swimming?

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carbons2k
carbons2k Posts: 383 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a gym in my office and i really want to try swimming as my cardio. I havent been in a pool in years. I feel like the monotony of a treadmill or elliptical is gonna drive me crazy. Has anyone ever gone swimming a few days a week to take a break from the gym? I hear its great for cardio!

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  • JoBFit
    JoBFit Posts: 81
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    I swim about 3x per week. I do freestyle laps and it is great cardio! You get back what you put in though- it isn't an easy option.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    I swim once a week right now to change things up. I would go more, but it just doesn't work into my schedule. I will warn you, even when I was swimming 3-4 times a week on a Master's Team, I didn't lose a ton of weight from it. Although, in hindsight, my diet MAY have played a role in that. :tongue:

    You will find that you feel like you work just as hard, but because of the horizontal position of you body and the coolness of the water, your HR will not get as high as it does with your other cardio exercises. Usually about 10-15 BPM lower. This is normal, but you are still burning as much! :)
  • pertilera
    pertilera Posts: 7
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    Yes - I love it. I started swimming about 3 or 4 months ago and would do about 25 - 30 laps. (25 meter pool). Now I swim 80 labs or 2000 meters. One mile is 1500 meters... It is a great workout. I even bought a waterproof Ipod case and ear buds from H20audio so I can listen to music why I do it.

    One hour of swimming for me is 700+ calories and it is easy on the joints as well! I just have added this in to my workout routine at the gym.
  • megan4487
    megan4487 Posts: 142 Member
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    I have been swimming alot and it is great. According to the website, you burn a lot of calories, and it seems to be working for me. It is also supposed to be great on your joints. Good luck, let me know if I can help
  • Rickie_Raver
    Rickie_Raver Posts: 27 Member
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    I alternate my cardio between the elliptical and swimming. It is an amazing option and is very low impact. Great way to rest with out resting!
  • StefD78
    StefD78 Posts: 18 Member
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    YEP! My gym has a pool and,while Im not a strong swimmer,I use a kickboard and get some cardio in that way. Its good for the legs!
  • jesseBYAH
    jesseBYAH Posts: 446 Member
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    I did some swimming at the beach yesterday and it was awesome! I went for a couple of "sprint" swims, where I would abandon my floatie and swim out for a bit, and then swim back to it. I also did a lot of treading water. I wore my HRM and ended up burning a lot of calories. I'm actually a little sore today! Swimming is an excellent exercise, and so fun! Try it out and see if you enjoy it. An hour of exercise would probably go really fast :)
  • megan4487
    megan4487 Posts: 142 Member
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    Yes - I love it. I started swimming about 3 or 4 months ago and would do about 25 - 30 laps. (25 meter pool). Now I swim 80 labs or 2000 meters. One mile is 1500 meters... It is a great workout. I even bought a waterproof Ipod case and ear buds from H20audio so I can listen to music why I do it.

    One hour of swimming for me is 700+ calories and it is easy on the joints as well! I just have added this in to my workout routine at the gym.

    i was wondering if they make such a thing for an ipod, thanks, that just made my day!!!!!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    I do when I'm in school as they have a great pool there. I get bored with just one activity too, though, so I will split it up and do some swimming, some water jogging, and some aqua aerobics. Some people will tell you that you can't lose weight that way, but they are wrong. I lost the freshmen 15 instead of gaining it thanks to the pool. But that was a few years ago (cough, 20, cough). As an older student going back now, I'm sure all those kids wonder what this old lady is doing, but it's definitely a fun, relaxing workout. Remember, though, that your heart rate will be about 20 beats slower in the pool then doing the same thing on land because the heart isn't having to work as hard but the muscles are working harder to go through water then through air so you won't be getting an accurate calorie estimate from a heart rate monitor.
  • Panda_Jack
    Panda_Jack Posts: 829 Member
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    I'm currently swimming 4-6 days a week as part of my triathlon training. Its a great workout, but remember its more about form than trying to muscle through the water. Its taken me a looong time to get over that and I'm seeing a lot of improvement in my stroke.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    I'm currently swimming 4-6 days a week as part of my triathlon training. Its a great workout, but remember its more about form than trying to muscle through the water. Its taken me a looong time to get over that and I'm seeing a lot of improvement in my stroke.

    'Bout time! hehehe Love ya Panda! :tongue:
  • carbons2k
    carbons2k Posts: 383 Member
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    What do you mean, you get back what you put in?
  • Panda_Jack
    Panda_Jack Posts: 829 Member
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    I'm currently swimming 4-6 days a week as part of my triathlon training. Its a great workout, but remember its more about form than trying to muscle through the water. Its taken me a looong time to get over that and I'm seeing a lot of improvement in my stroke.

    'Bout time! hehehe Love ya Panda! :tongue:

    Don't read too much into that... I'm still horrible! I'll let you know when I get down to 1 minute 100's :P
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I swim in the ocean about once a week and love it. It's a great workout and I feel as though I use muscles that I don't from other forms of exercise. And even though I'm usually tired when I get out of the water, I also find it to be a very relaxing activity.

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