really do push yourself hard enough to get your heart and lungs working.
    3) If you do switch up to use all of the major strokes (freestyle, back, breast, butterfly) you will be working pretty much all of your muscle groups.
    4) Using a kickboard can be a good tool as well to give your legs and butt muscles a good whippin'.
    5) Speaking of muscles, swimming is really a perfect mixture of cardio and resistance training. Considering that water is more dense then air, with every stroke you take in the pool you are basically providing similar benefits as high rep/low weight resistance training for your muscles.
    6) Another great benefit can be the meditative aspect of having that quiet time in the water with no other distractions in your brain. The solitude while swimming laps can be a nice counter to the pace of being constantly "plugged in" with all of our electronics throughout the rest of the day.


    One thing to remember is to really work at pushing yourself so that you get the full benefit of having a real workout. Go ahead and swim slowly while first getting used to having a swim routine but as you get more and more confident in the water add both distance and also shorter interval training (mix it up a bit) to your repertoire.

    Could be helpful to see if a local YMCA or club in your area has any Masters Swimming program or classes for you to help get started.

    Good luck with it all.
  • tsimblist
    tsimblist Posts: 206 Member
    Could be helpful to see if a local YMCA or club in your area has any Masters Swimming program or classes for you to help get started.

    I just started Master Swim at a local pool only last week. I have two sessions under my belt and I am looking forward to going back for more this week. I am getting great coaching on technique and they are helping me build my endurance.
  • R4H33M
    R4H33M Posts: 1 Member
    I'm a teenager and i started swimming. I plan to swim 4/5 times a week for an hour each session. I weigh 13st and 7lbs and really want to lose weight and feel better about my self. How long will it take me to lose 3/4 st?
  • abbhinaw
    abbhinaw Posts: 4 Member
    I started swimming 6 months back. Learnt freestyle and breast stroke. Enjoy swimming regardless of the weather conditions. Have started doing 01 km every day. 5 days a week. Hope it helps me maintain my weight and overall healthy body
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Swimming is indeed a great workout BUT… you may be surprised how few calories that you burn.

    The feeling of breathlessness may make you think you’re working harder than an equivalent land based session.

    When logging you shield be honest to yourself to log the duration you actually swam for (excluding rest periods) and the genuine intensity you swam at - remembering just how hard the above mentioned competitive swimmers are training.

    I do triathlon specific training sessions which most ‘swimmers’ at our local pool couldn’t hope to be able to complete but sadly the calorie burn is really disappointing for the 1hr coached session even with minimal break periods and when I leave feeling exhausted.

    Also be aware that swimming tends to make you hungry afterwards much more than say, walking. There seems to be many theories on why this may be but they’ve not quite nailed it down yet.

    So enjoy your swimming, it’ll be great for you and you can build up the distance, effort and duration on each visit. Just be mindful of the above.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member
    sarabushby wrote: »
    Swimming is indeed a great workout BUT… you may be surprised how few calories that you burn.

    The feeling of breathlessness may make you think you’re working harder than an equivalent land based session.

    When logging you shield be honest to yourself to log the duration you actually swam for (excluding rest periods) and the genuine intensity you swam at - remembering just how hard the above mentioned competitive swimmers are training.

    I do triathlon specific training sessions which most ‘swimmers’ at our local pool couldn’t hope to be able to complete but sadly the calorie burn is really disappointing for the 1hr coached session even with minimal break periods and when I leave feeling exhausted.

    Also be aware that swimming tends to make you hungry afterwards much more than say, walking. There seems to be many theories on why this may be but they’ve not quite nailed it down yet.

    So enjoy your swimming, it’ll be great for you and you can build up the distance, effort and duration on each visit. Just be mindful of the above.

    My personal theory is that swimming makes me hungrier than walking because it's a vigorous exercise rather than moderate. I've also thought that it makes me thirsty and I'm getting that cue crossed, so have fluid on hand for immediately afterwards, but that doesn't always help.

    What are some of the theories?
  • JaysFan82
    JaysFan82 Posts: 852 Member
    I swam for the first 7 months of my journey until I got to a weight where my knees could handle running. Ended up losing 80 pounds in those 7 months (I started at 388 pounds) with 30 minutes of swimming combined with following my eating plan to a T.
  • dvdiamond11
    dvdiamond11 Posts: 24 Member
    edited March 2023
    Find a master swimming class. It will improve your swimming by leaps and bounds. The downside is they usually start very early in the morning.
    Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do. It works out all muscles and helps with aerobic capacity. Its calorie burn is exactly what you put in. If you are swimming at a moderate effort or a strenuous effort you can burn anywhere from 500 to 800 calories per hour.
    I love how I feel after a good swimming workout. Relaxed and rejuvenated. You feel like you really put the work in.
    Swimming is also something you can keep on doing as you age because it is so easy on your joints.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    I’d have to Google the reasons they think it made you more hungry as it was a long time ago I last looked at it but I think it included the temperature difference and also being horizontal amongst other things.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
    edited March 2023
    I've been swimming for years. We're all different. It doesn't make me hungry. I feel relaxed when I'm finished. It doesn't make me hungrier than any of the other outdoor activities that I do. Snowshoeing, skiing, shoveling snow and so on. I'm not putting those thoughts in my head or someone eles's head. Don't swim, you'll get hungry. You can lay around on the couch all day and be hungry as a bear. Swimming is excellent.

    There's a solution for exercise hunger. Eat all of your exercise calories back. Isn't that the MFP way?
    We tell people to find exercise that they love and can continue doing for the rest of their lives. Everything does not be qualified by the hunger games. Eat your exercise calories back.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
    Everything does not need to be qualified by the hunger games. I'm passionate about swimming. I missed some words. Just put one word in front of the other and get off the couch from the speed of zero. Take it all back outside, do what you love and love what you. I can't let anything ruin this for me or you.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Sorry it really wasn’t my intention for my post to be come over as ‘don’t swim it might make you hungry’! Swimming is great, I thoroughly enjoyed my swim session today and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone I can rope into coming along too.

    I only wanted to offer a few words of cautionary advice since we see so many ‘I’m eating x and exercising y but not losing weight’ type threads. Forewarned is forearmed.

    Happy Swimming!
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
    edited March 2023
    Nah, you didn't step on any deeply felt principles or feet. I've heard it for years and years, how swimming makes you so hungry and thirsty. Eat and swill water. Good food fixes everything. I don't even try to outexercise my food.
    Happy Trails to you, too.
  • putotherpeoplefirst
    putotherpeoplefirst Posts: 31 Member
    swimming is a very good work out and gentle on your joints. I love swimming!
  • abbhinaw
    abbhinaw Posts: 4 Member
    How many calories do we burn on an average if we swim 01 km in
    60 mins
    50 mins
    40 mins
    30 mins

    Please share your input.

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